Thousands of Temporary Foreign Workers Lose their Status in Canada

April 2015

April 1^st of each year marks the tradition of playing pranks on one’s friends and family.   Whether it’s toothpaste instead of icing in the kids’ cookies, toilet paper stuffed in shoes to make them seem too small, or the mysterious disappearance of all the staples from the office staplers, these pranks will leave you both annoyed and amused at the same time.

This year, it seemed like the Canadian government was attempting to be the prankster; unfortunately, it wasn’t a joke.

March 2015

I have this great client.  He works in a restaurant at one of Ottawa’s cultural landmarks.  He brings me lunch whenever he has an appointment – really awesome lunches (I’m sure you’re already jealous).  He came here from India to study in the Culinary Management program at Algonquin College.  They obviously trained him well.

So why was this cook not a cook?

Februrary 2015

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) promised to make the first draw from the Express Entry pool by the end of January.

Well, they just made their own deadline.  14 seconds before midnight, January 31^st, CIC sent Invitations to Apply (ITA) to 779 lucky Express Entry applicants.

January 2015

11:59 am January 1, 2015.  Cup of tea by my side.  Two client files on my desk.  Waiting for Express Entry to open at noon…

All the sensible lawyers had closed their offices for the week, and here I was, waiting for the minute the program opened so I could get Express Entry profiles created for my clients.