I'm not sensing much confusion in this room, but I am sensing a lot of denial. I went through the new Ministerial Instructions for EE and the Regulations they refer to, regarding a "qualifying job offer" and I'm afraid it is true: new grads WILL need an LMIA to get the 600 points.mf4361 said:If LMIA is required for all PGWP, this makes new grads virtually competing with foreign workers (usually with many years of experiences) Like @ Nick~Nick says, requiring LMIA for new grads are unfair as most of them are entry level jobs. From a policy perspective, it's like Canada is abandoning people who are already in Canada (Not only PGWP, also ICT, IEC, etc.) and opt for people who've never been here, which breaks the whole point of having CEC in the first place.
That's my opinion.
It does not matter that PGWP's were exempt from LMIA's in the past. Under the new instructions for EE, which take effect Jan. 1st 2015, an LMIA (or provincial nomination) will be required of anyone in order to get the 600 points.
There's a lot of crying about this not being fair to new grads and how Canada is abandoning them. This is a lot of cra.p, usually made up by none other than the new grads themselves, with an interest in this not being so. Canada never abandoned the new grads because Canada never promised these people permanent residence. The new grads came here as foreign students and their status was just that, a non-immigrant foreign student status. They made the decision to come here and spend their money. Nobody forced them to do that.
New Grads: Canada owes you nothing. You paid tuition money and got an education for it. As for permanent residence, the rules for getting it are the same for you as for anybody else who is "on the outside" (meaning, not a permanent resident). A new grad is still a foreign national and as such, his/her employment in Canada must be checked with an LMIA to make sure that it's not a job that could be filled by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. THAT is fairness, and it's how it should be. It's how it is in the more mature nations: UK, USA, Switzerland, etc.
Foreign grads are still foreign nationals (in legal status, not in their heads) and the Government of Canada must look out for the interests of Canadians first. An LMIA is essentially the government's way of making sure foreign nationals (which includes the new grads) are not taking up employment that could be filled by a Canadian citizen or PR.