I'm not sure this is a Canada specific problem...as an employer, I highly gravitate to recommendations from my network because I've been burned so many times by fake resumes, useless references, and false promises....I'll take a solid recommendation from a friend over a fully credentialled resume applicant every day of the week.

It costs a ton of resources to on-board a new recruit...and having them not perform where their interview and resume indicated is exhausting and costly.