That would be great if it was so. However, early indications show that this is not the case. But there is always hope that employers that participate in this program will come around and understand that applicants are abroad while applying and hence the time frame between the initial application and the first workday can be many months. Regarding your other points, you paint a very bleak picture. So, you are saying that improving probabilities whether someone will settle in that area will justify religious and racial profiling? There are already laws in place that invalidate even PR if an applicant who applied through a PNP or regional pilot decides that the specific region he/she initially settles does not work for him/her anymore. So, to me the profiling you propose opens pandora's box and strongly contradicts the values that Canada on a federal level is promoting. There is zero need to profile in terms of religious belief or which ethnic group has already settled and which not.
I think we can all agree that the regional programs focus on labor shortages of those regions and those are most likely not of the white-collar type. I don't think that is contentious. What is contentious is that the programs are promoted as some sort of viable pathways for families from abroad when the actual jobs pay minimum wage and are of the type that no other person locally wants to do. If you seriously think that an immigrant roofer somewhere in a town of 2000 people will be paid enough to feed a family then I think you are equally mistaken as the people you criticize who look at this program with the wrong job expectations. Many of those open jobs are jobs that are of very low skill level and pay very little and are usually performed by single/unmarried individuals in their early very early ages. Speaking of nurses or caregivers, no town of 1000 or so people has a hospital or elderly home and the only jobs such person would perform would be working in a mini private practice or at someone's home. Essentially this boils down to jobs that are of an equal level as a domestic caregiver, certainly not jobs that someone performs and that enable one to settle down. Domestic caregivers have their entire families back in their home countries and they earn a pittance and remit the little they earn to feed their families back home. One can certainly not speak of a job that earns enough to enable one to settle down.
I agree with you on the last point you made. Dishonesty of a few individuals should, however, not be generalized to a broad population. Yes, there are always some bad apples in the crowd but I think the large majority of people have realistic expectations of those rural communities and the specific lifestyle people lead there. What I criticize is how this program is advertised. It will be incredibly hard to secure a job offer from abroad and I do not believe this will change. This is the same problem with all PNP programs that require a valid job offer from a Canadian employer. Hardly any employer will issue a job offer for someone who currently lives abroad, period. This is based on empirical evidence. So, in the end, those specific programs that require a valid job offer do not solve any of the problems on either side. Someone who can easily travel to Canada will do so and with a lot of hard work and a healthy dose of luck will secure a job offer and get a temporary work permit and start working. After some time in the job, various opportunities arise to pursue PR. However, for all those, as you initially mentioned, that cannot easily visit Canada, those programs do not offer any opportunities at all. This, I think, is what most on this website do not understand. It is hard enough as a foreigner without residence and work permit to secure a job offer in Canada even with sought after skills and by showing up and interviewing in person. It is virtually impossible for anyone to do so remotely. Of course, there are a few who succeed but the reality is that they represent perhaps 1 or 2 in 100 cases.
The only programs that make sense are programs such as what SINP offers, a thorough vetting process that, however, does not require a valid job offer. The sponsored applicant will arrive and starts searching for jobs WITH A VALID WORK AND RESIDENCE PERMIT. That is what works. All other approaches succeed with equal opportunities as playing the lottery. But hey, there are enough desperate hopefuls out there who play the lottery, so I guess the provinces and government probably think why not catering to those desperate to fill our dirty jobs that nobody else wants. This is the reality and truth and it would be commendable if Canada and the Canadian provinces were more honest and forthcoming about this truth.
There are tons of countries that are not visa exempt so no many people can’t just fly to Canada and get apply for jobs or attend interviews in person. We haven’t seen most of the details of the program but would assume there will be no need for LMIAs and employers will be screened beforehand. Like in PNP programs, most immigrants apply to get into the Maritimes, MB or SK but have no intention of actually remaining there defeating the whole purpose of the program which is to try to attract skills and employees into an area where there is need for workers and population growth. Think that would be an example of immigrants having their cake an eating it too. They get PR but get to move to where they originally wanted to but couldn’t get approved. The rural program is an attempt to match up employers with people who must agree to remain in that area although we have yet to see how that will be enforced. Employers may be more likely to pick people who have lived in rural areas their whole lives versus a candidate who has only lived in large cities. They may select an employee over another if there is already people from the same country, ethnic group or religion living in the area. If someone is very religious but there is no church/temple/mosque in 1 hour from the town the candidate may not be right for the job. Is there a couple applying are there jobs available for both of them? I see this program as a better attempt at securing employees that will remain in that region longterm and a bit of a matchmaking process. I saw many expecting software engineering, finance jobs, etc. which would not be available in many small to mid sized cities. A bit of research should had made it clear that the program would be mostly service jobs with some semi-skilled, trades and skilled jobs. Applicants were the ones who had unexpected expectations. A little research about the industries in the area and the towns/cities locations would have provided a lot of clarity about the chances of high skilled or highly specialized employment. Can’t blame the program for people counting on it to be their godsend. In many of these towns or cities there will be need for lower skilled and lower paid jobs. The cost of things like housing are also much lower so even a lower to middle class income will go further especially since the minimum wage is much higher in many of the provinces versus places like the Maritimes. There may be the need for network managers but not software developers, perhaps some basic wealth management (RRSPs, TFSAs, RESPs) but not complex wealth management or trading jobs, bookkeeping or accounting for small businesses but not actuaries or complex accounting for large business, maybe power line technicians versus engineers, etc. I also have compassion for many of the high skilled people counting down the days until this program opened because they were counting on it being their ticket to Canada but likely never intended to remain in that city past when they had to so they were also trying to use the program for their longterm goals. A few years of pain until they could move to the big city and apply to the jobs they wanted or lived in the city they wanted. The program wasn’t designed for these people in the first place and the eventual program is trying to weed candidates exactly like this.
