1 Senate Human Rights Committee R esponses to Senator questi ons prepared by D ana W agner, M anagi ng Di rector, T al entL i f t Questions from Senator Omidvar regarding the IELTS exam fee and any recommendations The only English language test currently accepted by Canada for those living outside Canada is the IELTS test provided by the British Council. The test has a fee which differs by country and testing centre.

For example, the fees of recent British Council IELTS tests booked by EMPP candidates supported by TalentLift include: - $301.08 CAD in Lebanon - $264.84 CAD in Pakistan (Karachi) - $301.95 CAD in Pakistan (Islamabad) - $509.36 CAD in Saudi Arabia If someone doesn’t make the required scores on their first attempt, as many candidates supported by TalentLift do not, their second attempt would be booked at full cost.

There are a handful of country exceptions where the British Co uncil offers a ‘one skill retake’ option, allowing test takers to re-attempt one of the four skills of listening, reading, writing, or speaking. But in the majority of countries, and if the candidate needs to improve their score in more than one skill, the second attempt is at full cost. The two recommendations on language testing shared with the Committee would contribute to lowering the English language testing cost for those in refugee situations applying under the EMPP.

The first recommendation, to remove the minimum English/French level in higher-skilled jobs (TEER 3-0), potentially replaced with an affidavit from the employer that the candidate has the language needed to safely perform the job, would remove the testing requirement for applicants in this group. The second recommendation, to accept an online test by a second provider like Duolingo, would reduce the cost to Duolingo’s current rate of $59 USD. Duolingo also offers an ‘access program’ with fee waivers that may be open to EMPP applicants.

Question from Senator Omidvar on a five -year vision for the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) In TalentLift’s five-year vision for the EMPP, the full mainstreaming of EMPP flexibility is in practice across Canada’s economic immigration program, including permanent and temporary pathways. 1 Steps towards E M PP mai nstreami ng and other i mprovements to the economi c stream that woul d b e ne fit EMPP ca nd id a te s a nd a ll a p p lica nts a re o utline d in a p o licy b rie f published by the Canada The EM PP would be a permanent program consi sting of two parts: One part framework that appl i es the accommodati ons that address di spl acement -re lated barrie rs across all e conomic immig ra tion pa thwa ys , for e xa mple, the abi l i ty to appl y wi th an expi red passport to any ski l l ed vi sa; and a second part that i s a standal one vi sa pathway.

T he standal one vi sa pathway woul d b e simila r to the fe de ra l EMPP J o b Offe r Stre a m (Stre a m A), which ha s fle xib le crite ria fo r bo th app lica nts a nd e mploye rs. While the EMPP fra me wo rk would o pe n up a cce ss to the full suite o f economi c i mmi grati on programs ( i .e. E xpress E ntry, L M I A-backe d work pe rmits, e tc.), the EMPP pathway woul d be a dedi cated tool f or access and attracti on. A good anal ogy f or thi s vi si on i s how Canada f aci l i tates and attracts Francophone appl i cants.

Canada has many Francophone pathways designed to attract Francophone candidates, while access f or Francophones i s embedded across the economi c stream. T he E M PP wo uld s imila rly embed broad access, by removi ng di spl acement -r el ated bar r i er s, and mai ntai n a dedi cated pathway for attracting this talent pool. In this five-year vi si on, Canada becomes the worl d’ s top desti nati on f or di spl aced tal ent to re loca te a nd thrive. TalentLift is happy to provide any further information the Committee might need.

For inquiries, please contact: Dana Wagner Managing Director dwagner@talentlift.ca Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration and Integration at the Toronto Metropolitan University (pages 6-7).