CILA’s latest Catalyst Canada episode is now live.
Catalyst Canada is convening stakeholders from across the country to explore how Canada can improve its policies to strengthen economic development through business immigration. Catalyst Canada is recording the episodes and then posting them on YouTube to stimulate national dialogue. It will culminate in the release of a major research report in fall 2025.
Featuring Randolph Hahn, Pantea Jafari, and Catherine Sas, this episode focussed on the following aspects of Federal Self-Employed (FSE) program:
- The FSE program’s confused purpose: cultural contribution vs. economic establishment
- Why vague regulations and undefined criteria make the program a legal grey zone
- Inconsistent decision-making, especially around what qualifies as “cultural”
- How inventory pressure has quietly been influencing refusal rates
- How group litigation has exposed deeper systemic issues at IRCC
- The role of subjectivity and discretion in self-employment adjudication
- Future fixes: clear eligibility standards, intake caps, and the language requirement debate
Watch the full episode on YouTube
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