Closed for business: The unravelling of Canada’s Start-Up Visa program: Nino Melikidze and Steven J. Paolasini

Good account of the troubled history of this program (I am generally sceptical of business immigration programs as governments rarely get them right):

…One of the most troubling aspects of the Start-Up Visa program is how long mismanagement was allowed without meaningful consequences. Over time, credible allegations surfaced that some designated organizations facilitated questionable investment arrangements, sold incubator placements, or approved start-up commitments with little genuine validation. Yet rarely, if ever, were organizations removed from the designated list or suspended until it was far too late to prevent the program’s collapse.

To restore credibility to Canada’s entrepreneur immigration system, the government must conduct a full investigation into the financial transactions and agreements executed under the SUV framework. The investigation should focus on the 10 designated organizations that were responsible for the majority of total program intake.

The goal of the audit would be to understand how the government permitted a small fraction of the organizations to monopolize such a massive share of the national inventory. Where mismanagement occurred, it should not simply be treated as a policy failure.”

Source: Closed for business: The unravelling of Canada’s Start-Up Visa program: Nino Melikidze and Steven J. Paolasini