Ottawa — Canada plans to erect almost insurmountable hurdles for would-be immigrants who lack a university or college degree, say lawyers familiar with a new proposal changing the way Ottawa selects newcomers.

The Quebec Director General of Immigration has recently announced that, in light of the unusually high volume of Business Class applications submitted during the last quarter of 1998 and the first quarter of 1999 (including 2,000 applications received in the month of March 1999 alone), the Ministère des Relations avec les Citoyens et de l`Immigration (MRCI) has initiated a series of measures aimed at reducing the backlog of files.

The Quebec government recently released a draft Regulation setting forth proposals for the amendment of the existing selection criteria for immigrants destined for the Province of Quebec.