If the goal of the minister would be, for example, as she tagged to Bill C-17, parameters to prevent certain vulnerable persons from being issued work permits, she can issue an operations memorandum on this point. She can have her staff instruct her people in the field to be very mindful of particular issues, and that will have an effect on how many visas are issued.
Evidence of meeting #18 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was worker.