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"We're still feeling the effects of that"
overhaul, says Greene, adding that the
current "program is a triumph of form over
substance," full of "bureaucratic hoops" and
exacting requirements.
Programs such as "Express
Entry" have streamlined
the process, "but it's a
pigeon-holed process"
that works better for larg-
er companies with more
resources, he says. Smaller
companies and startups,
without the track record
of successful revenues,
may have a harder time
convincing the govern-
ment that they're "a safe bet" for paying their
foreign workers.
The pandemic and other challenges
e COVID-19 pandemic has, not surpris-
ingly, caused processing delays. Eligible
GSS applications are still being processed,
although not necessarily within two weeks,
the federal government warns on its Global
Skills Strategy website.
"ere are all sorts of challenges in getting
new talent to Canada, on account of trav-
el restrictions and self-isolation require-
ments, etc.," says Ryan Rosenberg of Larlee
Rosenberg, Barristers & Solicitors in
Vancouver. "We are getting them through,"
but not as quickly as before the pandemic,
he adds.
At the same time, he says, Immigration,
Refugees and Citizenship Canada has
been innovative during the pandemic in
making it easier for foreign workers on
permits to switch employers from within
the country.
"It used to be that if . . . a company tried to
poach you away from your current employ-
er, they'd have to go out and help you apply
for a new work permit, and that could take
several months to process, causing a delay in
the start date," says Rosenberg.
"What the IRCC has put in place during
the pandemic, in an attempt to keep people
working where opportunities still exist, is if
you're switching employers and you qualify
for a new work permit with a new employ-
er, and you ask the right way, they will pro-
cess those change-of-employer applications
"IT'S NOT ALWAYS AN
EVEN-KEELED APPROACH WHEN
YOU'RE TRYING TO ADMINISTER
GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES PUT IN
PLACE AROUND THE WORLD;
LAWYERS HAVE TO MANAGE THAT."
Kenneth Zaifman
ZAIFMAN LAW
