It’s Saturday morning 6:00 am and I’m sleeping softly (like any sane person would be on a weekend) until I’m abruptly stirred by a text message from a client overseas who has suddenly alerted me to the Nova Scotia PNP reopening its ‘NS Demand: Express Entry (Category B)’ stream.
(For anyone who wants to read about the category you simply have to visit Nova Scotia’s PNP website)
In a nutshell, it’s one of the few subcategories among PNP systems Canada-wide that does not necessitate pre-arranged employment with a Canadian employer – the stipulation being that certain Federal Skilled Worker principles are met (as you would expect).
Naturally, I begin my Saturday morning earlier than I would have liked – I’m compelled to operate on behalf of clients who are eligible for the program because that is, after all, my job.
As the hour approaches I begin to prepare; I have documentation which includes job code numbers, financial data, and client work history at the ready – I know that the program is only accepting 350 applications in this re-opening and God only knows how many other people are poised to do the same thing around the world…
At thirty minutes remaining, I’m refreshing my screen constantly so I don’t miss anything. I’m double checking the time and looking to see approximately when the server will allow a click-through…
Its at this moment I come to realize that the whole process is beginning to feel like one of those call-in radio show’s where you hope you’re caller number 19 so you can win tickets to the Nickleback concert. However, the difference in this instance is more profound than losing out on concert tickets; its potentially losing out on the chance for people’s lives to be changed forever (not that a Nickleback show can’t be life-changing for some – I suppose..).
The hour has arrived and low-and-behold the site is crashing because it is overloaded with users. Unsurprisingly any attempts to reload the page is met with this response:
Reality begins to set in – “this isn’t going anywhere” I say to myself. Shortly after many useless attempts to reboot the page, I decide that any efforts to get an application in are moot and I then proceed to convey this news to my clients.
This isn’t my first experience working with provincial immigration systems and I’m sure it won’t be my last but the question begs: “Is this what we have been reduced to? Making aspiring Canadians who have education, English language ability, work experience and youth to leverage having to fight through lottery systems like rats in a maze?”
I would never suggest that our present systems in Canada for processing applications are perfect – on the contrary, there are a lot of people diligently working in the background in places like Sydney, NS on cases trying to get them completed in timely fashion. Those people and many federal employees in government offices all over Canada should be commended for their efforts. However, what should be criticized are not the people who are actively trying to give applicants a fair shake, its the design of the programs that need re-thinking.
For example: is first-come-first-serve really the way to go? Apart from Express Entry, practically every other immigration stream deals on a first-come-first-serve basis but I would suggest that some people have precedence over others. This is not restricted to an economic point system either, it also needs to apply to spousal/dependent applications, Humanitarian & Compassionate submissions, and Refugee cases (especially).
This article isn’t intended to bash the Nova Scotian provincial immigration authority – after all – 350 openings is generous for a province that has so little resources as is. But it needs to be said that they, and other provinces with similar programs like Saskatchewan, need to do better.
At the very least, please don’t have your application openings at 9:00am on a Saturday morning…
