The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Now that controversial changes to CanadaÕs immigration system are law, they present us with an opportunity to revamp our immigrant selection system for skilled workers to do what it was designed to do Ð select immigrants who will make the greatest contribution. Canada was the first country to develop a selection system based on points. The original points system, introduced in 1967, assessed applicants on nine factors such as education and demand for his/her occupation. A minimum point total had to be achieved based on such criteria. The system worked not only because it was simple, but also because the number of people applying roughly equalled CanadaÕs ability to process cases. Over the years, as the number of applications to immigrate to Canada started to outstrip our capacity to process them, the points system and the pass mark were adjusted in an attempt to control volume. Still, by 2008, Canada faced a backlog of over 600,000 cases and the capacity to process about 200,000 per year. So, without any other tool to say ÒnoÓ to immigrants other than the points system (and occasional refusals on grounds of criminality, security or health) the points system became a fence. Applicants who could not cross it alone hired lawyers to vault them over the fence. Thankfully today, our immigration system no longer needs the points system to be a gatekeeper. Part of this yearÕs changes to the immigration system is a provision stating that the Òprocessing of applications and requests is to be conducted in a manner that, in the opinion of the Minister, will best support the attainment of the immigration goals established by the Government of Canada.Ó Thanks to the new legislation, the Minister can set annual limits, freeing immigration officers to choose the immigrants Canada needs. But to do so, immigration officers need a new tool. The points system creates too many roadblocks for the workers and their families we want to attract. Instead, the Minister now can Òturn off the tapÓ when enough applicants are in the processing system, allowing the immigrants we need to be chosen from that pool of applicants. The points system needs to be freed to do its real job Ð choose people whose skills Canada needs and who will contribute to making Canada a better place. It needs to be redesigned so that the workers we need, such as apprenticed trades, will not be rejected. These changes are particularly important for western Canada, given its acute labour shortages. Notwithstanding the current economic slowdown, these shortages are likely to become chronic unless aggressive steps are taken so CanadaÕs immigration program can be used effectively to help alleviate these pressures.
