OCASI comments on the Canadian Experience Class Program
August 14, 2008
On August 12th, 2008 Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley announced yesterday the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), a new program which will allow international students and certain types of temporary foreign workers to apply for permanent resident status within Canada. To see the announcement at the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) website in English click here - et en français, cliquez ici. To see also details on the regulations at the Canada Gazette website in English click here - et en français, cliquez ici.
OCASI welcomes the decision to allow temporary foreign workers to apply for permanent residence within Canada. However, we are deeply concerned that the new program will exclude a large number of "lower skilled" temporary foreign workers.
OCASI is further concerned that CEC constitutes an effort to address labour market needs through deliberately increasing the number of temporary workers in Canada, rather than through bringing immigrants as permanent residents. The fact that temporary workers are a vulnerable labour force, subject to abuse of their rights and breach of contract and are generally less willing to seek reparation is well documented. (Source: Canadian Labour Congress, Alberta Federation of Labour).
The stated intent of the new program is to allow the Canadian economy to benefit from the “Canadian Experience” and language skills that temporary workers have acquired while working in Canada. The applicant’s "success" in integrating into the labour market will be a factor in the decision to award permanent resident status through CEC.
Temporary workers who have been in Canada for at least 3 years will be able to apply for consideration under CEC if they can demonstrate "successful" employment experience of at least 24 months, and have acquired sufficient language skills (28 points under the Canadian Language Benchmarks for occupations under categories 0 and A; 20 points for occupations under category B). See next paragraph for explanation of these occupational categories.
Issues of eligibility
Temporary foreign workers who fall within the National Occupational Classification (NOC) categories 0 (management), A (university trained) and B (college trained) will be eligible to apply for permanent residence. Skills levels C and D (what is usually considered low-skilled or unskilled) will not be eligible.
The eligibility criteria are elitist and clearly discriminate on the basis of socio-economic status. All temporary foreign workers, regardless of experience and skill level, make a significant contribution to Canada's economic, social and cultural life. This is recognized in the labour market by the increase in the last few years, in the number of temporary work visas issued for low-skilled and unskilled work.
Gender impact
51% of male temporary foreign workers currently in Canada correspond to occupational categories 0, A and B and can apply under the Canadian Experience Class program. Only 21% of female temporary foreign workers currently in Canada fall within those types of occupations and can apply for permanent residence under the new program. (For more details, you can see theCanadian Council of Refugees February 2008 comments on the CEC in English here - et en français ici).
Further research is needed in order to determine the extent to which the selection criteria present systemic barriers that would limit eligibility for temporary foreign workers from racialized communities. As required by IRPA, gender analysis should be used to anticipate gender impacts of policy and program implementation, and OCASI expects the government to build and expand on its gender-based analysis so as to apply a comprehensive anti-racist and anti-oppression analysis.
Protecting the rights of temporary foreign workers
The government explicitly states in the Canada Gazette that with the CEC it intends to increase the numbers of temporary foreign workers coming to the country. OCASI is deeply concerned that very little has been concretely put in place to protect temporary foreign workers from abuse and exploitation. As stated earlier, these abuses are well documented for all categories of workers. Canada has a dismal record in protecting the rights of live-in caregivers and migrant agricultural workers, and these programs have been in existence here for several decades. Given the vulnerability of their position, including the fear of firing, loss of work permit and threat of deportation, these workers have rarely sought reparation for abuse and exploitation.
While recommending an expansion of the CEC program to include temporary workers under all occupational categories, OCASI expects the government to commit to concrete mechanisms of protection for temporary foreign workers' rights as soon as possible.
People without status
People with less than full resident status have been living and working in Canada, and are critical part of our economy and communities. Canada has benefited from their contribution but has not granted them permanent status. They continue to be vulnerable to abuse and have no access to the benefits and advantages of full resident status that most Canadian residents take for granted. OCASI calls on the government to implement measures that would allow these residents to gain full resident status, and begin by considering the proposal already submitted. To see the Proposal for the Regularization of Individuals and Families without Status in Canada click here.
Annual immigration numbers
On March 14th, 2008 Minister Finley announced that the government had admitted the "highest number of newcomers in Canada's history" in 2007. The number announced was 429,649 people. The announcement was misleading since it included temporary workers and international students, the first time in Canada that individuals in those categories were included in immigration numbers.
When members of the House of Commons' Standing Committee on Finance questioned this approach on April 28, 2008, the Minister responded that the projected implementation of the Canadian Experience Class "blurred the lines" between temporary and permanent residents and that, since temporary foreign workers would be able to apply for resident status under the CEC program, one could count on them eventually becoming Canadian citizens. To see the minutes from the Committee session in English click here, et en français, cliquez ici.
Today CIC states that the levels of new residents to be accepted under the CEC program in the first year of its implementation will be between 12,000 and 18,000, whereas the number of temporary foreign workers admitted to Canada in 2007 was 165,198. Many of them are not eligible for CEC, so it is clear they should have never been counted together with other permanent residents even under the elastic logic the Minister wanted to affirm on April 28th.
Starting on the second year of implementation, the annual levels for permanent residents through CEC will be of 25,000. However, as mentioned above, the government is planning to increase the numbers of temporary foreign workers.
Labour market needs
The government continues to characterize labour market needs as current labour shortages, and has appeared to respond exclusively to employers' expectations of the immigration system. A strong and viable labour market also requires good practices by employers to ensure fair, non-discriminatory hiring, retention, promotion and salaries for immigrants and refugees, and a demonstrated respect for workers rights and workplace health and safety standards.
Building a strong and viable economy cannot be disconnected from building strong communities. OCASI encourages the government to allow foreign-born workers, and other migrants living and working in Canada the opportunity to stay in Canada as permanent residents.