Thanks! I do recall well the frustration back then w.r.t. promotions and pay raise bargaining (or rather, complete lack thereof). Once here, unless there's a way to convert to an open permit, it's very tough to find a new employer willing to sponsor under the system. At least that was my experience - when I finally got out of that restriction it was like a compete reversal.

I sometimes wonder if Canada needs something like the 491 visa that Australia has. Under this visa, you get rated the same as you would for PR, but you need fewer points to qualify, and once you get it, it is an open permit.

It also promotes regionalism as you're tied to a specific province, but it's otherwise open in that you can work for anyone you want. (Actually, it's even more open than that, as there's also no restrictions on studying etc that you'd have on a Canadian work permit.)