Regulation - Minister
Proposed Amendments to Ontario Regulation 422/17 (General), a Minister's Regulation made under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015
Regulation Number(s):
Ontario Regulation 422/17
Instrument Type:
Regulation - Minister
Bill or Act:
Ontario Immigration Act, 2015
Summary of Decision:
The regulatory amendments to Ontario Regulation 422/17 (General), update criteria for the program streams. The following provides an overview of the key changes to the OINP stream criteria:
•The In-Demand Skills Stream supports employers facing labour shortages in lower skilled occupations in the construction and agricultural sectors. The amendments include:
-adding three new National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes, including NOC 7511 - Transport Truck Drivers, NOC 3413 - Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates and NOC 4412 - Home support workers and related occupations, excluding housekeepers
-reducing the work experience requirement for applicants to improve the responsiveness of the program to current labour market and employer needs
•The Entrepreneur Stream is designed to support individuals from outside of Canada who are looking to implement a new business idea or buy an existing business in Ontario. The amendments related to this stream will increase the quality of business proposals and bring minimum investment and net worth thresholds in line with other jurisdictions.
•For the Express Entry streams, amendments will change the start date for qualifying work experience. Previously, work experience was assessed as of the date that an applicant received a Notification of Interest from Ontario. The program will assess work experience as of the date of application, which will align with all other stream criteria.
•The Corporate Stream has been terminated as it has not achieved its intended objective of bringing in international corporations to Ontario.
•For all other streams, the amendments add more clarity and consistency for each stream by simplifying the requirements and aligning specific criterion to each stream.
Please see the amended regulations for more details.
•The In-Demand Skills Stream supports employers facing labour shortages in lower skilled occupations in the construction and agricultural sectors. The amendments include:
-adding three new National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes, including NOC 7511 - Transport Truck Drivers, NOC 3413 - Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates and NOC 4412 - Home support workers and related occupations, excluding housekeepers
-reducing the work experience requirement for applicants to improve the responsiveness of the program to current labour market and employer needs
•The Entrepreneur Stream is designed to support individuals from outside of Canada who are looking to implement a new business idea or buy an existing business in Ontario. The amendments related to this stream will increase the quality of business proposals and bring minimum investment and net worth thresholds in line with other jurisdictions.
•For the Express Entry streams, amendments will change the start date for qualifying work experience. Previously, work experience was assessed as of the date that an applicant received a Notification of Interest from Ontario. The program will assess work experience as of the date of application, which will align with all other stream criteria.
•The Corporate Stream has been terminated as it has not achieved its intended objective of bringing in international corporations to Ontario.
•For all other streams, the amendments add more clarity and consistency for each stream by simplifying the requirements and aligning specific criterion to each stream.
Please see the amended regulations for more details.
Further Information:
Ontario Regulation 422-17
Proposal Number:
19-MEDJCT002
Posting Date:
April 15, 2019
Summary of Proposal:
On January 1, 2018, the Act was proclaimed and the Act and its regulations came into force. The Act introduced a regulatory framework to respond to Ontario's responsibilities in the immigration sector. The Act:
• Formalizes in law the requirements of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP);
• Strengthens Ontario's ongoing efforts to deter immigration fraud and detect misrepresentation; and
• Increases transparency and information sharing with Ontario's immigration partners.
The proposed regulatory amendments update the stream criteria for the program streams including:
• Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream, International Student Stream and In-Demand Skills Stream
• Masters Graduate Stream and PhD Graduate Stream
• Ontario's Express Entry: Human Capital Priorities Stream, French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream and Skilled Trades Stream
• Entrepreneur Stream and Corporate Stream
The following provides an overview of the key changes to the OINP stream criteria:
• The In-Demand Skills Stream supports employers facing labour shortages in lower skilled occupations in the construction and agricultural sectors. The proposed amendments include:
- adding three new National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes including NOC 7511 - Transport Truck Drivers, NOC 3413 - Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates and NOC 4412 - Home support workers and related occupations, excluding housekeepers; and
- reducing the work experience requirement for applicants to improve the responsiveness of the program to current labour market and employer needs.
• The Entrepreneur Stream is designed to support individuals from outside of Canada who are looking to implement a new business idea or buy an existing business in Ontario. The proposed amendments related to this stream will increase the quality of business proposals and bring minimum investment and net worth thresholds in line with other jurisdictions.
• For the Express Entry streams, amendments will change the start date for qualifying work experience. Previously, work experience was assessed as of the date that an applicant received a Notification of Interest from Ontario. Going forward, the program is proposing to assess work experience as of the date of application, which will align with all other stream criteria.
• The Corporate Stream will be terminated as it has not achieved its intended objective of bringing in international corporations to Ontario.
• For all other streams, the proposed amendments add more clarity and consistency for each stream by simplifying the requirements and aligning specific criterion to each stream.
The purpose of the proposed amendments is to:
• improve the responsiveness of the OINP to current labour market and employer needs, including supporting regions that do not traditionally see significant levels of immigration;
• update stream criteria to simplify requirements and provide more clarity to applicants; and
• refine the suite of business streams by updating the Entrepreneur Stream criteria to make the stream more attractive to applicants and competitive with comparable streams in other provinces and territories.
Please see the attached proposed regulatory changes.
We encourage stakeholders to provide feedback on these proposed changes during the consultation period.
Note - Amendments are also being made to Ontario Regulation 421/17.
• Formalizes in law the requirements of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP);
• Strengthens Ontario's ongoing efforts to deter immigration fraud and detect misrepresentation; and
• Increases transparency and information sharing with Ontario's immigration partners.
The proposed regulatory amendments update the stream criteria for the program streams including:
• Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream, International Student Stream and In-Demand Skills Stream
• Masters Graduate Stream and PhD Graduate Stream
• Ontario's Express Entry: Human Capital Priorities Stream, French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream and Skilled Trades Stream
• Entrepreneur Stream and Corporate Stream
The following provides an overview of the key changes to the OINP stream criteria:
• The In-Demand Skills Stream supports employers facing labour shortages in lower skilled occupations in the construction and agricultural sectors. The proposed amendments include:
- adding three new National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes including NOC 7511 - Transport Truck Drivers, NOC 3413 - Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates and NOC 4412 - Home support workers and related occupations, excluding housekeepers; and
- reducing the work experience requirement for applicants to improve the responsiveness of the program to current labour market and employer needs.
• The Entrepreneur Stream is designed to support individuals from outside of Canada who are looking to implement a new business idea or buy an existing business in Ontario. The proposed amendments related to this stream will increase the quality of business proposals and bring minimum investment and net worth thresholds in line with other jurisdictions.
• For the Express Entry streams, amendments will change the start date for qualifying work experience. Previously, work experience was assessed as of the date that an applicant received a Notification of Interest from Ontario. Going forward, the program is proposing to assess work experience as of the date of application, which will align with all other stream criteria.
• The Corporate Stream will be terminated as it has not achieved its intended objective of bringing in international corporations to Ontario.
• For all other streams, the proposed amendments add more clarity and consistency for each stream by simplifying the requirements and aligning specific criterion to each stream.
The purpose of the proposed amendments is to:
• improve the responsiveness of the OINP to current labour market and employer needs, including supporting regions that do not traditionally see significant levels of immigration;
• update stream criteria to simplify requirements and provide more clarity to applicants; and
• refine the suite of business streams by updating the Entrepreneur Stream criteria to make the stream more attractive to applicants and competitive with comparable streams in other provinces and territories.
Please see the attached proposed regulatory changes.
We encourage stakeholders to provide feedback on these proposed changes during the consultation period.
Note - Amendments are also being made to Ontario Regulation 421/17.
Contact Address:
400 University Avenue, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M7A 2R9
Email: ontarionominee@ontario.ca
Email: ontarionominee@ontario.ca
Effective Date:
July 8, 2019
Decision:
Approved