Ottawa adding express entry points for permanent resident applicants in 'high

Ottawa adding express entry points for permanent resident applicants in 'high-wage' jobs

Requirement for employers to prove they can't find qualified Canadians being removed

Ottawa is adding new express entry points for some permanent residency applicants in "high-wage" jobs, Immigration Minister Lena Diab said on Friday.

The government also plans to remove the requirement for an employer to prove they can't find a qualified Canadian for those jobs.

The policies, which will take effect on Nov. 3, will apply to applicants who already have Canadian work experience, or who have a job offer in a high-wage field such as engineering.

The government considers a high-wage job one that pays at least 1.3 times the median wage and the number of express entry appoints awarded is correlated to how high the wage is.

The Canada Job Bank currently lists the national median hourly wage at $55.03.

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The government is also introducing a temporary policy to remove the requirement for an employer to include a Labour Market Impact Assessment for a qualifying job that's eligible for the new express entry points.

The government says this change is meant to simplify the application process and is part of its efforts over the past year to attract more immigrants in high-paying fields to Canada.

The government has introduced measures to give more express entry points to those working in medicine, the skilled trades, transportation and research.

Permanent residency candidates who are already in the express entry pool will have their scores modified to reflect the new points for Canadian work experience and job offers.

The Immigration Department says it may take up to two weeks for the new totals to be calculated and invitations to apply for permanent residency will be paused during that time.

David Baxter is a reporter with The Canadian Press