Dec 3, 2014 | Caregiver Program
Changes announced in the recent months have now been implemented. As of November 30, 2014 families seeking to hire caregivers for childcare, elder care or care for the disabled will have to endure the same painful process that corporations in Canada must go through to gain the approval to hire a foreign worker.
As of November 30, 2014:
- Live in Caregiver program is now called “In-Home Caregivers,”
- Employers have the option to hire caregivers, nurses, or aids depending on requirements of the job,
- Caregivers will have the choice of whether they wish to live-in or live-out,
- Families who will employ live-in’s cannot deduct or charge the worker for room and board,
- Employers must pay the median prevailing wage for the occupation in the city/province where the work will be performed,
- Employers hiring from abroad must advertise their position for a minimum of four (4) weeks and provide evidence of the results of their recruitment efforts,
- Two streams have been created for caregivers applying for permanent residence, with a total of 5,500 applications accepted per year.
Employers must submit an application for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and pay a $1000 filing fee. There are no refunds for a refusal. Refusals cannot be appealed or reconsidered and therefore it is imperative that the employer is aware of the requirements before submitting an application. For this reason, it is highly recommended for employers to seek professional assistance with the preparation and submission of the application.
Call our office for more information.
Nov 10, 2014 | Express Entry
As of January 1st, 2015, Canada’s immigration system as we have known it for generations will have changed. Express Entry (EE), as Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC) calls it, will become the main route by which foreign nationals will be able to apply for and acquire permanent resident status.
The Express Entry program will replace the popular Federal Skilled Worker program. As of January 1st, 2015 applicants will be required to apply to a ‘pool’ from which the federal and provincial governments will be able to select based on labour market needs. Canadian employers will also have access to the pool to nominate candidates given based on their own labour shortages or special needs. There will be no list of eligible occupations, and no cap to the program.
Candidates will be required to create an online profile containing all of their information. The profile will serve as the application and will automatically receive a score. The applicants will rank (maximum score of 1200 possible) and compete with other candidates to be “invited” to apply for permanent residence. Those applicants who secure a job offer from a Canadian employer will rank higher than those who don’t. Once invited, the applicant will be required to submit all of their documents to support their application. The federal government says it is committed to processing applications in less than 6 months.
Employers who choose to use the program will receive access to the pool of candidates and select the candidates they feel most suit their labour needs. Employers will be required to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) by applying to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), but will still be required to provide evidence they were unable to find a suitable Canadian or permanent resident for the job. LMIA applications in support of a permanent full time position will be free of charge, as opposed to today’s fee of $1000 per position.
There will be no fee to submit a profile through Express Entry.
For more information on Express Entry and how you can benefit from the program we suggest contacting our office.
Nov 4, 2014 | Caregiver Program
An overhaul of the Live-in Caregiver program will remove the requirement that caregivers must live with their employers. The changes to be implemented will also speed up the processing of their permanent resident applications.
Live-in caregivers come to Canada with hopes and dreams of one day becoming permanent residents of Canada and brining their families for a better future. As it has been for years, caregivers would leave behind their families including their own children to have an opportunity to care for our loved ones. The program required the caregivers to secure a job offer with a Canadian family and reside with them for 24 months in order to be eligible to apply for permanent residence. In many cases, employers treated their caregivers as modern-day slaves, and the government felt that it was time to revamp the program andgive the caregivers a choice.
We are saying to the whole Canadian population, to caregivers above all, the time of abuse and vulnerability is over,” said Minister Chris Alexander at a Toronto news conference.
The changes which are scheduled to be implemented on November 30, 2014 will remove the live-in requirement and make it optional for caregivers to live with their employers. In addition to this major change, the program will be split in 2 streams, one for child-care workers and one for those working as health-care aids.
After working in Canada for 2 years and applying for permanent residence, caregivers would often wait up to 3 years for their applications to be processed. During this time, the caregivers must wait and continue to spend time apart from their families for even longer before being able to bring them to Canada. With over 60,000 applications in the current backlog, the wait times are destined to increase even more. As part of the overhaul to the program, and to reduce the backlog, Canada will cap the number of applications it will accept. A total of 2,750 for each stream will be accepted and they will be processed within 6 months; reuniting caregivers with their families that much sooner.
The changes to the program will affect caregivers applying for permanent residency, but will not disturb the process or procedures currently in place to obtain a work permit under the program. Employers wishing to hire caregivers must still apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), and provide evidence they were unable to fill the position with someone who is already in Canada.
For more information on these changes, please contact our office directly.
Jul 30, 2014 | Temporary Foreign Workers
Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program is now facing a legal challenge by a Labrador business couple.
The program, introduced in its reformed version in June by Employment and Social Development Minister Jason Kenney, includes the Labour Market Opinion clause which forces employers to obtain government permission to hire foreign workers. Non-compliance of this rule can lead to a $100,000 fine and possible blacklisting for business owners (which means they cannot apply for work permits for new foreign employees).
The Labrador couple, owners of several franchises, have recently found themselves on the government blacklist, which has sparked the legal challenge.
Their complaint includes several accusations against the policies of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, including lack of reasons as to why their company was blacklisted, no warning that their company name would be listed in the public domain and not giving the couple a chance to defend their case. The couple also claims the changes were not announced in due time to allow them to adjust their procedures.
Concern is growing that Kenney’s changes may deter would-be immigrants from using the program, thus reducing responses to the government’s efforts to fill an ever-increasing skills shortage in the country.
Jul 28, 2014 | Spousal Sponsorship
Canadian citizens applying to sponsor their foreign spouses will be hit hard by the government’s doubling of processing time due to a backlog of applications.
Applicants in Canada will now have to wait 11 months, up from six months, to get past the first stage, which, if approved, will let the foreign spouse work in Canada and access health care while phase two is being finalized.
Currently, Canada allows a foreign national married to a Canadian to apply for sponsorship in the country if they’re already here legally with valid temporary status. They also have the option to return to their homeland and apply from there, but most couples prefer the in-Canada route.
The recent unexpected delays in inland sponsorship processing have caused both emotional and financial hardships for thousands of these Canadian couples because the foreign spouses lack full status here.
It’s not known how many inland spousal applications are backlogged, but more than 8,000 new in-Canada applications (one-fifth of all spousal cases) are processed each year.
While immigration officials have said applicants are free to choose whether to apply in or outside Canada, a letter from Chris Alexander’s office obtained by the Toronto Star stated the government’s preference: “It is always in the client’s best interests to apply abroad.”
