ARRIMA, the new immigration system in Quebec, was launched with great fanfare under the spotlight worthy of a car show, by the Ministry of Immigration, Diversity and Integration of Quebec!
Here is a vehicle that is supposed to bring our future Quebecers to their destination.
Gleaming chrome, sparkling varnish, plush interior, high-tech dashboard, graceful bodywork, this is what ARRIMA looks like!
The test prototypes that were announced to us a few years ago already gave us a vague idea of what was waiting for us. Was it a vague replica of the federal model Entrée Express? As in the automotive industry, when vehicle design takes on a rounded trend, all models start to look like eggs.
And of course, ARRIMA is “designed” on the Express Entry format but with a use that will also be modelled on the Atlantic Canada immigration pilot program that has meanwhile made its way into other more difficult provinces, let’s put it that way! The goal of the ARRIMA program is to allow employers to recruit their candidates; in other words, to kill two birds with one stone!
In short, the model that Quebec is going to put on the road will be a hybrid of Express Entry and Atlantic Immigration Program!
We have seen that the model that has been presented is very attractive yet, ARRIMA was announced already in August 2018 when the new Quebec Immigration Act was amended from top to bottom. The new CAQuiste government, because of its issues and election promises, delayed the opening of this selection system. We must not forget that ARRIMA is not an immigration program to obtain the CSQ but a selection system that allows applicants for permanent residence to Quebec to be invited to apply for the CSQ!
And to top it all off, this same law was recently modified by the implementation of Law 9, which has caused a lot of ink to flow in the press.
Let’s see now how the chassis of this magnificent “chariot” is! Our roads in Quebec are rough and you need to have a hell of a chassis to drive those miles to get a clean immigration file. Once again, it is not because you will be invited to take the road that you will arrive at your destination! The processing of your file will be rigorous, and you will have to provide all the documentation in the required format in a timely manner. If you don’t have your driver’s license for ARRIMA, it’s time to seriously consider it!
Also, next February, the platform will be adapted to integrate a section for employers who are looking for qualified workers to solve the labor shortage they have been facing for quite some time and which will not end anytime soon! These employers will be like car dealerships. They will be the ones to offer the models you can choose from: the Compact, the Convertible, the Wagon and also the All-terrain.
Certainly, my post today is written in a humorous tone. Am I being sarcastic? No, because I don’t see anything funny and even less that would lead to mockery. ARRIMA is supposed to bring a breath of fresh air and wake up our Quebec from its lethargy regarding immigration.
Jobs are plentiful, minds are warmed by the lack of manpower. Immigration is a serious manna to consider, ARRIMA will not solve everything but will be an all-terrain vehicle to absorb the different profiles that do not go through the PEQ for multiple reasons. But we will have to hear its engine, feel the smoothness of its brakes to appreciate its operation.
ARRIMA is only just being run in, so adjustments will also be foreseeable, including the length of time it will take to process a complete application between the time the CSQ starts processing it and the time permanent residence is obtained at the federal level! In the meantime, the employer will still have to recruit temporary foreign workers where the work permit remains the most efficient way to ride in Quebec! It’s a bicycle compared to our ARRIMA machine but it’s the one that still rides without too much hassle!
Selin Deravedisyan-Adam CRIC
