'Dreams being lost' as many shut out of IRCC's permanent residency pilot, consultant says

Saloni Bhugra · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 02, 2025 11:57 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Ghinger Marie Lastimosa wanted to go a Canadian imperishable nonmigratory truthful she could support moving arsenic a location enactment idiosyncratic for Scarborough seniors without having to interest astir her enactment visa expiring. 

This week, she got atrocious news. 

Lastimosa, a registered caregiver successful the Philippines who moved to Canada successful 2022, is 1 of tens of thousands of radical who went online to use for 1 of the constricted spots successful the national government's Home Care Worker aviator programme astatine 10 a.m. connected Monday. 

She said she was met with hours-long method glitches successful the online portal earlier it unopen down and was incapable to upload her documents. Lastimosa present fears she'll suffer her occupation erstwhile her enactment licence expires adjacent year, and she and her hubby volition person to permission Canada. 

"This was my lone chance," Lastimosa said. 

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)  launched its latest aviator connected Monday, and Lastimosa wasn't the lone 1 to emblem superior problems with the website. Immigration experts accidental thousands of experienced location workers similar Lastimosa didn't person an accidental to use due to the fact that of IRCC's website slowdown. 

Kevin Thibbles, an migration consultant, told CBC News the programme "froze" arsenic helium tried to use connected behalf of six clients.

He said helium was lone capable to successfully use for 2 of his clients. 

"The full portal froze and we were not capable to get in," Thibbles said. 

"It was precise unfortunate to conscionable fto them cognize that we couldn't upload their documents and we missed the full submission and it was precise frustrating." 

Sharing that quality with his clients was difficult, Thibbles said. 

"They really broke down and started crying … it was very, precise sad," helium said, adding that helium worries radical with lone six months of grooming were capable to instrumentality up spots compared to his clients with much than 5 years of Canadian enactment experience. 

WATCH | New 'chance of a lifetime' programme volition assistance imperishable residency — but spots are limited:  

IRCC's aviator invited home-care workers to use connected a archetypal come, archetypal served basis. 

The aviator was capped astatine 2,750 applications — 2,475 online and 275 by message —  successful each of its 2 streams – 1 for child-care workers, the different for location enactment workers. 

On Monday, much than 45,000 radical tried to use but the constricted spots filled successful conscionable implicit 4 hours, the IRCC said successful an emailed connection to CBC Toronto. 

"We recognize that radical who were not capable to taxable an exertion are disappointed. Unfortunately, request for this pathway is greater than spaces available," spokesperson Remi Lariviere said. 

Manan Gupta, different migration consultant, expressed concerns that workers are being denied a accidental astatine imperishable residency astatine a infinitesimal erstwhile their skills are successful demand, peculiarly successful Ontario. 

Even though IRCC says different circular of applications volition unfastened adjacent year, Gupta says galore workers mightiness not beryllium capable to usage that opportunity. 

"Many of the deserving candidates volition go undocumented. They volition beryllium retired of status. They volition not beryllium capable to enactment successful Canada," helium said. 

"It leaves a batch of dreams being crushed, dreams being lost." 

The state of Ontario has said it needs astir 51,000 caller idiosyncratic enactment workers (PSWs) by 2032, and those successful the manufacture accidental aviator programs similar these are key. 

Gupta and different migration experts accidental they are near questioning wherefore IRCC is not implementing a merit-based strategy to capable that gap. 

Applicants lone needed to person six months of caller enactment acquisition oregon person completed six months of training, compared to past twelvemonth erstwhile 2 years of enactment acquisition was required, according to IRCC. The connection proficiency requirements were besides lower, and each applicants needed a valid occupation connection from a backstage location oregon from an eligible enactment that hires home-care workers.

Lariviere said the IRCC lowered the eligibility requirements to accommodate workers who were not capable to conscionable the criteria for erstwhile pilots. The first-come, first-served attack "strives towards providing adjacent opportunities to anyone who meets the qualifications," it said.

Thibbles says IRCC should person fto everyone use and past entree applications based connected merit. 

Gupta agrees. 

"People similar Ghinger who had aggregate years of experience, person been near retired owed to method glitches," helium said.

"On a comparative basis, a six-month grooming oregon six-month acquisition holder who was capable to usage the fastest digit archetypal oregon who was capable to beryllium successful a unchangeable Internet country was capable to submit."

Lariviere said "the yearly exertion intake caps … are an important measurement for managing aviator programme inventory sizes and hold times."