On March 14, 2008 Canada’s Conservative government tabled a bill that proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Under the current law, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is required to assess every Permanent Resident application received at a visa office, in a particular immigration category, on a “first come, first served” basis. The proposed legislative change provides the Immigration Minister with the authority to regulate the backlog of applicants. It allows CIC to select among the new applications received and choose those that it determines are best suited for Canada’s labour market needs.
