wow...jeez man the thread became a bit of a mud slinging competition instead of providing people with hope
heres my $0.0002
anyone over 470 has a very very good chance of getting an ITA in the next few months...
for anyone who is below 450 still, i would strongly consider OINP whenever it reopens... (similar to what i did, waited 10 months and now finally i have nomination.. but its worth the wait)
do whatever you have to do to increase your scores... even 1 point could be the difference... i mean just imagine a guy being stuck on 469 for months, finally had a clear hope thinking their ITA would come in the next 1-2 draws (based on a draw of 470), only for it to be pushed back with the new changes in the EE points system, so they get pushed back in the queue again... just trying to say here is - every single point counts... i would not stop writing ielts until i have CLB10 in all aspects (if thats what it takes)
to increase score, try applying for PNPs... i know you may think it costs too much or its too painful, but think of it this way... PNP virtually GUARANTEES an ITA... there is NOTHING else in the EE system anymore which guarantees an ITA (after LMIA points were reduced) so do some research, spend some time... think think think ... analyse...
if you try hard enough and luck is with you - there is absolutely no reason why you cant migrate to canada (or australia or any other country for that matter)
good luck