Finley's Folly

So now the immigration minister, given the supreme power over the long line of hope, has made her first move. Under a new policy, students who graduate from Canadian universities and who have a year of professional experience with a Canadian firm, as well as some temporary workers will have the opportunity to apply for Canadian residence without having to leave the country to do it.

Brilliant idea - let those who are already in Canada stay and apply. A stroke of genius really.

Of course there are a range of restrictions to go along with the policy if you more than scratch the surface. There are protected and excluded classes of temporary workers in case you were under the impression that people would be treated equally.

If you really care to discover what a messed up bit of policy this is, simply read the Canada Gazette announcement here.

Here's some of the nonsense:

- The CEC will be limited to Skill Type 0 Management Occupations, Skill Level A (professional occupations), or Skill Level B (technical occupations and skilled trades) of the National Occupation Classifications (NOC).
- Lower-skilled occupations (NOC skill levels C and D) will not be eligible, as they are more vulnerable in economic downturns. Consequently, caution should be taken prior to increasing the pool of lower-skilled workers.
- All applicants must have come to Canada to work or study, have been lawfully admitted to Canada, and have temporary resident status in Canada at the time of application for the CEC.
- Foreign nationals who are already in the process of receiving their permanent resident status through other avenues do not qualify under the CEC.
- Recipients of select Government of Canada awards for foreign students will not qualify for the CEC as one of the primary objectives of those programs is that these students return to their own countries to apply the experience that they acquired in Canada.

So I guess they only want a few of the best and some of the brightest, and only if you swing a pencil for the CIBC - not if you swing a hammer for some general contractor...

Oh, Diane...please tell me you can do better than this.