PR/citizenship
 

A friend was short listed for a job here in NS but received a email from the company last week asking what citizenship he had. He explained that he is a British citizen at the moment, but intends applying for Canadian citizenship in September this year. He has had Canadian PR though since he arrived in NS 4 years ago. Yesterday he had a email stating that his application was being withdrawn as he was not a Canadian citizen. I always thought that if you had PR that was almost as good as being a citizen when applying for jobs- am I wrong in thinking this?

Re: PR/citizenship
 

Depends, if there are security clearance considerations then citizenship might be mandatory...



If thats not a factor was he crystal clear that he had permanent resident status and was cleared to work in Canada. Many employers dont have the slightest understanding of the different classifications.

Re: PR/citizenship
 

he sent a photocopy of pr card with application, so they knew his status right from the beginning. Citizenship was never mentioned in job advert either, in fact it was advertised in a number of international journals.
Like I said, I just wondered if this is now becoming an issue as it's not something I've come across here before for people with pr

Re: PR/citizenship
 

Such a question is likely to breach Human Rights Legislation - it would in Alberta, not too sure about NS.

Re: PR/citizenship
 

Definitely discriminatory unless for secrecy reasons, I'd take legal action.

Re: PR/citizenship
 

Many jobs you have to be a citizen, not only in Canada but other coutries carry this rule as well.
ie US Prez-gotta be american citizen

UK/USA-IO must be citizen( I believe this still stands true)

Used to be in Ont that to be a police officer you have to be citizen,(this is now changed to PR as well)
I can't justify the reasoning but those are the rules and one of the qualifications.

Re: PR/citizenship
 

My son-in-law is a Perm. Res. in BC and he is a police officer - I think it is just a misunderstanding by someone in their PR department!

Re: PR/citizenship
 

The employer might not know what a PR Card is.

Re: PR/citizenship
 

They must do - he's gone back to the original application and this was the wording:


Please indicate in your application the reason for which you are entitled to work in Canada: Canadian citizenship, permanent resident status or work permit


my initial reaction when I heard about it was that they were being discriminatory, I was just interested to know if other BE members read it the same way.

Re: PR/citizenship
 

In that case he should ask the employer what is going on, failing that, contact an employment lawyer in NS.

Re: PR/citizenship
 

Certain jobs you must be canadian citizen depending on what he applied for, as a PR he does not fit the job description. He can cry discrimination til cows come home but probably won't do any good.

When I moved to UK many jobs said british citizenship was a requirement, I didn't have it then, didn't think it was discrimatory, just thought well sugar not qualified...

sometimes things are just what they are...

Re: PR/citizenship
 

It depends on the requirements of the job and the employer may have to justify why. Not many private sector roles can justify Canadian citizenship.

Re: PR/citizenship
 

Please, please, please read the quote above, it may stop you looking foolish in the future: It stated they the applicant needed to show that they were legally entitled to work in Canada; it did not say that Canadian citizenship was a requirement of the jobs.
Crying about discrimination and threatening a Human Rights Tribunal is probably the only thing that will do any good in this situation. The processes involved with such action are so flawed that most Canadians run scared from them. If you were living in Canada in the recent past you would be fully aware of this.:p

Re: PR/citizenship
 

It might help to know what the job is. It may or may not make the required response/action a little clearer?

Re: PR/citizenship
 

All Federal goverment jobs are offered to Canadian citizens first.


Some Federal goverment jobs are only for Canadian citizens e.g. RCMP and immigration jobs.

So if you want to work for the local police service like Calgary then PR is good, but not RCMP.

We were told that government jobs that can go to anyone very rarely do, because Canadian citizens are given first dibs.

This is one of the reasons why myself and my family became citizens. It did not really bother my or my husband but we just wanted our boys to have that choice of any career.

I have heard a few times that in the current economic climet, a lot of companies are only recruiting Canadians. I suspect this is the case with the orignal poster. I am not sure how legal is all is.