Canada’s Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has just announced those with an expiring Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) will be able to apply for an Open Work Permit extension as of April 6, 2023.
The Open Work Permit extension will be available to anyone whose PGWP expires in 2023. It will also be available to those whose PGWP expired in 2022 and applied for IRCC’s Open Work Permit extension last year.
Beginning April 6, candidates will be able to apply for the extension on IRCC’s website. Those that apply will get an email with an interim work permit authorization which they can show employers to continue working legally in Canada.
Those whose legal status in Canada has expired will also be able to apply at the same time to restore their status, even if their status expired outside of the 90 day grace period that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) provides. This means such individuals will be able to restore their status and get an interim Open Work Permit authorization at the same time, as early as April 6.
The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, will make an announcement regarding post-graduation work permits (PGWPs). Minister Fraser will be joined by James Maloney, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke-Lakeshore. —- L’honorable Sean Fraser, ministre de l’Immigration, des Réfugiés et de la Citoyenneté, fera le point sur les permis de travail postdiplôme (PTPD).
IRCC says it will send messages to those who are eligible for the extension to invite them to log into their online IRCC Secure Account starting on April 6.
DLIs are colleges, universities, and other educational institutions approved by the government to welcome international students.
PGWPs enable international graduates to work for any employer of their choice in Canada for a maximum duration of three years (the length of a PGWP is determined by the length of the educational program completed by the international graduate).
Many of these programs rewards candidates who have studied and worked in Canada.
The rationale behind this is Statistics Canada research showing that such study and work experience can help to support the labour market integration of international students who go on to become Canadian permanent residents.
The combination of gaining a Canadian education, plus work experience, improving one’s English or French skills, and developing social networks in Canada are all thought to contribute to the economic integration of these immigration candidates.
As such, certain pathways, such as the federal Express Entry system, offer more points to those with Canadian study and work experience.
In addition, there are provincial pathways, such as through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), available specifically to international graduates.
PGWP holders easily account for the majority of temporary residents (TRs) who transition to permanent residence (PR).
In 2022, nearly 98,000 PGWP holders became permanent residents, which is about 82 per cent of all TRs who became PRs.
Canada is looking to welcome a record 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023, and this will rise to a target of 500,000 in 2025.
Canada does not have a target of TRs it seeks to transition to PR, but Minister Fraser has stated repeatedly his desire to facilitate such transitions.
One of Minister Fraser’s priorities, as outlined in the mandate letter provided to him by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is to facilitate more TR to PR transitions via Express Entry.
Due to the strong demand for PGWP holders to become permanent residents, IRCC has made two exceptions in recent years, enabling those with expiring PGWPs to apply for Open Work Permit extensions.
The purpose of these exceptions has been to give these individuals more time to potentially obtain permanent residence.
The last exception was available to those whose PGWP expired between September 2021 and the end of December 2022.
IRCC notes there were more than 286,000 PGWP holders in Canada at the end of 2022. About 127,000 PGWPs expire in 2023, however about 67,000 PGWP holders have already applied for permanent residence and will not need to extend their work permit through this initiative.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
