What this episode is about?

We all know that love knows no boundaries. However, in reality there are a lot of obstacles international couples may need to go around if they want to stay together and not being separated by the border.

In this episode I invite Alicia Backman-Beharry, an amazing Canadian Immigration Lawyer who joined Holthe Immigration Law in August of 2020, to discuss spousal sponsorship applications. We talk about the differences between Inside and Outside Canada Sponsorships, benefits and drawbacks of each type of the application, as well as reasons why your Spouse or Common-Law Partner Class or Family Class application can be refused.

COVID-19 and the travel restriction also had a significant impact on the processing of the Spousal Sponsorship applications. Alicia and I discussed how this global pandemic impacted applicants and how IRCC takes a ruthless approach of refusing applications for frivolous mistakes, in attempt to keep the processing time down.

I definitely recommend that you listen to this episode carefully, because even slightest mistake can crush your plans of sponsoring your loved ones. Also, take a note of tips we provide that can help you make sure your application is not refused:

1. Examine and follow your Documents Checklist with forensic level of details

2. Provide sufficient proof of genuineness of your relationships

3. Provide an explanation along with your application if any of the documents or questions do not apply to your situation.

4. Make sure you have added your signatures and validated your forms

5. Ensure your photos meet the requirements.

If you want to learn more about the difference between Spouse or Common-Law Partner Class and Family Class applications Alicia Backman-Beharry prepared a wonderful blogpost that covers everything you need to know about these two applications. Check the blog post here: https://www.holthelaw.com/spousal-sponsorship-canada/

About today’s guest of the Canadian Immigration Podcast

Alicia Backman-Beharry has practiced as an immigration lawyer for 17 years. She was called to the Alberta bar in 2003 and was an associate with a medium sized firm and a boutique immigration law firm. Alicia went out on her own as a sole practitioner 8 years ago. She works with corporations, individuals and other lawyers to solve difficult immigration legal issues. Prior to joining the Holthe Immigration Law team, she also contributed as a part-time program lawyer at a non-profit poverty law clinic.

She finds it rewarding to help individuals and companies through the complex world of Canadian Immigration law. Having taught courses on temporary and permanent residence, Alicia is able to see how various pieces of the immigration puzzle fit together, and can provide advice so that people understand which application to pursue and why.

During her career as Immigration Lawyer Alicia Backman-Beharry has assisted with a wide range of business immigration matters, including applications for Labour Market Impact Assessments, work permits, Intra-company transfers, and Employer Compliance Reviews. She also has extensive experience with Permanent Residence applications including Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Program, Humanitarian and Compassionate, and family class sponsorships. While working with the poverty law clinic, she routinely helped people with inadmissibility issues, refugee matters, restoration applications, and temporary residence permits. She has appeared before various Courts and Tribunals, including Federal Court, Provincial Court, the Court of Queen’s Bench, the Immigration and Refugee Board, the Immigration Division, and the Immigration Appeal Division.

Volunteering has always been a big part of how Alicia spends her time. She enjoyed 9 years on the Board of a large immigrant serving settlement organization, including serving as Secretary, Vice-Chair, Chair and Past-Chair of the Board and is a past Chair of the Immigration and Citizenship Law Alberta South Section of the Canadian Bar Association.

You can book a consultation with Alicia Backman-Beharry on our Holthe Immigration Law website: www.holthelaw.com/consultation

About the host of the Canadian Immigration Podcast

Mark Holthe is a Canadian Immigration Lawyer based in Lethbridge, Alberta. He has started his legal career with a large national law firm in Calgary where he initiated the business immigration practice at the firm. Since those early days, he has had the opportunity to work in a wide variety of law firm configurations before finally realizing that the best place for him was within the confines of an immigration boutique firm of his own making.

As a Canadian immigration lawyer, Mark has particular experience in assisting clients with all aspects of Canadian immigration law. He assists large national and multinational companies in navigating the complex world of Canadian immigration and provides strategic immigration advice to international and domestic companies seeking to recruit and retain foreign skilled and semi-skilled personnel.

Mark also assists temporary foreign workers with their transition to permanent resident status in Canada and over the past few years, he has taken great satisfaction in helping individuals and families with their various immigration related needs. Mark finds no greater satisfaction than helping to facilitate the reunification of families.

While attending law school, Mark worked as an Immigration officer for Citizenship and Immigration Canada on the Alberta/Montana border. While completing his final year of law school, he worked as a pro bono student to the Canada Border Services Agency Hearings Officers representing the minister before the Immigration Appeal Division in Calgary, Alberta. As a result of his prior experience as an immigration officer, Mark has been able to enhance the services he offers to his cross-border and overseas clients. Since that time, he has continued to work hard fostering positive relationships with the various immigration related government departments and has focused a significant portion of his practice on cross-border matters.

About the Sponsor of the Canadian Immigration Podcast

This episode sponsored by Canadian Immigration Institute, a platform designed to help people navigate Canadian immigration on their own. On this platform, I offer Do-It-Yourself (DIY) video courses guiding you through the process of submitting your immigration application without a need to hire a lawyer. These video courses not only allow people to better understand Canadian immigration but also earn me sufficient revenue to continue pushing out great free content on Canadian immigration.

Visit Canadian Immigration Institute: https://www.canadianimmigrationinstitute.com

Listen to the Canadian Immigration Podcast on Spotify and iTunes

Canadian Immigration Podcast is being broadcasted on our iTunes and Spotify channels. If you have enjoyed this podcast and think someone else would, too, please subscribe and share this episode!

Subscribe to our various social media channels

If you want to connect with me or retain Holthe Immigration Law to assist you with immigration to Canada feel free to book a consultation on our official website: www.holthelaw.com

Additionally, consider subscribing to our social media channels to stay up to date with the news on Canadian Immigration:

Canadian Immigration Institute Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgvm03Tm2e-ndNkWhiiQUlA

Canadian Immigration Institute Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CanadianImmigrationInstitute

Express Entry Law Private Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CanadianImmigrationInstitute

Holthe Immigration Law LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/holthe-business-immigration-law

Holthe Immigration Law Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/holthe.immigration.law/

Holthe Immigration Law Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/HoltheLaw

However, what if you never intended to misrepresent your case or did not even know that you have misrepresented something? This is just one of the issues that I have discussed with Rekha McNutt in today’s episode of the Canadian Immigration Podcast where we touched on the various aspects of appealing the removal of PRs for misrepresentation.

Rekha practices primarily in immigration law.  She has extensive experience with temporary resident visas, express entry, federal skilled workers, Canadian experience class, Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program, family class sponsorships, refugee claims, pre-removal risk assessments, and in-Canada humanitarian and compassionate permanent residence applications.

Rekha has focused much of her practice on Federal Court Judicial Review applications of various types of negative immigration-related decisions.

Rekha had appeared before the Alberta Provincial Court and the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta.  She has also appeared extensively before the Federal Court of Canada and Immigration Tribunals such as the Immigration Division, Refugee Protection Division, and the Immigration Appeal Division.

Rekha is the past-Chair (2015-2016 & 2016-2017) of the Southern Alberta Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, Immigration Section.

In this episode Rekha and I had an awesome and engaging conversation about misrepresentation and the consequences of such wrongdoings. It is surprising that there are so many ways how almost anyone can become a victim of their own carelessness, lack of understanding of the immigration processes or even reports filed by their close circle of friends or relatives. Rekha gave a full explanation of what misrepresentation really is and how serious and challenging the consequences may get if IRCC believes there was a misrep. Additionally, in this episode we discussed the following:

• what is the misrepresentation;
• examples of Innocent Misrepresentation;
• misrepresentation on inadmissibility vs. misrepresentation on eligibility;
• different ways IRCC finds out about cases of misrep;
• fairness letter and Section 44 reports;
• the process of removal of permanent residents for misrepresentation;
• different ways to fight your case if Immigration Division issues a removal order.

Sponsor:

• Canadian Immigration Institute – Founded by Immigration Lawyer Mark Holthe 

Affiliate Program:

• Click on this link to become an affiliate of the Canadian Immigration Institute: https://www.canadianimmigrationinstitute.com/become-an-affiliate
  • OR,  go to the Canadian Immigration Institute main page and scroll down to the very bottom and click on “Affiliate”.
  • Earn 30% when someone purchases via your affiliate link

• Additional Resources:

  • Rekha’s firm: http://www.caronpartners.com/
  • How to contact Rekha: RMcNutt@caronpartners.com 
  • Canadian Immigration Institute: https://www.canadianimmigrationinstitute.com/

Topics for our Next Podcast

If you have a suggestion for topics we could cover in the Podcast, please drop me a line at mholthe@holthelaw.com. If you know of anyone that would be interested in coming on the Podcast as a guest, please send them my way. share on facebook, share on twitter, share on LinkedIn

Binge on all of our Canadian Immigration Podcast Episodes!

If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all the episodes here.

Subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast on iTunes and Spotify

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the show. Share the Love

We also encourage you to subscribe to our Canadian Immigration Podcast on Spotify.

For US companies relying upon foreign workers, Monday, June 23, 2020, was a day of significant disappointment. President Trump announced that many categories of foreign workers would no longer be granted entry to the US until the end of 2020. Fortunately, Canada’s immigration policy is far more welcoming. If you are a US company that is going to be hurt by these latest rounds of restrictions, Canada may just be the answer. Tune in to this episode where US Immigration Attorney, Nicole Ezer, explains what these restrictions mean for your company and Canadian Immigration Lawyer, Mark Holthe, shares some great “made-in-Canada” solutions to turn your disappointment into relief.

Many US companies were left reeling on Monday, June 23rd when President Trump announced that H-1B, L, J and H-2B visas would be blocked until the end of 2020. These four non-immigrant visa categories are relied upon heavily by US companies seeking to fill critical skill shortages in the US.

Now what is a US company going to do?

They were already hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but this most recent announcement feels like insult to injury.

In this episode US immigration attorney, Nicole Ezer shares some great insight into what these restrictions really mean for US companies and why things may not be as bad as they seem.  I then take some time to pull the curtain back on some very practical solutions that Canada’s facilitative immigration policy offer to struggling US companies and their foreign workers.

Nicole Ezer is the founder of Ezer Law Group, a business immigration boutique law firm based in Houston, Texas. She is my go-to attorney for any US bound business immigration need. We have collaborated for years on mutual cross-border clients and I have fortunate to call her my friend.

Nicole has practiced in the areas of family-based immigration, naturalization and asylum and participated in activities that provide education to industries and communities regarding immigration issues.

She is a frequent speaker before industry, HR groups and for attorney CLE activities, and is a 2002 Graduate of the Center for Houston’s Future Leadership Forum. Nicole has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center, teaching “Business Immigration Basics”.

Nicole has focused her practice on immigration policies and planning and consulting for companies of all sizes. She is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Nicole develops, implements and updates immigration policies for multinational corporations.

Sponsor:

None of this would be possible if it were not for my Canadian Immigration Institute. My DIY courses earn me sufficient revenue to continue pushing out great free content on Canadian Immigration.

• Canadian Immigration Institute – Founded by Immigration Lawyer Mark Holthe 

Affiliate Program:

• Click on this link to become an affiliate of the Canadian Immigration Institute: https://www.canadianimmigrationinstitute.com/become-an-affiliate
  • OR,  go to the Canadian Immigration Institute main page and scroll down to the very bottom and click on “Affiliate”.
  • Earn 30% when someone purchases via your affiliate link

[Tweet “Canada is a great option for suffering US companies?”]

• Additional Resources:

  • Nicole Ezer’s law firm: https://ezerlawgroup.com/
  • The best way to reach Nicole:
    • Phone: (281) 404-7781
    • Website: https://ezerlawgroup.com/contacts/

Listen to Mark Holthe’s Canadian Immigration Podcast

Topics for our Next Podcast

Binge on all of our Canadian Immigration Podcast Episodes!

If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all the episodes here.

Subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast on iTunes and Spotify

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the show. Share the Love

We also encourage you to subscribe to our Canadian Immigration Podcast on Spotify.

Have you heard about the 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia that killed over 228,000 people? Of course you have. I don’t think there is a person on the planet that does not remember the most devastating tsunami to ever be recorded in history. The shear magnitude of loss, in life and property, compelled the world to come together to aide the millions of people affected by this catastrophic event. The Red Cross in Canada and many other countries, was instrumental in mobilizing international relief efforts to help those directly affected by the Tsunami.

Feature length films such as “The Impossible” and documentaries such as PBS NOVA’s broadcast, the Wave that Shook the World help to remind us of the effects the tsunami had on the countries and people physically present when the natural disaster occurred.  However, there is one story that many of us have not heard. This story is about the abuses suffered by labourer’s brought in to assist with the reconstruction efforts undertaken by unscrupulous companies contracted by the Red Cross to undertake the rebuild.  In this Special Episode I interviewed award winning journalist Virgil Grandfield who shares his first hand experience working on the ground for the Red Cross immediately after the Tsunami struck.

Many of you are probably wondering what this story has to do with Canadian immigration and why I chose to dedicate an entire Episode of the Canadian Immigration Podcast to this topic. The reason is fairly simple. It all comes down to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the similarities I saw between the contractors taking advantage of vulnerable labourers in Indonesia with what has occurred, and to some extent continues to occur, with the treatment of our low-skill Temporary Foreign Workers here in Canada.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that all low-skill TFWs in Canada are being treated like slave labour. That is definitely not the case. However, as I indicated in my 4 Part blog series on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the manner in which we administer our TFWP creates a tremendous power imbalance between employers and TFWs. It is this type of power imbalance that resulted in slave labour trafficking in Indonesia and also results in many low-skill TFWs in Canada putting up with working conditions no Canadian would ever tolerate.

So…..regardless of whether or not you agree with me, my interview with Virgil Grandfield is going to get you thinking. He took the time to share a fascinating and somewhat heart wrenching tale of the abuses he saw during the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami.

And I also think this Episode is pretty well timed given the upcoming changes to the TFWP that will likely be announced in November, just a little over a month after the release of this Episode.

During my interview with Virgil Grandfield, we covered the following topics:

• Virgil Grandfield’s background.
• How he got into journalism.
• Background on the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia.
• Virgil’s involvement with the Red Cross after the tsunami.
• The labour trafficking scandal in Indonesia during the Red Cross rebuild.
• Stories about the families affected by the scandal and documented in Virgil’s article, “The Cage”.
• Some of the other projects Virgil is working on.
• How people can reach Virgil.

[Tweet “Labour trafficking by Red Cross Tsunami contractors – the “Cage“]

Apocalyptic dramatic background – giant tsunami waves, dark stormy sky

Additional Resources:

• About Virgil Grandfield: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Grandfield
• “The Cage” Article (NOTE: Title renamed by Eigthteen Bridges to ‘Are You Ready to Die Today?’): (http://eighteenbridges.com/story/are-you-ready-to-die-today-what-really-happened-in-post-tsunami-indonesia/ 

Listen to Mark Holthe’s Canadian Immigration Podcast

Topics for our Next Podcast

Read the Transcript

You can read additional notes for this episode, [spoiler]

S1 E30 – Virgil Grandfield – Slave Labour Trafficking by Red Cross Tsunami Contractors in Indonesia | Show Notes

I invited Virgil Grandfield to join me today to talk about an article he wrote about slave labour trafficking by Red Cross Tsunami Contractors in Indonesia following the reconstruction efforts following the Tsunami of 2004 that killed approximately 228,000 people.

Virgil’s article “The Cage” published by Eighteen Bridges, an Alberta literary magazine, as “Are you ready to die?” was recently awarded a gold medal for investigative journalism by the National Magazine Awards Foundation.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

How did you get into journalism?

Remind our listeners about the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia.

Tell us about your involvement with the Red Cross effort after the Tsunami

Share some background on the labour trafficking scandal

Talk a little bit about the families affected by the scandal and your article, “The Cage” which received the journalism award.

Tell us about some of your other projects that we should watch out for:

• Full-length book on the scandal
• CBC Television Documentary

Thanks for joining us…what is the best way of reaching you if people would like to learn more?

[/spoiler]

Binge on all of our Canadian Immigration Podcast Episodes!

If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all the episodes here.

Ask Mark an Immigration Question

Periodically I answer listener questions on my podcast. If you have a question, comment, thought or concern, you can do so by clicking here. We’d love to hear from you. You can also leave me a voice message on the Ask an Immigration Question widget on the side bar of this website.

Subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the show. Share the Love

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to practice Canadian immigration law? In this interview, Canadian immigration lawyer Will Tao shares his journey cutting his teeth as a young immigration lawyer in Canada. Whether you are a young lawyer trying to figure out your chosen area of practice, or an old timer looking to reinvent yourself, this Podcast may just be the catalyst you need to consider diving into the crazy world of Canadian immigration law.

In this episode of the Canadian Immigration Podcast, I spoke with Will Tao who is a young immigration lawyer practicing with the law firm of Larlee Rosenberg in Vancouver,  British Columbia.  In most cases, I bring on industry leaders who share amazing insight on various aspects of the Canadian Immigration landscape. However, in this episode I decided to bring on Will who is one of the “up and coming” immigration lawyers in Canada, and definitely someone to watch out for in the future.

Will took some time to share with us some unbelievable insight into his experience breaking into the field of Canadian immigration law. He addressed some of the challenges a young lawyer may face as well as what it really takes to make it as a successful immigration lawyer.

Will writes an excellent blog on immigration entitled: the “Vancouver Immigration Blog” which is very quickly becoming a great resource for not only young aspiring immigration lawyers, but seasoned vets as well.

Will did a fantastic job on this interview. Keep an eye out for him in the future as he is sure to be one of the rising stars within the immigration bar in Canada.

During my interview with Will, we discuss the following areas:

• The road to becoming an immigration lawyer
• Why choose immigration law
• Challenges of being a young immigration lawyer
• The value of mentorship when starting out
• Where Will see’s his practice going in the future

[Tweet “Have you considered practicing Canadian immigration law?“]

Additional Resources:

• Will Tao’s e-mail address: Will.Tao@larlee.com
• Will’s bio:  http://www.larlee.com/lawyers/will-tao/
• Will’s firm – Larlee Rosenberg, Barristers and Solicitors: www.larlee.com
• Vancouver Immigration Blog: http://vancouverimmigrationblog.com/

Listen to Mark Holthe’s Canadian Immigration Podcast

Topics for our Next Podcast

Read the Transcript

You can read additional notes for this episode, [spoiler]

CIP S1E26 – Will Tao – Life as a Young Immigration Lawyer

Will Tao Canadian Immigration Lawyer, practicing with the well respected law firm of Larlee Rosenberg in Vancouver, BC.

We are going to do things a little bit different this podcast.  The purpose behind this podcast is to inspire other young lawyers to consider the practice of immigration law.

In per conversations with Will, he told me about an experience he had speaking with a well-known Bay Street lawyer before he began searching for summer jobs and she pegged it at a 0% chance that he could do immigration before five years call.

Will Tao is an Associate at Larlee Rosenberg and provides legal services in all areas of Canadian immigration law.

Will specializes in complex immigration and citizenship refusals, reconsideration requests, appeals, admissibility hearings/detention reviews, and judicial reviews of administrative decisions. Will is frequently contacted by clients and their immigration representatives after their initial applications are refused or a request for further information has been received. Will has successfully assisted his clients on several challenging, high profile cases involving employers and individuals alike.

Will also has a strong international student and temporary foreign worker practice, where he advises students and temporary workers on the compliance issues and the crucial transition to permanent residence in Canada via Express Entry and Provincial Nomination Programs. Will also serves as a legal advisor and advocate to Canadian families looking to reunite via family sponsorship.

Overall, Will believes in a client-focused approach, one that allows the companies and individuals he works with to present their case to Canadian immigration authorities with the needed balance of honesty, simplicity, and creativity.

Prior to joining Larlee Rosenberg, Will studied International Relations and History at UBC (with a focus on migration history) before attending the University of Ottawa for law school. At the University of Ottawa, Will co-founded the University of Ottawa Business Law Clinic, Canada’s first bilingual, bijural pro-bono business law clinic. In his final year of law school, Will spent a semester abroad in Chongqing and achieved Dean’s Honour List in his final year.

Will is proficient in Mandarin and enjoys sharing his experiences as a second-generation Chinese-Canadian. In his spare time, Will enjoys mentoring young lawyers and students and writing and blogging about immigration related issues. His law blog, Vancouver Immigration Blog (www.vancouverimmigrationblog.com ), was awarded a 2015 Clawbie for “Best New Law Blog” and is widely-consulted within the Canadian immigration legal and policy community. Will is a Board Member and Mentorship Chair with the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, British Columbia and a Committee Member of the City of Vancouver’s Cultural Communities Advisory Committee.

1) Road to Being an Immigration Lawyer –

Q: How did you transition into becoming an immigration lawyer?

2) Why Immigration Law?

Q: What are the benefits and challenges specific to practicing immigration law?

Q: Are you worried about pigeoning-holing yourself as a young practitioner?

3) Challenges of Being a Young Lawyer –

Q: How can a young lawyer stay competitive and provide value add in the immigration market?

Q: What type of skill sets does a young lawyer practitioner need?

Q: How has being of an immigrant background impacted your practice?

4) Value of Mentorship –

Q: why it is important to have a mentor when starting out?

Q: What arenas are there to access it?

Q: What advice do you have to senior practitioners looking to mentor a young immigration lawyer or retain immigration lawyers as associates?

5) Where you See Your Practice Going –

Q: What areas of immigration law are you particularly passionate about and hope to grow moving forward?

Q: Do you have a few examples of notable cases you have been involved in?

Q: How can people reach you?

You can contact Will Tao via e-mail: Will.Tao@larlee.com

Will’s Bio: http://www.larlee.com/lawyers/will-tao/

Larlee Rosenberg, Barristers and Solicitors: www.larlee.com

Will’s Blog –“Vancouver Immigration Blog”: http://vancouverimmigrationblog.com/[/spoiler]

Binge on all of our Canadian Immigration Podcast Episodes!

If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all the episodes here.

Ask Mark an Immigration Question

Periodically I answer listener questions on my podcast. If you have a question, comment, thought or concern, you can do so by clicking here. We’d love to hear from you. You can also leave me a voice message on the Ask an Immigration Question widget on the side bar of this website.

Subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the show. Share the Love

If you are an employer who is using the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in Canada, especially for low skilled workers, you will not want to miss this episode of the Canadian Immigration Podcast. The Liberal government under the direction of MaryAnn Mihychuk, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, has undertaken a review of the TFWP.  Join us this week as Russ Weninger, Canadian Immigration Lawyer, who has a particular expertise working with low skill TFWs in Canada, was recently quoted in an article published by the Calgary Herald, “Easing of temporary foreign workers Welcomed by Alberta Businesses.” Although focused on low skill and low-wage TFWs, this episode can benefit anyone who is hiring or looking to hire from the TFWP.

In this episode of the Canadian Immigration Podcast Canadian Immigration Lawyer, Russ Weninger, joined me for a conversation on the low-wage temporary foreign worker program and the problems that it faces as the Liberals mull over its future. Russ shared with me some great insight  on the program and hinted at various changes that need to be made and how navigate the complexities of the system right now.   

It was easy to see how much Russ cares about the low skill foreign worker in Canada. He was extremely generous in sharing his knowledge and experience which will definitely benefit anyone accessing the low-wage stream within the TFWP. Russ also shared some of the struggles employers face with the 10% cap and why he feels the whole system is arbitrary and does not reflect actual labour needs.

It was a pleasure to chat with Russ. He has a real unique perspective on low skill TFWs and it definitely showed throughout the interview.

In my interview with Russ, we cover the following areas:

• The LMIA process is like an impossible quest
• 10% cap imposed on employers employing low-wage foreign workers
• Challenges and abuses occuring within the TFWP
• Pathways to permanent residence for foreign workers
• The role of Immigration in Canada’s future

[Tweet “What does the future hold for the Canadian #TFWP?“]

Time Stamped Quick Reference Guide

In order to help you jump to the areas of most interest to you, I have included below some time stamps for some of the significant topics covered in this episode.

7:47 – Who is Russ Weninger

19:49 – How he got into immigration

21:15 – Overview of TFWP for low wage/skill workers

26:20 – Caps on low wage/skill workers

34:03 – Regardless of unemployment, some jobs stay open

38:09 – Path ways to permanent residence

31:00- Why you need to maintain proper records

41:30 – The practical side of immigration? 

47:10 – Greatest influence on Canadian Immigration Policy

50:41 – How to locate Russ Weninger – http://www.calgaryimmigrationlawyer.com/

Additional Resources:

• The best way to reach Russ Weninger : http://www.calgaryimmigrationlawyer.com/
• Call the office: 403-265-4496
• Life in Waterton
• Wealth Transfer in next 10 years
• Will your tablet replace your family doctor?
• 10 % Cap for TFWP
• Minister’s Statement on the TFWP
• Easing of temporary foreign worker caps welcomed by Alberta businesses

Listen to Mark Holthe’s Canadian Immigration Podcast

Topics for our Next Podcast

Read the Transcript

You can read additional notes for this episode, [spoiler]

CIP S1 E23: Podcast Show Notes – Russ Weninger- Temporary Foreign Worker Program Review – What does the future hold?

Russ Weninger is a Canadian Immigration Lawyer with an extensive knowledge for the low skill, low-wage TFWs and how to navigate the Immigration System. Russ’ enjoys volunteering for several organizations such as, The Calgary Legal Guidance, The Center for New Commerce, The Genesis Center, Law Day and the Kirby Center.  

In this episode of the Canadian immigration podcast we discussed the changes and issues within the low skill, low-wage workers and the temporary foreign worker program. Some of the specific areas covered include:

• LMIA seems to be an impossible quest.
• Cap on percentage of low-wage workers
• Challenges and abuse incidences of those in the TFWP
• Pathways to permanent residence
• The purpose of Immigration

[/spoiler]

Binge on all of our Canadian Immigration Podcast Episodes!

If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all the episodes here.

Ask Mark an Immigration Question

Periodically I answer listener questions on my podcast. If you have a question, comment, thought or concern, you can do so by clicking here. We’d love to hear from you. You can also leave me a voice message on the Ask an Immigration Question widget on the side bar of this website.

Subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the show. Share the Love

This is the fourth and final blog in a 4 Part series that examines the TFWP in depth and proposes why Express Entry is the solution for all that ails the TFWP. Read, comment, criticize or praise. The purpose of this blog is to create dialogue.

Transitioning from reliance on the TFWP to adopting Express Entry is not a stretch. 

Currently, any candidate with an LMIA support Job Offer is virtually guaranteed to be drawn from the Express Entry pool and receive an Invitation to Apply for permanent resident status in Canada. One of the primary purposes of Express Entry is to ensure that special priority is given to candidates that fill labour shortages in the country.

Whether you are a Rocket Scientist or a Food Service Supervisor, if your job offer from a Canadian employer is supported by an LMIA, your chances of obtaining permanent resident status in Canada skyrockets. Regardless of your occupation, provided it is considered to be “skilled work” you have an equal opportunity at the golden ticket to permanent resident status.

For many foreign nationals seeking to immigrate to Canada from countries where economic opportunity is limited, finding an employer willing to obtain a Permanent Labour Market Impact Assessment (PLMIA) is a lot like the experience of Charlie in the Warner Bros. movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Finding an employer with a PLMIA supported job offer is like Charlie finding that last “golden ticket” in his Wonka Bar.

Currently, the golden ticket route requires an employer to show there are no Canadians or permanent residents of Canada available to fill the position before the LMIA can be granted. In essence, the government has superimposed the TFWP requirements on the Express Entry regime and given special priority to these candidates by awarding them a whopping 600 out of the maximum 1200 CRS points for their super charged Job Offer. With ITAs being granted consistently to candidates below 600 points, the government has sent a message that any skilled worker seeking to immigrate to Canada is welcomed with open arms if they can show their arrival in Canada is not going to cause a Canadian to lose an opportunity for work.

Some may say this transposition of the TFWP onto the Express Entry regime is a bad thing.

However, I believe it actually opens the doors wide open for Express Entry to truly replace the TFWP as the primary option for employers.

The only challenge is that the government is going to need to create some incentives for employers to “choose” Express Entry over the TFWP.

Why?

Because it is very clear that “bad employers” will not want to part with the TFWP easily. After all, if they bring in a foreign worker under the TFWP, they control that worker. If that worker comes in as a permanent resident of Canada, they are a “free agent” and the employer has no more power over them than any other Canadian employee.

I believe it is for this exact reason that the Express Entry system is the answer when it comes to all that is wrong with the TFWP. However, let me start by explaining what permanent resident status means to each of the stakeholders involved (foreign workers, employers, and finally the government)

Express Entry – What’s in it for the foreign national?

It means labour mobility – the ability to work “condition free” anywhere in Canada pursuant to section 6 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

It means the foreign worker is no longer tied to an employer unless “they” want to continue working for them.

It means their future in Canada is not determined by their ability to keep their employer happy.

It means no more exploitation of the vulnerable – if an employer treats you like garbage, you move on to another employer.

It means they as  newly landed permanent residents are free to enjoy virtually every benefit a Canadian citizen enjoys except the right to vote.

Simply put….it means no more abuse at the hands of bad employers. And what foreign national would not jump at the chance to have control over the lives and their future in Canada. To no longer have to feel trapped in a job because it is the only means for them to be able to continue providing for their families back home…and most importantly, the only means by which they can obtain permanent resident status in Canada.

Express Entry – What’s in it for the good employers?

Clearly the Express Entry process is pretty awesome for a newly landed permanent resident of Canada; however, what’s really in for the good employers? I just want to remind you that there is nothing attractive about Express Entry to “bad employers.” It undermine their position of power and forces them to have to work to keep their employees.

Employers complain that if they put in the time and resources to bring someone here as a permanent resident of Canada, there is no guarantee they will stay with them. My response, to this concern is:

“then create an atmosphere in which they want to stay”

In the old TFWP system, the bad employers were rewarded because they didn’t have to be good. They knew the foreign workers were tied to them for as long as they could drag things out until they obtained permanent resident status. This would not be the case in the new world of Express Entry because:

“bad employers are punished for being bad employers.”

And who punishes them?

Not the government. Not the Integrity Services Branch Officers of ESDC.

The market does.

If a bad employer tries to treat their new PR like they did within the TFWP, the new PR will not last a month with that employer. They will move on to greener pastures where they are treated better….

…better wages, better working conditions, and better opportunities with better employers….good employers!

For years we have listened to the President of the Alberta Federation of Labour, Gil McGown slag the TFWP. One of his chief gripes was the perceived downward pressure on wages. When a foreign sourced worker comes through the Express Entry regime with an official Express Entry Job Offer, wages are no longer an issue. The market will dictate what that new PR will get paid.

Yes, I know that the LMIAs that support these Express Entry Job Offers are approved at the prevailing wage. However, once a foreign national becomes a permanent resident of Canada, the conditions imposed through the LMIA are unenforceable against the employer and the new PR.

So theoretically, much to Gil’s chagrin, an employer could pay the newly arrived PR minimum wage if not otherwise governed by a collective agreement.

However, the reality is that very few new PRs would put up with that for long. The market would make the correction because these new PRs are free to explore every opportunity available to them. And that includes telling an abusive, underpaying, bad employer to take a hike.

See…..good loyal workers are not easy to find these days and with complete labour mobility, the new PR would likely have no trouble finding a new job that paid more. So if bad employers are not able to keep these newly hired PRs at the low wages they are offering, guess what happens?

Surprise, surprise…..wages go up!

And if bad employers are unable to keep their newly recruited PRs, and presumably unable to entice Canadians to work for them, guess what happens to bad employers?

They are put out of business.

I can not see any scenario where shutting down bad employers is harmful for our economy.

Bad employers are inevitably replaced by good employers. Employers who treat their workers with respect and in turn earn their loyalty. Loyal employees care about their jobs and are far more productive than those who are simply showing up to collect their pay cheque. Good employers are rewarded for being good employers because they no longer have to compete against bad employers that grind their profits out of their employees through oppression, abuse and exploitation.

Now what good employer doesn’t like a level playing field?

Express Entry – What’s in it for the Government

But a level playing field only benefits the employers. What about the government? Why does it makes sense for the government to entice employers to use Express Entry over the TFWP?

Remember what I said about the dog barking and barking, but never biting?

Well……with Express Entry as the primary tool for meeting our labour shortages, why do we even need a guard dog in the first place?

If foreign nationals are coming to fill jobs in Canada through Express Entry, they come as permanent residents. The entire need for a robust enforcement regime completely washes away. Each of these newly landed PRs are strategically serving the dual purpose of filling current labour shortages as well as counting towards our annual immigration levels planning targets.

The government was going to be bringing these folks in under one economic category or another anyways, so we might as well get rid of the pain and suffering that accompanies the TFWP and bypass the middle man by recruiting them directly into PR status.

Think of the millions of dollars that have been wasted on the enforcement arm of the TFWP. I am not going to rehash all of the reasons I gave previously for its ineffectiveness and misguided priorities. Suffice it to say that if foreign workers were instead brought in directly as PRs, there would be no need for a naughty list, employer compliance reviews, inspections, monetary penalty regimes, an online fraud reporting tool, or even a robust Integrity Services Branch.

As a side note, Immigration lawyer, Betsy Kane, of Capelle Kane Immigration Lawyers in Ottawa, prepared a great blog on the Employer Compliance Review process and provided an ESDC Inspection Document Checklist that is a great resource for assisting employers going through an inspection. So if you are an employer currently going through an inspection, definitely check out this blog.

Each province in Canada has their own Employment Standard Branch, so the position of Integrity Services Officer with ESDC becomes almost redundant. I wonder if the Canada Revenue Agency would be able to give these officers their jobs back if these positions became obsolete?

Imagine what Canada would be like if the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, The Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk, could forget about the TFWP and instead focus all of her energies on the top priorities set out in her Ministerial Mandate Letter from Prime Minister Trudeau.

As she undergoes her current review of the TFWP, I am not surprised that she has been somewhat vocal in her desire to simply scrap the whole thing. Prime Minister Trudeau gave her a very clear mandate on what she was expected to accomplish within her portfolio. Noticeably, overhauling the TFWP was not on her list.

One of my colleagues made one of the best suggestions I have heard in a long time. She suggested that given Minister Mihychuk’s mandate, the TFWP is likely better suited to be slotted within the mandate of Minister John McCallum and his Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada than within her portfolio of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour.

I couldn’t agree more…..and suspect both Ministers would likely not disagree either.

One huge problem – Express Entry is not open to low skill workers

However, there is one critical component to the entire Express Entry discussion that must be addressed. Only “skilled workers” are current eligible to participate in Express Entry.

So all of my wonderful eloquence regarding the virtues of Express Entry in protecting the vulnerable, punishing the bad employers and saving the government millions of dollars in their feeble attempts to enforce the TFWP are all pretty much useless unless low skill workers are somehow accommodated within the Express Entry regime.

Under the Express Entry system, the only pathways to PR are through the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Trade Program, or a participating Provincial Nominee Program. None of these programs contemplates someone with only low skill work experience. As such, a new set of criteria would have to be created and tailored specifically to low skill workers with LMIA supported Job Offers.

If I tried to provide a comprehensive overview of what a low skill Express Entry program could look like, this blog would likely break all records for blog length and result in no one reading it. It’s likely many people have already given up before we got to the good stuff.

However, as I stated previously, my goal in writing this blog is to stimulate discussion.

I am going to set out below two simple suggestions that if considered, could contribute to a system that may just work for all stakeholders. If you like these suggestions, then let me know. If you have alternative ideas that you would like to share, leave a comment below, or better yet, leave me a digital voice message by clicking on the “Ask an Immigration Question” on the right side bar of the CanadianImmigrationPodcast.com website.

There is nothing better than an open source think tank for resolving the difficult issues of the day. So don’t be afraid to sound off. This should be fun. For any of you daring enough to leave a voice message, I will select the best ones and share them with everyone on a Podcast Episode I intend to dedicate entirely to this topic.

Maybe I could get Minister Mihychuk to join me to discuss her thoughts on the topic as well. (Yes I know there is about a .00001% chance of that happening).

Here are my two suggested strategies for replacing the Low Skill TFWP with the Express Entry system.

1. First look to the Provincial Nominee Programs to accommodate low skill workers through special Express Entry Streams

Some of our Provincial Nominee Programs have experience administering low skill (semi-skill) streams that are driven by employers. These programs are traditionally focused on transitioning low skill foreign workers into PR status (TFW flips) when they have gained a certain amount of work experience in that province. However, with some encouragement from the Feds, some Provinces may be willing to work with industries experiencing low skill shortages to issue nominations that are specifically designed for the fast track Express Entry process.

One point of contention has always rested with the number of nominations granted to a Province each year. For Provinces such as Alberta where low skill foreign workers have formed a significant portion of the AINPs annual quotas, any discuss about the 5500 current allocations going to Express Entry has been met with considerable resistance. However, by allocating additional nominations to the AINP for the sole purpose of a Low Skill Express Entry program – this may just be something Brad Trefan, Director of the AINP just might be willing to entertain.

In fact, the AINP has already experimented with an Alberta Experience Class that opened the door for any low skill worker with Alberta work experience to qualify for nomination provided they had a sufficient level of English language ability.

This option is entirely doable if the PNPs were granted additional allocations for this purpose. However, I’m just not sure whether or not Minister McCallum would be willing to do so. In previous speaking engagements he has reiterated that immigration is a Federal program and he is reluctant to allocate additional nominations to the provinces when they already form a sizeable portion of the economic immigration quota. In Season 1 Episode 13 of the Canadian Immigration Podcast, I shared some of the highlights from Minister McCallum’s speech to the National Immigration Section of the Canadian Bar Association at our annual conference held in Vancouver this year. Minister McCallum was pretty clear that no additional allocations to the PNPs would be coming anytime soon!

2. Create a Federal Low Skilled Worker Program (FLSWP) within Express Entry

There is nothing preventing the government from creating a program similar in kind to the Federal Skilled Worker Program where PLMIA supported Job Offers are a prerequisite to eligibility. In order to ensure candidates have the greatest chance of success upon arriving in Canada, a separate FLSWP selection grid could be created to target candidates with human capital factors ideally situated to success within the program (language, age, education, and work experience).

Further, in order to ensure employers do not waste time obtaining PLMIAs for candidates that do not meet the minimum threshold for the FLSWP, some form of mandatory mechanism could be put in place to ensure that candidates are pre-approved for the FLSWP before an employer can start the PLMIA process.

Now if only there was some form of “government sponsored employer/ employee matching service” that could be used to connect pre-approved candidates with Canadian employers.

Oh that’s right…..there already is an e-Harmony for employers and employees right under our noses. Maybe the FLSWP could actually bring life into the Job Match system that has turned out to be a wholly ineffective tool for matching employers with employees.

Closing comments and tying off loose ends

I don’t want the TFWP shut down for skilled workers, just low skilled

Despite my souring on the TFWP, I want it to be known that I am not calling for a complete shut down of the TFWP. I feel that it has a vital role to play within the ranks of skilled workers including specialized technicians and service providers, professionals, and most importantly senior managers and executive level positions.

However, I will go on the record by stating that I would not have a problem if the low skilled (low wage) program was axed in favour of a direct pathway to permanent residence for these foreign nationals filling low wage positions.

I honestly believe it would be good for our economy and good for our country generally. Especially if the PLMIA regime continued to ensure these low skill candidates are filling positions that Canadians simply do not want to work in.

The only exception I see to scrapping the low skill program is the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) which really kick started the entire low skill program in the first place. I am not sure how else to manage the needs of agriculture without retaining this program. However, with all of the new found time Integrity Service Branch Officers should have on their hands, they could allocate this time to conducting site visits on the farms to truly make sure these employers are behaving themselves.

If Minister Mihychuk scraps the TFWP altogether, expand the IMP to accommodate

I also want to go on record by stating that if the TFWP were to be scrapped entirely, then all of these skilled positions need to be accommodated within the International Mobility Program (IMP).

The Significant Benefit (C10) category could be expanded to include a broader definition of significant benefit. Further, for specialized service providers, owner/operators and other unique situations, it would not take much to accommodate for them within the IMP as well.

However, for all other skilled workers, the answer is simple.

Encourage employers to recruit foreign nationals to fill areas of critical skill shortage through the Express Entry system.

The employer has to go through the same LMIA process regardless of bringing the foreign national in as a foreign worker or a permanent resident. All of my arguments for doing so support this natural conclusion. I am also pleased to know that Minister McCallum also supports this conclusion as outlined in previous blogs.

Ultimately, only time will tell what the latest overhaul to the TFWP will look like. With any luck, the government will read this blog, examine the numerous comments that will most assuredly be left below and develop a solution that solves everyone’s concerns

……..as long as that solution is Express Entry.

By now, most people are fully aware of the fact that the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is once again facing a whole new review by Minister Mihychuk and the Liberal government. Some say that Minister Mihychuk is ready to scrap the whole thing. Others say the Minister may actually use what is learned from these consultations to reshape the TFWP in a positive way.

Regardless of which rumour is true, one thing is certain…..Overhaul deja vu is on its way.

Not surprisingly, I am yet to receive an invitation to appear before the HUMA Standing Committee charged with the responsibility of conducting the TFWP review.

I am not an industry leader. I am not the head of a large corporation. I am not someone of influence the government would really even pay attention to.

However, like other Canadian immigration lawyers who have earned a living providing advice to companies and foreign workers whose businesses and lives depended upon the program, I figure I might just have something to offer.

So what better way to get my message heard than to write a blog.

The blog itself kind of got away from me a little. Because of this, I have chosen to break it down into a series of blogs that I hope will add a different perspective  to the whole discussion.

I’m not exactly sure how this series of blogs will unfold. However, I want everyone to understand that the time I took in drafting this was designed purely for the purposes of stimulating discussion and hopefully gaining the ear of the HUMA Standing Committee as well as Minister Mihychuk and Minister McCallum who are both inextricably intertwined with the TFWP and the solution going forward.

So the best thing in the world people can do when they read this blog is to leave a comment below and tell everyone what they think.

Express Entry is the Solution

Regardless of what Minister Mihychuk ultimately chooses to do with the TFWP, I think the future of Canada’s labour shortage challenges rests not in the TFWP, but actually in the Express Entry regime.

Despite the downturn in the economy in Canada, Canadian employers continue to experience skilled and unskilled labour shortages in many industries and regions. Employers have relied heavily on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) to source foreign workers when local Canadians and permanent residents are unwilling, or unavailable to fill these positions.

Currently, employers experiencing labour shortages first turn to the TFWP, then the Provincial Nominee Programs and lastly the Express Entry regime. IRCC Minister John McCallum has indicated that he would like to see the reverse of this with Express Entry as the first choice for employers and the TFWP being the option of last resort.

As an immigration lawyer who has spent his entire career working with Canadian employers to access the TFWP to source foreign workers (at all wage levels), I have to admit that I actually agree with our Liberal Minister. Taking into consideration the collective needs of all stakeholders, Express Entry is by far a better solution than the TFWP.

Now let me clarify a few things before I cause any concern amongst my fellow Board Members on the Conservative EDA in Lethbridge, Alberta…..I am definitely not trading in my blue shirt for a red one. I want to reassure you and our esteemed MP Rachael Harder that I am still batting for the Right team (pun intended).

So without wasting any more time with my windup, here is the pitch…

History of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

But before I dive right into my rational, let me start with a little history lesson on the TFWP to provide some context for those of you coming late to the game.

Over the past ten years, statistics have shown that the use of the TFWP has mirrored the Province of Alberta’s boom and bust cycle. In the early to mid 2000s, the TFWP was heralded as the saviour to Alberta and the rest of the country’s critical labour shortage needs. With unemployment rates remaining below 4% from 2005 to 2008 (3% in October 2006), my then 11 year old daughter could have applied for a Labour Market Opinion (now rebranded as a Labour Market Impact Assessment) and obtained an approval.

The role of Service Canada was that of a facilitator during the boom and definitely not the gatekeeper we know them to be today. Employers struggling to complete the LMO application forms in Alberta could contact Service Canada and the officers  would go so far as to almost fill out the forms for the employers.  They would explain exactly what the employer needed to do to obtain an approval and if the employer still got it wrong, would give them chance after chance until they finally got it right. After all, it was common knowledge that labour shortages existed across all industries.

It didn’t take long for industries like food service and hospitality to jump on board. In fact, they did more than jump on board – they built an entire fleet of ships to take full advantage of the TFWP. Franchises started reworking their human resource model to take advantage of the TFWP.

It wasn’t long before the greater portion of our fast food restaurants and hotel chains were staffed almost entirely with foreign workers…..and who could blame them? As a business owner, what scenario would you rather have….10 casual Canadian employees that may or may not show up for their shifts each day, or 3 full time foreign workers that you could count on to work  their tails off each day and considered it a privilege to even have a job.

Unfortunately, in an effort to ensure that the foreign workers were not taking away jobs from Canadians, extreme restrictions were placed on the terms of employment creating a terrible power imbalance for the employer.  Now I understand why ESDC did what it did. However, the power imbalance that traditionally exists between any employer and its employees is magnified 100 fold within the low-skill (low wage) program of the TFWP.

NOTE: For the purposes of this blog, I intend to use the term “low-skill” instead of “low wage” because it more properly correlates with IRCCs consistent reference to “skilled workers” within the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its regs.

Exploitation and abuse of low skill foreign workers

Foreign workers working in low skill (low wage) positions are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.  Let me explain why.

Foreign workers working in Canada on an LMO/LMIA based work permit are typically authorized to work for only one employer, at a specific location, in a specific position, for a set wage. Any variation to these conditions would be considered unauthorized work for the foreign worker and trigger potential remove from Canada. Employers could be found non-compliant and subject to sanction.

In the height of the boom, the government was more focused on meeting the significant labour demands of Canadian employers versus checking up to see if employers were actually following the rules and treating their foreign workers fairly.

Because foreign workers were generally not aware of the seriousness of the employment conditions imposed by the government, some nasty employers took full advantage of them.

Some classic examples of exploitation included requiring the workers to work 18 hour days, 7 days a week, with no overtime. In some cases truly nasty employers  required their low skill foreign workers to pay back, in cash, the difference between what the LMIA required the employer to pay and what the employer really wanted to pay the foreign worker. By requiring “cash back”, the employer was able to maintain payroll records that complied with the terms of the LMIA in case they were ever audited during an Employer Compliance Review (ECR).

….yes this did happen….and far too frequently.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am definitely not saying that all employers treat their foreign workers like indentured servants. They absolutely do not….I and many of my colleagues act for and work as in-house counsel for many wonderful employers that treat their foreign workers like family and do all they can to help them in their journey to become permanent residents of Canada.

Significant non-compliance does occurs within the low skill program

From my experience, the percentage of non-compliant employers within the ranks of the low skill program was, and still is, significant.

Some may say….you can’ t know that for sure. This may be true. However, I believe that the sample size of interactions I have had with employers and foreign workers within the TFWP gives me just as much of a platform to make these statements as those who disagree with me.

As an immigration lawyer, anyone who speaks with me benefits from solicitor client privilege. Because of that, foreign workers are much more willing to tell me when the rules are being broken because they know I can not share this information with anyone else.

I have had a steady stream of low skill foreign workers coming to my office for assistance, but in almost every single case, they refused to go to the authorities about the abuse they were suffering. Some days I wish I wasn’t a lawyer subject to “solicitor client privilege” because then I could have taken action independently by leave anonymous little messages on the Online Immigration Fraud Reporting Tool.

So with high rates of non-compliance within the low skill ranks of the TFWP, coupled with the equally acknowledged need for foreign labour in various industries, I am going to share with you in Part 2 of my blog exactly why I feel Express Entry is the solution.

Part 2 will be released tomorrow…..

If you are an international student, temporary foreign worker, immigration lawyer, consultant, HR manager, global mobility specialist, Canadian employer or just plain old Canadian citizen or permanent resident with a curiosity in Immigration … you’ll be regretting the day you didn’t listen to this Podcast.

As promised in Episode 12 of the Canadian Immigration Podcast, I am going to share with you in this Episode everything I learned from Immigration Minister John McCallum on April 8, 2016 in his speech to the CBA’s National Immigration Section in Vancouver during our National Immigration Law Conference.

Because I can not resist my Top 10 lists……here is another one for you!

Immigration Minister John McCallum responded to questions from reporters at the Canadian Bar Association’s Immigration Law Conference April 8, 2016. (CBC)

(Thank you CBA News – I wasn’t close enough to get a better picture myself)

My Top 10 Canadian Immigration trends for 2016 – straight from the mouth of our Immigration Minister, The Honourable John McCallum:

1.   The Liberals actually care what us Canadian immigration lawyers think – who knew?

2.   Canadians like refugees after all and it will continue that way for the foreseeable future.

3.   Sayonara to two tiered Canadian Citizenship – “A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian.” 

4.   The Family Feud is over….Family Class processing on its way down!

5.   The Minister hates the term “Economic Immigrant” – all immigrants contribute regardless of program.

6.  Express Entry is having “unintended consequences” that must be addressed.

7.   Complete overhaul to the Live-in Caregiver program on its way!

8.  IRCC versus CBSA – definitely a “good cop” – “bad cop” situation!

9.   What does the future hold for PNPs? Status quo according to Minister McCallum

10.  International Students – the calvary is on its way!

[Tweet “What’s in store for Canadian Immigration Policy in 2016“]

Listen to Mark Holthe’s Canadian Immigration Podcast

Topics for our Next Podcast

Read the Transcript

You can read additional notes for this episode, [spoiler]

Sunny Days ahead for people seeking to immigrate to Canada in 2016

Immigration Forecast for 2016 with Minister John McCallum, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada.

There has been considerable coverage of the Liberal government’s sweeping changes to immigration culture in Canada.

As quickly as the Conservative government changed many of the countries old immigration laws and programs, the Liberals have been just as fast to announce their intention to reverse them.

So the big question is……

….where exactly are the Liberals headed?

In Episode 12 of the Canadian Immigration Podcast, I shared some brief highlights from a speech given by the Minister of IRCC, John McCallum to the Canadian Bar Association’s National Immigration Section members who attended our Annual Conference in Vancouver April 7-9, 2016. I also promised that more would be coming…. so here it is!

My Top 10 List of Highlights from Minister McCallum’s Speech to the CBA Immigration Section

As you can tell, I really like the whole Top 10 Concept. Hopefully this list will actually have 10 highlights as opposed to Episode 12 of the Canadian Immigration Podcast where I somehow skipped a number and ended up with only 9 on my Top 10 list.

At any rate, if you have anything to do with Canadian immigration, whether as a lawyer, consultant, HR manager, Global Mobility Specialist, foreign national, or even Canadian employer, you are not going to want to miss this Top 10 List.

I want to start off this Podcast with one caveat. I am a 100% true and blue card carrying Conservative Party member. I hold these values dear and intend to continue my active involvement with the party long into the future. However, with this being said, and despite my best efforts to find fault, there was very little I could complain about with the vision Mr. McCallum has for immigration in Canada.

So here we go….

1. The Liberals are actually willing to listen to Immigration Lawyers and their clients in shaping the immigration landscape of Canada into the future. 

MM Knows that CBA has worked on this day and night – he has read our reports on TFWP and EE – Minister impressed with CBAs contribution – didn’t disagree with anything.

Stark contrast to the previous regime. Basically considered their relations with the CBA to be adversarial.

2. Update on the Refugee situation in Canada and future intentions

Succeeded in bringing 25,000 refugees to Canada by end of February 2016

They went from a situation were the main concerns of Canadians was security especially at the time of the Paris attacks and these concerns evolved to a huge welcome provided by Canada across the country to these refugees.

Quote:

Minister McCallum felt he was the “only immigration minister in the whole world whose main challenge was to provide enough Syrian refugees to satisfy the overwhelming generosity of people who want sponsor them.

Have committed to bringing in another 10, 000 which they will expedite as quickly as possible

The liberal levels planning calls for a 300,000 target – which is an absolute maximum – one more refugee means one less of something else

The Liberals have already quadrupled the number of refugees and have reached the limit.

Restored Refugee Healthcare

3. Canadian Citizenship Act – revoked in part

Bill C6 – introduced by the Liberals to ensure – one class of Canadians in Canada and they believe a “Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian” – “the place for terrorists is in jail not at the airport”

4. Various Changes to Family Class Applications

• – Restoration of age of dependence from 19 back to 22

MM signed documents restoring the age of dependants to 22. However, it will take a 1 ½ years to go through the regulatory process.

Goodness knows why going from 19 to 22 should take a year and a half. Too bad I couldn’t use ministerial instruction on that.

Minister is generally opposed to Ministerial Instructions, but some times they do come in handy. 

• – Ending of 2 year conditional status on Spousal Applications.

• – Committed in the election to bring down substantially the processing times of Family Class members. 

Quote: 

“Just as he is very proud as a CDN for refugees coming in, ashamed that the heavy hand of the CDN state keeps spouses apart for 2 years. This is unacceptable. This is not something that can be fixed like flicking a switch with Bill C6. On this one it takes longer.”

Solution will be to increase the capacity for immigration in this country

– the max is currently at 300,000 – want to increase this to accommodate the possibility of more immigrants and more spouses to get these processing times.

We will do this by: 1) more money and 2) more importantly need to do things more efficiently. Need to learn from experience in Lebanon and Jordon with the Refugees – where they processed applications fast, but equally well, super fast, but concurrently, ABC together, not A then B then C.

Must transfer over the experience with refugees to family class applications – do it just as well, but much more efficiently. – we did it for refugees, so of course we can do it for other – he told his department to “get to work”. This is what the department is doing – we will have positive news on spouses in coming weeks. – which could means months as usual.

5. Changes to Economic Class Applications

On “Economic Immigrants” – MM hates this term because all immigrants are economic. When you say “economic immigrants” it implies that the economic immigrants contribute and the others do not.

In 2016 many family members work – parents and grandparents enable the father and mother to work even when they do not work.

Refugees also work and contribute in the medium run – “let’s not use the word economic immigrants because all immigrants contribute to the country in one degree or another”

6. Possible changes to the Express Entry regime

In election campaign the liberals were neither critical nor praising of EE because it was so brand new. Now in process of seeking ways to reform express entry and MM values CBA input….

Had a meeting with Ontario Business People at an Ontario Chamber of Commerce and they ranked the different streams for PR status in Canada as:

TFWP

PNP,

EE

MM would like to see this reversed.

Express Entry should be the favored process for businesses wanting immigrants, then PNP, then TFW.

Challenge for MM is to make EE more flexible, more fluid, more desirable for businesses wanting to bring immigrants to Canada. Make it the first choice and not the third choice of businesses.

The First proposed change and most for sure is He thinks International Students are the best source of immigrant to Canada– because they know French and English, because they know Canada, because they are educated, because they are young, all good reasons to be great Canadians

“we should encourage them to come here and not slap them in the face by taking away their 50% credit for time in Canada, so I want to make it easier and give more points to facilitate their entry to Canada as PRs, that is pretty well for sure, other things are less for sure…

… looking at possibly less points for people getting LMIA approved Job Offer because right now  it is totally dominant and has certain unintended consequences. Possibly limit ore eliminate the use of the LMIA under Express Entry…. NOT committed to doing this, but certainly committed to looking at doing it very seriously. It is something they will look into very seriously.

7. Proposed Overhaul of the Live-in Caregiver Program 

MM thinks it is a great program both for young people and aging people – processing times will be coming down automatically in the next months. One major thing is that they will honor their campaign promise make significant changes to how the program works. They intend to a have a system of regulated companies who hire caregivers on behalf of families needing them and deploy them to households that need them.

Changes will help Families because they will be spared the hassle of the LMIA AND– will benefit the caregiver because if household is a problem, the company can transfer caregiver from household A to B. thus protecting the interestswill help both sides, the family and caregivers by doing this.

8. How is IRCC dealing with the challenges of two departments (including CBSA) administering immigration?

Sunny Days have arrived with IRCC, but have not yet arrived with CBSA.

– Separation of immigration into CIC and CBSA in the past

Question = has any consideration been given to bringing CBSA and IRCC back together?

He can’t speak for CBSA, but knows there has been a culture of enforcement throughout CBSA that public servants are awarded for catching as many bad people as possible. Understand there is a quota for how many refugees they expose – there is definitely scope for improvement within CBSA – Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety is working on these issues.

9. What does the future hold for Provincial Nominee Programs?

When asked whether Liberals are considering increasing allocation of nominations to the provinces? MM is of two minds on this issue. He is willing to do whatever is best for the country, but being a federal person, it is not to have the federal roll disappear altogether. 50% of economic immigrants come through the PNPs. If that is best for Canada…fine.

But big theme of his speech was to improve EE so it becomes the first choice for employers. So priority right now is to improve EE. Want companies to see the Federal program EE as their first choice of what is most flexible, best, accommodating choice, there would be less demand on PNPs each year – he wants to add more immigration, but first desire is to improve the federal program so that is more attractive for employers.

10. What is in store for International Students?

some people say MM has a habit of moving too fast, but some times it is important to do it fast – there is some urgency in this matter (international students)– thinking of doing the following in stages:

Stage 1 – give more points to students under Express Entry

Stage 2- do other things to improve EE

but hoping for him to do the student thing as quickly as he can – you would agree that Ministerial Instructions for these purposes are for a good cause.

[/spoiler]

Binge on all of our Canadian Immigration Podcast Episodes!

If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all the episodes here.

Ask Mark an Immigration Question

Periodically I answer listener questions on my podcast. If you have a question, comment, thought or concern, you can do so by clicking here. We’d love to hear from you. You can also leave me a voice message on the Ask an Immigration Question widget on the side bar of this website.

Subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the show. Share the Love

Welcome to Season 1, Episode 6 of the Canadian Immigration Podcast. In this episode I will be discussing how the New Liberal Government’s Canadian Immigration Reforms impact the lives of temporary foreign workers and future immigrants in Canada.  

As many of you are aware, we now have a new government in Ottawa. This government has released an ambitious “New Plan for Canadian Immigration“. In this podcast I am going to be explaining how these proposed changes will impact the lives of Canadians, future immigrants and temporary foreign workers in Canada.

In this podcast, I will discuss each of the proposed changes in more detail.  These changes affect the following general areas of immigration:

1. Refugees
2. Foreign Visa Requirements
3. Reunification of Families
4. Citizenship
5. Express Entry program
6. Temporary Foreign Worker Program

[Tweet “Do you know how the Liberal government’s proposed changes to Canadian immigration may impact you?“]

Listen to Mark Holthe’s Canadian Immigration Podcast

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• What changes the Liberal government intends to make to immigration policy in Canada.
• How these changes impact the various groups accessing the immigration system.
• Links to the relevant government websites and helpful resources.
• Projections as to what these changes could mean for the future of immigration.
• Answers to listener questions in the following areas:
  • How families can immigrate to Canada.
  • Whether or not an LMIA can support a work permit and Express Entry
  • How to determine if your foreign work experience is skilled

Explore Additional Resources

In this episode we mentioned the following resources:

• Real Change: A New Plan for Canadian Immigration and Economic Opportunity: https://www.liberal.ca/files/2015/09/A-new-plan-for-Canadian-immigration-and-economic-opportunity.pdf
• Liberal Party Platform: What does Real Change Mean to you?: https://www.liberal.ca/realchange/
• Express Entry – The secret to finding your correct NOC!:  http://www.canadianimmigrationpodcast.com/express-entry-the-secret-to-finding-your-correct-noc/

Canadian Immigration Institute

We just completed our very first Pilot Course on how to submit your Express Entry profile (Phase 1). It was a resounding success. We will be releasing within the next two weeks,  Phase 2 of our Express Entry Pilot Course which will cover how to file your permanent resident application after receiving an ITA.

If you would like to register for the course, please subscribe to my mailing list in the top right corner of this site and you will be the first to receive notification when the new pilot course is released.

Questions for our Next Podcast

Read the Transcript

You can read additional notes for this episode, [spoiler]

Canadian Immigration Podcast – Season 1 Episode 6

The New Liberal Government’s Immigration Reforms

How changes impact foreign workers and prospective immigrants?

”We will make it easier for immigrants to build successful lives in Canada, and contribute to the economic success of all Canadians.”

“Immigration has always been an important part of Canada’s economic growth, but over the past decade, Stephen Harper has turned his back on welcoming those who want to contribute to our country’s success.”

1. Refugees: “We will renew and expand our commitment to helping resettle more refugees, and deliver a refugee program that is safe, secure, and humane.”
   1. Settle 25,000 Syrian refugees by Jan 1
      1. Well underway
   2. Invest $250 million ($100 million this year) to increase refugee processing, sponsorship and settlement
   3. Restoration of Interim Federal Health Program
      1. Provided limited and temporary health benefits to refugee claimants
   4. Appoint individuals with appropriate subject-matter expertise to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board.
   5. Establish an expert human rights panel to determine designated countries of origin, and provide a right to appeal refugee decisions for citizens from these countries
2. Removed Visa Requirements from Mexican Citizens
   1. Phasing out visa requirements for other countries
3. Emphasis on Family Reunification: “We will take immediate steps to reopen Canada’s doors, and will make reuniting families a top priority. “
   1. We will also nearly double the budget for processing family class sponsorship.
      1. Reducing wait times for spousal sponsorship and Parental sponsorship
   2. Double parent and grandparent entry applications to 10,000 a year
      1. Currently taking 8-10 years to process
      2. Remove conditional PR (currently 2 years live together)
   3. Increase age of dependency from 19 to 22
      1. Many children between 19 -22 are in school and still depend upon parents
   4. Citizenship:
      1. Repeal Controversial provisions in the Citizenship Act to strip citizenship from dual nationals
      2. Bill C-24 – created second class citizens and more difficult to become citizens
      3. Crediting individuals for residency time prior to PR as it did before
   5. Express Entry:
      1. will provide more opportunities for applicants who have Canadian siblings by giving additional points under the Express Entry system
      2. We will make changes to the Canadian Experience Class to reduce the barriers to immigration that have been imposed on international students.
   6. Temporary Foreign Worker Program:
      1. Removal of $1000 LMIA fee for caregivers of physically or mentally disabled family members
      2. Better regulate caregiver agencies
         1. “We will also work with the provinces and territories to develop a system of regulated companies to hire caregivers on behalf of families. This will make it simpler for families to hire caregivers, and protect caregivers by allowing them to change employers in the case of bad relations or abuse.”

Listener Questions:

Question 1

From: Hasanova

Subject: Immigration to Canada

Message Body:

I live in Azerbaijan with my family and I am expressing a deep interest in migrating to Canada for a better life for my family.

Question 2

From: sagun

Subject: express entry and work permit

Message Body:

Hi,

I would like to inquiry that if I have Job offer letter supported by LMIA by a company in supervisor post. Can I apply for Work Permit as well as FSW Express entry program together? Please reply me.

Sincerely yours

sagun

Question 3

From: aruna

Subject: canada immigration

Message Body:

Is experience in banking consider as skilled work experience?

See Blog: “Express Entry – The secret to finding your correct NOC!” wrote on September 28. Found on www.CanadianImmigrationPodcast.com  website.

Report on Express Entry Pilot Course – Canadian Immigration Institute

• Express Entry Pilot Course on submitting your profile was completed yesterday November 21^st.

• Fantastic group of people involved. It was a lot of fun.

• Gained great insight into the areas that give people the most trouble.

• I will use this wonderful insight in creating the full Express Entry course

• Now that Phase 1 is done, I will be sending out an invitation to participate in Phase 2 of my pilot which will cover all aspects of filing your PR application after you receive an ITA.

• Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.

Questions for our Next Podcast

If you have an immigration question you would like to leva with me, there is a number of ways to do it.

• You can leave it in the comments section under this podcast,
• connect with me on Facebook at the Canadian Immigration Podcast facebook page.
• I can also be reached through LinkedIn and Twitter,
• and even on my law firm website: Holthe Tilleman LLP.

Because of the high number of questions I get, I am not always able to answer each person individually. I am really sorry for this. However, I will try to select the best questions that I get most frequently and podcast the answer as I have done in this episode. So please don’t hesitate to send your immigration related questions my way.

Subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast on iTunes

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review.

That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the show.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my mailing list as well.

Links to Resources:

Real Change: A New Plan for Canadian Immigration and Economic Opportunity: https://www.liberal.ca/files/2015/09/A-new-plan-for-Canadian-immigration-and-economic-opportunity.pdf

Liberal Party Platform: What does Real Change Mean to you? https://www.liberal.ca/realchange/

Express Entry – The secret to finding your correct NOC!: http://www.canadianimmigrationpodcast.com/express-entry-the-secret-to-finding-your-correct-noc/

[/spoiler]

Binge on all of our Canadian Immigration Podcast Episodes!

If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all the episodes here.

Ask Mark an Immigration Question

I answer questions each week on my podcast. If you have a question, comment, thought or concern, you can do so by clicking here. We’d love to hear from you.

Subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the show. Share the Love

Welcome to Season 1, Episode 4 of the Canadian Immigration Podcast. In this episode I will share with you the presentation I just gave to the Lethbridge Chapter of the Human Resource Institute of Alberta.  

This podcast is dedicated to all you Human Resource Managers out there who are looking for a great Podcast to help pass the time on your long commute into work.

By listening carefully to this podcast, you just might learn a few things about the Canadian Immigration system and do so while being entertained a little more than you would typically expect from a dry immigration law presentation. We like to have fun and that definitely plays out in the presentation.

In this podcast, I am joined by my Immigration Technical Advisor, Billie Young who shared the podium with me for about an hour. In our presentation we covered the following areas:

• Immigration in the News
• Legislative Changes – thanks to the press
• Foreign Worker Basics
• Labour Market Impact Assessments
• Express Entry
• Employer Compliance and Enforcement
• What’s on CIC’s Horizon

Click the link to download the power point slide deck for the presentation: HRIA Immigration Presentation September 23, 2015

[Tweet “Listen to Mark’s recent live presentation on immigration to the HRIA.”]

Listen to Mark Holthe’s Canadian Immigration Podcast

Explore Additional Resources

In this episode we mentioned the following resources:

• Human Resource Institute of Alberta: http://www.hria.ca
• Power Point Slide Deck:HRIA Immigration Presentation September 23, 2015

Speaking Engagements

I will be speaking at the follow upcoming events. If you would like to register, please follow the links below for further information. Let me know if you will be attending as I would love to meet you in person.

• Canadian Institute’s Immigration and International Worker’s Forum (Oct 27-28, 2015)

Question for our Next Podcast

Read the Transcript

You can read a additional notes for this episode, [spoiler]

Welcome to the Canadian Immigration Podcast, Season 1, Episode 4.

Today is a special episode of the Canadian Immigration Podcast. You will notice on my website that I did not produce a blog filled with tons of practical information. I do not intend to apologize for that because instead I have decided to share with you what I have been working on this past week or so.

Of course, this is in addition to the blogs and other podcasts I have released……and I can’t forget the fact that I am still trying to run the immigration practice within my firm…..and keep all of those wonderful clients happy.

Well,  over the last few days, I have been spending much of my time, preparing for a presentation I gave this afternoon to members of the Lethbridge Chapter of the Human Resource Institute of Alberta.

The Human Resources Institute of Alberta (HRIA) is the professional association for human resources professionals in Alberta. With chapters in all major cities in Alberta, HRIA is the third largest HR association in Canada representing over 6,000 members.

For the last two years I have had the opportunity to speak at the annual HRIA conference held in Calgary and Edmonton on alternating years. This spring I traveled to Edmonton to speak on various immigration issues affected HR Managers in Alberta. I was fortunate to have my immigration technical advisor, Billie Young (who is an x-immigration officer with way more government experience than I), share the podium with me.

We had an absolutely fantastic time with a great group of HR professionals. It is really the highlight of my year when I get to spend time with these exceptional people. Being the Manager of Human Resources within a company can be a somewhat thankless job at times, so I have a tremendous amount of respect for what they do and their extremely professional HRIA organization.

Well, I was absolutely delighted when they asked me if I would be willing to address the Lethbridge Chapter of the HRIA and provide them with an update as to what was happening in the crazy world of immigration….well, they didn’t exactly put it that way. However, I sure did in my presentation… which was entitled “Comprehending the Incomprehensible”.

Because of the time I put into that live presentation, I was not able to produce more great content for my website. Therefore, I figured the next best thing I could do would be to share with you the presentation I gave this afternoon to the HRIA Chapter in Lethbridge. Please forgive the quality of the audio as both my videographer and sound technician were away and unable to help this audio challenged rookie.

Thanks to my Zoom H2n Handy Recorder, I was able to record the audio from the presentation and amazingly enough, it worked…….its not perfect as I was not able to capture all of the questions from the audience. And It also caught a little bit of feedback as I fumbled around the podium from time to time during the presentation.

But that’s okay, because the presentation was super fun and turned out awesome. The reason I know this is because I had the pleasure of Billie Young joining me again as she covered off the Work Permit and Labour Market Impact Assessment part of the presentation. Although she claims she gets super nervous, it didn’t show at all. As for me, I never met a mic I didn’t like.

If you are an HR or Global Mobility Manager anywhere in the world who sends people into Canada for business purposes – this podcast is for you. However, any individual or employer accessing the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in Canada will benefit from this information just as much.

As I sit here in my office tonight getting ready to queue up the presentation, before my 3 minute drive back to my home this evening, I want to dedicate this podcast to all of you HR Professionals out there, or anyone else that will be facing an excruciating hour long commute into work in the morning. I know you are out there because you work for entities just like my large corporate and institutional clients. Although immigration can be a pretty dry topic….especially  when a lawyer is doing the presenting, I think you just might be entertained and learn a few things all at the same time.

So without further adieu, I will pull up the audio from that conference so that you can have a listen. Oh, and I also wanted to remind you that you can download the slide deck of the presentation and follow along……however, not you guys that are driving….keep your eyes on the road.

[PRESENTATION AUDIO]

Well, I hope you enjoyed that presentation as much as I did giving it. In all honesty, if I could spend my entire career presenting and teaching, I would be in heaven. Having completed my bachelor of education and taught high school prior to becoming a lawyer, teaching immigration satisfies both of my passions at the same time.

I was not able to address any questions from my listeners today, so I apologize for that. However, if you do have a question, please go to my website at www.canadianimmigrationpodcast.com  and leave a question for me. I recently realized that its not that easy to leave a question on my website. I am going to make sure that we put a widget on the front page to make this easier for you.

However, in the interim, you can click on the “Contact” button at the top right section of my landing page and all the instructions you will need are found there.

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

If you liked this podcast and want to hear me speak in person, please go to the show notes and I will have a link to my next speaking engagement that will occur at the:

• Canadian Institute’s Immigration and International Worker’s Forum, on Oct 27-28, 2015 in Calgary, Alberta. Click on the register button and you will be guided through the process. I’ll be running a ½ day hands on workshop on how to file a Labour Market Impact Assessments and accompanying Work Permit as well as a traditional presentation during the conference on the scary world of Employer Compliance within the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
• I’d love to see you there in person. So make sure you introduce yourself to me if you tuned in to this episode of the Canadian Immigration Podcast.

Question for Next Podcast

In our next Episode of the Canadian Immigration Podcast, you the listener will have the opportunity to tell me what you want to learn about Canada’s new Express Entry process for obtaining permanent resident status in Canada.

As I have indicated in previous podcasts, on November 1 of this year (less than two months away) I will be launching my Canadian Immigration DIY Guide to Express Entry. This guide will be a screen cast where I walk you through each step of the Express Entry process as if you were sitting with me in my office. It will be filled with every ounce of my and my team’s experience and knowledge navigating the frustrating Express Entry portal.

The product is still in Beta, so if you have anything you would like to see within the guide, please comment below or message me through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and all the others.

Although I have a pretty good idea where the tricky parts are when attempting to submit an Express Entry Profile and PR application, I would love to get even more input from you. So please, please send your suggestions my way.

And don’t forget to like the Canadian Immigration Podcast on Facebook. I have a goal to get to 1000 likes by the end of the month. I am currently sitting at 480, so if you find the information I am providing helpful or worthwhile, please share the love with all of your friends and anyone else who you feel may benefit from what I am trying to do.

If you don’t like what I am doing, then please let me know as well. I appreciate constructive feedback every bit as much as a pat on the back. After all, I want to provide this free resources in a way that people can actually use. Otherwise, there is no point in me  wasting my time.

However, from the awesome feedback I have already received in just two weeks of my Canadian Immigration Podcast launching, I am pretty darn excited about what the future will hold. So thanks for all of your feedback and please keep it coming.

Subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast

Finally, Don’t forget to subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast on iTunes. If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. I would love any comments or suggestions you may have to make the podcast better.

Well that should about do it for this Podcast. I look forward to my next Podcast where I will share more practical tips and information on Canadian Immigration law, policy, and practice, to help you along your way!,

This is Mark Holthe, signing off for now.

[/spoiler]

Binge on all of our Canadian Immigration Podcast Episodes!

If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all the episodes here.

Ask Mark an Immigration Question

I answer questions each week on my podcast. If you have a question, comment, thought or concern, you can do so by clicking here. We’d love to hear from you.

Subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the show. Share the Love