Gremmie

Ok take this problem to the Immigration section of BE, this is beyond us wallies here but they have experts who know whats what.

karen31

I will post my email from the minister, first though I need to change OH name then it will make sense.

karen31

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:37:20 -0600
Subject: Client Inquiry (ID XX9) - Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) -KS (Re: XXXXXX - AINP # XXX1-X9-XXX90)


Dear Ms. K S,



Thank you for your email of August 20, 2011, regarding your fiancé, XXXX XXXXXX’s, application to the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) for the occupation of Long-Haul Truck Driver.



I attempted to contact you by telephone yesterday afternoon (August 23) by calling (403) 641-2700, the home contact phone number provided on Mr. XXXXXX’s application, but it appears that this telephone number is no longer in service. Therefore, I am emailing you directly instead to address your inquiry and to clarify the rationale for the decision to decline Mr. XXXXXX’s AINP application.



The federal Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, is designed to allow foreign workers to work temporarily in Canada for a limited period of time, as authorized by a CIC Work Permit. The intent of the TFW program is to authorize temporary employment and is not designed as a route to permanent residence in Canada. Individuals who wish to reside in Canada permanently may utilize a number of federal CIC programs, or provincial programs, such as the AINP, which have their own approval criteria. The criteria for the AINP Long-Haul Truck Driving Industry Category have been in place since the year of 2004. For your reference, the criteria are listed on our website at: www.albertacanada.com/ainp.



According to our records, the AINP received Mr. XXXXXX’s application on December 21, 2009. On January 4, 2010 a notification email was sent to Mr. XXXXXX's representative, Paul XXXX, confirming that the AINP had received the application. On December 1, 2010, a Program Officer initiated an assessment of his file and sent an email to Mr. XXXXXX’s employer, XXxX Transport Ltd., to confirm his current employment status with the company. On December 2, 2010, a response was received from XXXX Transport Ltd., providing confirmation of on-going employment. A final review of the file was initiated on December 3, 2010, and a request for additional information was sent to Mr. XXXXXX’s representative. On December 29, 2010, the additional information requested was received by mail. The additional information was reviewed by a Program Officer on January 18, 2011 who noted that Mr. XXXXXX's education credentials did not appear to meet the minimum education criterion for the Long-Haul Trucking Industry under the AINP Employer-Driven Semi-Skilled Worker Category.



In order to clarify if Mr. XXXXXX met the minimum education criterion, further consultation was made to the provincial International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS) to validate if that the examination documents demonstrated completion of high school. IQAS reviewed the educational documents and advised that Mr. XXXXXX’s General Certificate of Education (GCE) Notification of Results did not demonstrate passing grades for the required minimum of 5 GCE examinations. Although, the documents illustrate that Mr. XXXXXX completed more than 5 GCE examinations, it appears that he only received passing grades for two of the examinations. Several of the other grades that he received were graded as “U”, indicating a “failure to attain a minimum passing grade”. In light of this circumstance, the AINP declined Mr. XXXXX’s application for not meeting the minimum high school education criterion and a decline letter was issued on January 26, 2011.



As stated on the decline letter, Mr. XXXXXX may choose to obtain an Alberta High School Equivalency Diploma as a mature student by completing and passing five General Educational Development (GED) Tests. For further information on the GED Tests, please visit http://education.alberta.ca/students...ernative2.aspx or contact Learner Records and Data Exchange at (780) 422-9337.



Also, as previously stated on the AINP decline letter of January 26, 2011, Mr. XXXXXX may wish to re-apply to the AINP for the occupation of Long-Haul Truck Driver once he receives a High School Equivalency Diploma and provided he continues to maintain his employment status, and holds a valid Work Permit.



If you wish to discuss this matter further, please feel free to contact me directly at (780) 644-XXXX.



Sincerely,



KXXXX XXXX





Team Lead, Semi-Skilled Workers

Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program

Suite 940, Telus Plaza North Tower

10025 Jasper Avenue

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5J 1S6

Tel: 780-644-3368

Fax: 780-427-1395

Gremmie

Holy Crap, if this is the New Norm required their is going to be alot of Brits being sent home, and not just Truckers.

karen31

YES there is and they dont make it common knowledge to anyone, I hope I am helping people here, I not out to upset anyone but feel people should be made aware........THIS IS HAPPENING!

kb33

So I followed the link and no mention of any GCSE's

Perhaps Roy (Headng North ) can shed some light , He got Nominated last year and Im not sure if he the GCSE's either


[I]Industry-specific criteria – long-haul trucking industry

Definition of long-haul and short-haul truck drivers

Long-haul: Drivers depart for destinations thousands of kilometres away from home. They cross inter-provincial boundaries and travel over international routes across North America. Drivers are away from home for several days per week or weeks at a time. A long-haul driver is one who operates a tractor-trailer combination vehicle and hauls commercial goods over long distances.

Long-haul truck drivers are eligible under the AINP.

Short-Haul: Drivers typically leave home or the terminal in the morning and travel to destinations within a half day’s or one day’s drive; they make numerous stops to pick up and deliver goods over a relatively short distance.

Short-haul truck drivers are not eligible under the AINP.

As an Alberta Employer in the long-haul trucking industry, you must also:

Have satisfactory recruitment strategies and conditions, employment policies and practices, retention and settlement in order to qualify for allocations.
Allocations will also be based on the number of temporary foreign workers approved under a Labour Market Opinion (LMO), size of company and number of long-haul drivers and past performance (retention rates).
A company will not receive an allocation larger than the number of foreign drivers for which the company has received an LMO.
Allocations will be based on 10 to 15 per cent of the number of long-haul drivers employed by the company.
A review of the retention rate of the company with previous allocations will be conducted. Companies with retention rates of less than 50 per cent may not receive a full yearly allocation. These companies will have to demonstrate improved recruitment and hiring practices.
Provide information regarding recruitment activity and supporting documentation that demonstrates that the foreign trained driver is aware of the scope of their employment, which includes duration of long-haul trips taken, mileage, normal amount of days away from home, and anticipated annual salary.
Show the Candidate has received in-Alberta training. If you provide the training, details of the training program must be provided, including training content, hours of training provided in a classroom and supervised road training, testing methodology, and results.
If the training is provided by a third party, a copy of the program syllabus must be provided including hours of classroom and supervised road training, testing methodology and results.
The in-Alberta training and supervision must certify familiarity with traffic laws, documentation requirements (record of loads, vehicle maintenance log books, mileage, etc.) and areas of specialization (hazardous goods, mountains, winter driving conditions, running in major metropolitan areas etc).
Show that Candidates have prior driving training and related experience in a professional capacity.
Show the Candidate is competent in listening, speaking, reading and writing English prior to nomination. You are responsible for testing and establishing a benchmark of English language capability of the Candidate upon arrival and once again prior to nomination to demonstrate progress.
The Employer shall be responsible for paying the cost of these two assessments (the cost of additional assessments above this limit shall be the responsibility of the Candidate).
Employers are responsible to ensure that initial and subsequent testing is performed through the same assessment service or provide an identical method of assessment.
If the Candidate originated from an English speaking country or has completed secondary or post-secondary studies in English, you are not required to provide proof of Candidate competency in the English language.
Should the Candidate not be competent in English, you must provide the Candidate with an in-house English as a Second Language (ESL) program or cover the cost of the ESL training for the Candidate.
The in-house ESL program shall only be taught by certified ESL teachers.
An Employer will schedule the Candidate’s work in order to meet the requirements of a minimum of six hours per week of ESL training.
Participation shall be on employee time, however, the Employer shall supply and pay for teachers, materials and classrooms.
Participation in the ESL program shall begin within sixty days of the arrival of the PN Candidate and continue for the duration of the work permit
To be eligible for nomination the Candidate must submit proof of 85 per cent attendance rate in the ESL training and must demonstrate a progress in learning.
As a Candidate in the long-haul trucking industry, you must also:

Be working for your Alberta Employer as a long-haul truck driver (refer to definitions above)
Show you have an Alberta Class 1 driver's license and are eligible to meet provincial regulations.
Provide a copy of your foreign driver's license which indicates C+E certification (if from Europe).
Both parts of the license must be provided. If the driver's license is not in English, it must be translated by a certified translator.
Be employed in Alberta for a minimum of six months before applying to the AINP.
Have driven in a professional capacity before coming to Canada and provide sufficient credible documentation to demonstrate your previous driving related training (hazardous goods, etc.) and work experience.
You must provide reference letters on company letterhead, dated, and signed with the title or position of the individual from the company who is providing the reference. E-mail letters are acceptable if they are sent from the e-mail account of the company that is providing the references (not hotmail, gmail or yahoo accounts). The letter must state the occupation of the employee, either HGV/LGV driver, and/or describe the work they performed which clearly indicates the equipment that was driven (articulated, semi, reefer, tanker, etc.).
Preference will be given to drivers who can demonstrate a minimum of three out of the last five years’ work experience as a HGV/LGV driver.

Gremmie

I copied your post and started a new thread on the Canada page, hope you dont mind.

karen31

No worries, If I can help people before it happens to them, then at least I have managed to do something after all that has happened to us

kb33

Sounds like to me that they are using any excuse to refuse you , They have obviously seen something in your application and decided for whatever reason they don't want you and have used this to refuse you .

Canadians are pretty good at moving the goalpost !

iaink

There wont be in the truck driving specific criterea, but the general criteria for the semi skilled PNP state that:

As a Candidate in the Semi-Skilled Worker Category, you must:

Be currently working in Alberta on a work permit for an eligible AINP Semi-Skilled Occupation (see list above)
Show that you have completed a minimum of high school education.

Now, its not spelled out what exactly that is for a Brit, but 5 GCSEs seems reasonable to me (similar to Canadian requirements) and has probably been mandated by these people?
http://www.credentials.gc.ca/recogni...hy-matters.asp

AFAIK CIC tend to offload the responsibility for sorting out qualification equivalance to other bodies, in order to avoid having to spell this out for 200 different countries I expect.

Doesnt change the fact that it sucks for the guy refused, but "thems the rules" apparently. With a tough economy it wouldnt suprise me if more and more temporary residents find it increasingly hard to make the jump to PR, but I hope Im wrong about that.

Big Truck

Just read what has happened to you and your family and that is shocking and an absolute disgrace, I can't believe that a Government body like CIC can be allowed to move goalposts and ruin somebodies life like that!!!!

Have they not got any equal opportunity or human rights laws in Canada?

flat to the mat

Speaking from our own experience I'm not sure whether it's moving the goalposts or a case of one hand having absolutely no idea what the other is doing.
With regards to human rights etc,a plethora of that nonsense can be found in the GTA and Vancouver,fortunately the sandal wearing yoghurt knitting P.C.brigade have yet to encroach into the Prairie Provinces,long may it remain that way.
Almost sounded like Gremmie then,,but you only have to glance at Europe to see how those idiots carry on.

Big Truck

Have to take issue with you on that one:

If it wasn't for the "PC yoghurt knitting brigade" 200 of my work colleagues would not have a STRONG court case pending for equal pay nor 70 have a STRONG case pending for unfair dismissal and equal pension issues.
(According to a top NI barrister we have engaged)
I am heavily involved in BOTH!!

All being challenged under Euro Equal Opportunities and Human Rights laws!!!

Maybe "Karen31" and her family would not be in the S_H_I_T if the same thing was available in Alberta?

"Squeaky bum" time for those waiting on PR in Alberta me thinks.

mickfly

Unfortunately this requirement has been common knowledge in Alberta for some time, but it's all accademic anyway as the answer to all your questions is...

"The federal Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, is designed to allow foreign workers to work temporarily in Canada for a limited period of time, as authorized by a CIC Work Permit."

There need be no discussion with anyone about your status... your OH is a TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKER.

Clear warning to avoid making any plans or getting a mortgage, etc until you actually have PR.

Hope things go well in the UK for you, and the dogs get looked after ok in Canada.

BTW: You should have put this on your blog to try and embarrass them (Canadian Gov't), and as a very clear warning to others.

alandoug

A good warning this, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO TO ALBERTA. There are other provinces.
Little more than an excuse to refuse PR. You need 5 'O' levels to drive a truck? Really? I'd like to know how many Canadian truckers have the equivalent.... The industry over there is full of good little boys who did well in high school? Paragons of virtue.
You think thats bad? Well imagine being an English GP looking to take your skills to Canada.... You need to requalify all over again. The healthcare on PEI makes the NHS look great, its not like they don't need doctors.