On June 7, the Honourable Tobias C. Enverga Jr., Ontario Senator, questioned the Government Representative in the Senate during question period concerning alterations that were made to the Express Entry Immigration Program by the Trudeau government, specifically with regards to the inequity in awarding language credits.
“Earlier this week, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen announced troubling changes to the express entry immigration program,” Senator Enverga said in a statement. “Under this express entry program, applicants can score up to 1,200 points depending on their education, training, work experience, and language skills. The newly announced and worrying changes to this program would see candidates receiving up to 30 additional points for those who possess strong French-Language skills. Possessing strong English-Language skills would not score you any additional points,” the Senator added.
The questions raised by Senator Enverga focused on why, in our bilingual nation, there existed a disparity in which extra credits were awarded for possessing strong language skills in one official language but not the other, as well as if the Trudeau government valued one official language over the other, as this new policy’s lack of equity seems to suggest.
The Government Representative, Senator Peter Harder, answered, “I welcome the honourable senator’s question and want to assure him . . . that the adjustments being made are to ensure that there is a reward given to French-language capacity in our immigration program so that it too is a useful tool of nation building.”
