Skip to main content

Canadian Experience Class – Boon or Bane?

Filipiniana News
14 August 2008

Citizenship and Immigration Canada recently announced details on the much touted Canadian Experience Class (CEC) within the current immigration system.  When the idea was first introduced a year or so ago, it was promoted as a solution to the problems relating to the unemployment or underemployment of immigrants whose credentials are not recognized in the Canadian system.

In a nutshell, the CEC is a class of individuals who are eligible to apply for permanent resident status from within Canada provided certain criteria are satisfied.  Those who are deemed eligible to apply under this class are holders of study and work permits who have valid temporary resident status when the permanent resident application is submitted. 

For study permit holders, they must have obtained a degree or diploma from an accredited Canadian educational institution after two years of full time study and must have obtained full time work experience within NOC level O, A or B after obtaining the Canadian degree or diploma. 

For work permit holders, they must have obtained at least two years of full time work experience in NOC level O, A or B within the three years prior to submitting the permanent resident application.

The jobs which are generally deemed to fall under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) level O are management occupations; level A are the professional occupations and level B are the technical occupations or skilled trades.

In addition to valid temporary resident status, full time work and/or study in Canada, the applicants must meet a certain level of language proficiency in English or French preferably through an official language testing centre.  A moderate degree of proficiency is required for those falling under NOC level O and A, while a basic degree of proficiency will be required for those falling under NOC level B.

While I can only agree that this is a step in the right direction, it has yet to prove its worth in terms of effectively addressing the many issues raised by the current immigration system.  Even prior to its actual implementation, a number of issues can already be foreseen as being potentially controversial, some of which are as follows:

Inland or Overseas Processing?

While it is claimed to be an inland application, submission packages are to be sent to the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo, New York for processing.   When the permanent resident visa is issued, the applicant can land at a port of entry or at a CIC office.  If an interview will be required however prior to the issuance of the visa, the person would still have to travel to the USA or the file may be transferred to the home country if a U.S. visa cannot be obtained.

One wonders how this new system could be any better than the current one.  At present,  a study or work permit holder in Canada who has been granted temporary resident status for at least a year is nonetheless qualified to send in a permanent resident application to the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo.  With the CEC class, the applicant has to satisfy at least two years of full time work experience in Canada before even becoming qualified to apply.   Why should one wait to meet the two-year requirement when one is already qualified to send in a PR application to Buffalo upon being granted one one-year work or study permit?

Hopefully, the difference that the CEC can make will be in terms of expediting applications and facilitating a more systematic processing of applications which meet the criteria laid out by this new class.

English Language Requirement – A Redundancy?

The wisdom of requiring English language testing for those who have already been admitted to (and presumably passed the school’s language requirements), and studied full time at accredited Canadian educational institutions, has been questioned by many.   The same is true for those who have received genuine job offers by Canadian companies, worked full time for at least two years in jobs classified under NOC skill level O, A or B.  Why require further English language testing for these people when they have proven their language ability through their years of integration into the Canadian system?

Even stronger protests have come from native English or French language speakers who are likewise required to undergo similar language testing to prove something they have acquired since birth.      

While the recent guidelines suggest that other written proof of language skills may be accepted, it is “only recommended for native English and French speakers”.   Therefore, the fact that this requirement exists still raises issues of necessity, on top of the additional expense it entails on the applicants. 

Gaps in Health Insurance Coverage

By its very nature, the CEC includes individuals who have lived and worked in Canada for at least two years and have thus integrated into the Canadian system, including possession of health insurance coverage.  If they were student permit holders, they would have been required to purchase the University Health Insurance Program (UHIP) while the LMO-based work permit holders would have qualified for OHIP (if based in Ontario).   However, as had been the experience of current open work permit holders under the post-graduation work permit program, they suddenly find themselves without health coverage because the provincial health law excludes them from coverage.   This is also true for live-in caregivers who have qualified to apply for permanent residence from within Canada and obtained open work permits in the interim.   After years of being covered by OHIP, they suddenly find themselves without public health insurance.  Whether this was due to lack of coordination between, or careless oversight by, our federal and provincial legislators, it is clear that this is a matter that needs to be corrected as soon as possible.

Let us hope that the implementation of the CEC will include thoughtful consideration of these and other related concerns for the true benefit of immigrants, rather than to simply gain their precious votes. 

The author is an immigration lawyer in Toronto and may be reached at mdsantos@osgoode.yorku.ca.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

COVID-19 Updates for International Students

In the past few years, the number of international students has ballooned at a rapid pace such that they now comprise a significant portion of the temporary resident population in Canada.  In the latest report of the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Marco Mendicino to Parliament, he stated that as of December 31, 2018, there were more than 721,000 international study permit holders in Canada, or more than double the number of permanent residents (321,035) admitted that year. Easing Work Restrictions At this time of COVID-19 pandemic therefore, it comes as no surprise that international students are among those hardest hit by the ongoing lockdowns and their economic consequences. Since international student fees are often double or triple the domestic tuition fee rates, one can only imagine the enormous investment that these international students have made to finance their studies and living expenses in Canada.   Hence, it is a great help th

Some Tips to Avoid CIC's 'High Error Rate'

Filipiniana News – January 2015 RHYME & REASON Earlier this month, an article came out in the Toronto Star reporting the existence of a "high error rate" in the processing of immigration applications.  The article by Toronto Star reporter Nicholas Keung on 5 January 2015 states in part: The human errors — staff failing to use correct form letters, address missing documents and provide accurate timelines, among other shortcomings — could not only cost individual applicants a chance to live and work in Canada but affect the "efficiency of the system" and create unnecessary backlogs. "An important area of concerns resides with the letters. The number of request letters not sent, sent incomplete or unclear at initial stage and later on create a negative impact on both clients and the Case Processing Centre (in Vegreville, Alta.)," said an evaluation of operations at Vegreville. It was one of three internal reports obtained under an access to

Temporary Residents and the Removal Process

Filipiniana News   -   October 2016 Rhyme and Reason Temporary Residents and the Removal Process Legal temporary residents in Canada   consist of those who have valid status as students, workers or visitors.   Due to the ever changing state of Canada’s immigration laws and regulations, they are often the most negatively affected to the point of losing their status due to plain ignorance, misinformation or even carelessness.   Those who may have lost their status are understandably fearful of being removed anytime soon and thrown on the next flight back to their home country.   However, misconceptions about the removal process abound and are misleading even temporary residents who may still have valid status in Canada.   For instance, there are those who are   here as visitors, workers or students whose initial permits may have expired but whose extension applications are still pending, who fear that they may just be picked up by the authorities and detained since