What is a Motion?

A motion is a formal request or proposal made to a deliberative assembly for action. In the Canadian House of Commons, members can bring forward motions on any topic they choose.

A motion is adopted if it receives the support of the majority of the Members. Every motion, once adopted, becomes either an order or a resolution of the House.

Through its orders, the House approves bills at their various stages, regulates its proceedings or gives instructions to its Members or officers, or to its committees.

M-44 PERMANENT RESIDENCY FOR TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKERS

M-44 is also known as Motion 44 — “Permanent Residency for Temporary Foreign Workers” — and is a motion regarding Canadian immigration that was introduced in Parliament on January 31, 2022, by Randeep Sarai of the Liberal party, Surrey Centre, B.C. It has since been amended and was agreed to on May 11, 2022.

Here are the elements that will be incorporated into the plan:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should develop and publicly release within 120 days following the adoption of this motion a comprehensive plan to expand the economic immigration stream to allow workers of all skill levels to meet the full range of labour needs and pathways to permanent residency for temporary foreign workers, including international students, with significant Canadian work experience in sectors with persistent labour shortages, and such plan should incorporate the following elements:

(a) amending eligibility criteria under economic immigration programs to give more weight to significant in-Canada work experience and expand the eligible occupational categories and work experience at various skills levels;

(b) examining evidence and data gathered from recent programs such as Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway, Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), Rural and Northern Immigration Program (RNIP), and Agri-Food Pilot, and Provincial Nominee Process (PNP);

(c) incorporating data on labour market and skills shortages to align policy on immigrant-selection with persistent labour gaps;

(d) assessing ways to increase geographic distribution of immigration and encourage immigrant retention in smaller communities, as well as increase Francophone immigration outside Quebec;

(e) identifying mechanisms for ensuring flexibility in immigration-selection tools to react quicker to changes in labour market needs and regional economic priorities; and

(f) specifically considering occupations and essential sectors that are underrepresented in current economic immigration programs, such as health services, caregivers, agriculture, manufacturing, service industry, trades, and transportation.

During the previous years, people have missed out on opportunities to obtain a PR due to a lack of IELTS and perhaps a lack of education. The criteria should be loosened to make room for those with Canadian experience and those who have been waiting for so long to obtain permanent residency. Now, according to Motion 44, the government should finally act within the next 120 days by formulating a new policy. They should get insight from the figures of other PNP programs (Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway, Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), Rural and Northern Immigration Program (RNIP), Agri-Food Pilot, and Provincial Nominee Process (PNP)) such as the type of NOC codes and the jobs. They should develop a strategy to include those who have been excluded earlier such as health services, caregivers, agriculture, manufacturing, service industry, trades, and transportation;Therefore, create a new policy that allows these individuals to obtain permanent resident status and will include these long-excluded individuals. Motion 44 is for those who have been left out and have been waiting for their chance to get a Permanent Residency.