Federal government to remove incentive for foreign workers to reduce fraud in immigration system [Video]

This story is a collaboration between CBC News and the Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF).

The federal government will no longer be granting additional points toward permanent residence to some temporary foreign workers, less than two months after an undercover CBC News and Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF) investigation revealed how easy it is to buy and sell these jobs online.

On Tuesday, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller announced that applicants to the Express Entry program will no longer receive 50 or 200 additional points for working in a position supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) — a move that one immigration lawyer described as “drastic” but expected.

Labour Market Impact Assessments are documents issued to employers by the federal government. It allows them to hire foreign workers if they can’t find a Canadian or a permanent resident to fill a position.

The positions were introduced in 2014 as “a last …