I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe this story. I'm sure the rules demand an LMIA with no exceptions, and I think there were threads on this forum where people posted about how they asked CIC call center for clarifications and got the exact same answer. Also, if PGWP meant automatic +600, there would be no need for any petitions regarding international students. To sum it up, it's pretty clear that LMIA <b>is</b> needed under EE rules. And I cannot believe that just one day after the petition went public, CIC completely gives in to the demands and changes the rules. If this was true, then the EE candidates pool would be pretty much limited to international students, cutting off 99% of foreign applicants but making education a sure way of obtaining a PR - which would be weird and seems very unfair to me.