The Bill C-19 gained royal assent on 23rd June 2022. This implies that the bill is now in its final stage of becoming a law and is expected to impact the Express Entry system very soon. Although Bill C-19 has taken the Immigration industries by storm, it has also become a topic of misgivings, unwarranted critique and misinformation. This article aims to refute and deflate all the popular misconceptions and misinformation surrounding the Bill C-19.
What Is Bill C-19?
The chapter 10 from the Statutes of Canada 2022 received the royal assent as the Bill C-19. This chapter is entitled as “An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022 and other measures”. The amendment to the 377 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) is included in the 23rd division of the 5th part of this chapter.
Limitations Of Express Entry
The amendment of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) is a measure to make the Express Entry system more responsive to the immediate and crucial labour market requirements of Canada. Currently the Express Entry program is a point based, straight forward system that blindly issues Invitation to Apply (ITAs) to eligible Federal Skilled Workers with a CRS score above the minimum cut-off.
However, this competitively high CRS requirement made the Express Entry system out of reach of many skilled workers who would have been capable of beneficially contributing to the Canadian economy.
What Does The Amendment Of The IRPA Act Entail?
Today, Canada is in dire need of skilled workers with a historically low unemployment rate of 5.1%. This means that Canada has exhausted almost all of the skilled workers at its disposal and is still short of labour that would add to the revenue of the nation.
Bill C-19 is a measure taken by the Canadian government through which it would invite more skilled workers through the Express Entry immigration program. The Express Entry would no longer be a straight forward point-based system eligible only for NOC skill level O, A or B. It would now become a system that facilitates and invites immigrants based on urgent and crucial economic goals. These economic goals would be determined by the immigration minister who would accordingly create in-demand categories that would be eligible to receive ITAs.
These in-demand categories would be created by the minister after consultation with the stakeholders such as immigration researchers, provinces and territories, workers, employers, industries, and immigration practitioners and lawyers. This consultation before creating any new categories for foreign skilled workers will assist the immigration minister to get suggestions, information and recommendation with respect to the condition of the labour market. The consultation will also be helpful in assessing which occupations will suffer labour shortage in near future. It is interesting to note that these speculated changes in the Express Entry are similar to how the Canadian provinces invite skilled immigrants based on the provincial labour requirements.
Bill C-19: Fear, Fake News, And Misinformation
Accompanying the Bill C-19 is abundance of fake news and misinformation trying to instil fear among the aspiring immigrants. One of the most important point to remember is that there is absolutely no confirmation about the proposed new categories or exact changes that the Bill would bring to the Express Entry program. Anyone who guarantees any change, or the end of the Express Entry is a guaranteed fraud.
Expert Says
As per the little information available on Bill C-19, it is almost certain that this is the best time to be in the Express Entry pool even if you feel your chances are slim. A regulated Canada Immigration representative will ensure you get all the legal guidance and assistance required to get you in the Express Entry pool.
Being India’s only ICCRC/CICC licensed Canada immigration consultants in India, we will be the first to get notified about any new changes to the popular Express Entry system. We will not just be the first one to know when the Bill C-19 becomes effective, we will also ensure that you are provided with absolutely authentic and accurate information.
