Temporary Foreign Worker Program – a difficult decision
In an attempt to prevent foreign workers from displacing Canadian workers, the government is making some big changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. These changes will give Canadian citizens and permanent residents first shot at filling a position once it becomes available. Additionally, “these reforms will require that greater efforts be made to recruit and train Canadians to fill available jobs.” (Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism).
The main purpose of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is to fill positions which Canadian employers are unable to fill due to lack of education, training, or experience on the part of the Canadian workers; or perhaps the lack of Canadians interested in working in certain fields. Temporary foreign workers are brought in to do the jobs that Canadians are unable or unwilling to do. There are major shortages in some of Canada’s necessary occupations and temporary foreign workers are needed to fill these gaps. However, in order to prevent misuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the government has decided to implement changes to the program which may make it more difficult for Canadian employers to hire temporary foreign workers from here on out.
Following is a list of updates to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Some of these changes have already been put into effect, while a few of them will be put into effect soon:
- Employers must pay temporary foreign workers the prevailing wage. There will no longer be any flexibility in the wages of temporary foreign workers. This will prevent employers from seeking temporary foreign workers as a way to cut costs.
- The Accelerated Labour Market Opinion (A-LMO) process has been put on hold indefinitely. Further review will assess whether the A-LMO process is beneficial to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and to the Canadian economy. The A-LMO allowed Canada employers who received a positive LMO in the past to apply for expedited processing of any additional LMOs, thus allowing them to hire more temporary foreign workers in a shorter period of time. With the suspension of the A-LMO process, employers must now wait months instead of days to receive an LMO each and every time they apply for one.
- The government will now have more authority to suspend and revoke work permits and LMOs if they believe that the employers and/or temporary foreign workers are misusing the program.
- Employers will now be required to pay a fee for processing an LMO; in the past, employers did not pay for LMO processing. Additionally, the fees for work permits will increase, making it more difficult for temporary foreign workers to find employment and obtain a work permit. Employers may be less likely to seek temporary foreign workers now that they will have to pay for the LMO and in many cases, employers who were willing to cover the costs for the temporary foreign worker to obtain a work permit may not want to pay the increased work permit fees on top of the LMO fee. This will ensure employers will try harder to find Canadians to fill the positions in their company instead of rushing into hiring temporary foreign workers.
- LMO applications will be updated to include more questions that will help prevent the misuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program by Canadian employers and their workers.
- English and French will be the only languages allowed to be used as a job requirement for temporary foreign workers.
The government asserts that these new regulations will strengthen and improve the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and prevent its misuse. As stated, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program was designed to temporarily fill the gaps in positions which could not be filled by Canadians and to help Canadian businesses train and eventually hire Canadians for these positions. By design, this program is only meant to employ temporary foreign workers for a finite period of time (as is implied by the name of the program). So temporary foreign workers who come to work in Canada must be willing to return to their home country once they have finished doing the temporary job that they came here to do. At the end of the day, what this all boils down to is preventing temporary foreign workers taking jobs away from Canadians.
Some Canadian workers may be thrilled by this news, but it could mean disaster for Canadian employers as well as temporary foreign workers who are in Canada or wishing to enter Canada on a work permit.
Canadian employers will need to make stronger efforts to hire Canadians before being allowed to hire temporary foreign workers, making the decision to hire temporary foreign workers much more difficult. And they must prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have made the utmost efforts to recruit Canadian workers, that the temporary foreign worker is absolutely necessary for the success of the company, and that these temporary foreign workers will eventually lead to more jobs opening up for Canadians. Additionally, they must show that the temporary foreign worker is really being brought in to fill a temporary position and that they will leave Canada once this task has been completed. The decision to hire a temporary foreign worker is intended to be a last resort for employers. The changes made to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program should prevent Canadian employers from choosing a temporary foreign worker when there are Canadians willing and qualified to do the job.
Further changes will continue to be made to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program based on ongoing reviews by the government and the input provided by Canadians regarding this program. The changes being made are intended to strengthen the economy and help Canadian workers and businesses be successful.
If you are a temporary foreign worker or someone who wishes to apply for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, this news may be frightening to you. We urge you to share your thoughts and concerns with us here on our blog or by calling our office at 416-665-3939 (toll free at 1-888-808-7338).
Additionally, if you are wondering whether you are at risk of losing your work permit; or if you are waiting to get a response on an LMO application; or even if you just have questions about the changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker program, please contact our office to speak with an immigration consultant. Canadian businesses who rely on foreign workers should also contact us to discuss these changes and how they may affect your business.
Whether you are a Canadian citizen, a temporary foreign worker, a Canadian employer, or any person interested in Canada immigration laws; we would love to hear your opinions on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program changes. If you have questions, your answers are just a mouse click or phone call away. We look forward to speaking with you soon.
Immigration to Canada will resume, but don’t expect it to be open for everyone
The Canadian government has been incredibly busy this year making major changes to it’s immigration system. With the pause of the Skilled Worker program, sponsorship of parents and grandparents, and the hold on investors and business class immigration, it has been an incredibly active year for minister Jason Kenney.
Recognizing that immigrants are an integral part of the Canadian economy, and growing labour shortages in the country overall, Minister Jason Kenney has made plans to improve the system as a whole.
As the Skilled Worker program is one of the most important in bringing in skilled immigrants, we are hearing that the government has a proposal to re-instate the Skilled Worker program, but this time without a list of priority occupations. In 2008, Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC) implemented a requirement that one must have work experience in a priority occupation to qualify for the program. In 2009, CIC limited the number of Skilled Worker applications to a maximum of 20,000 per year and the following year reduced it once more to 10,000.
We are now hearing from the Federal government that the Skilled Worker program will be redesigned to better accept the applicants that Canada wants. There will be changes to the points system and when it comes to the occupation list, there will be none! Those who would like to submit applications under this category will need to meet the minimum points based on 5 categories and their work experience will need to be of a management or skilled position (NOC O, A or B).
We do understand that the sponsorship program for parents and grandparents may reopen in 2014, but until then the Super Visa is the way to go. If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and want to sponsor your parents or grandparents to Canada you will have to apply for a Super Visa. The Super Visa is a multiple entry visa that will allow your parents and/or grandparents to live (but not work) in Canada for a period of up to 2 years at a time.
Investors, entrepreneurs and business class applicants will have to wait for further information on these programs as there has been no update at this time.
If you are interested in immigrating to Canada we strongly suggest that you contact our office to speak with our immigration counsel for the most accurate and up to date information. You may complete our free online assessment form to determine whether you are or will be eligible to immigrate. Feel free to call and speak to us directly at 1-416-665-3939 or toll-free within North America at 1-888-808-7338.
Breaking News – Federal Skilled Worker Program FROZEN!
It is now official. Citizenship & Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced in Calgary today that beginning July 1st, 2012 the Federal Skilled Worker program is frozen. No new applications under this program will be accepted until further notice. The temporary freeze does not affect those applicants who have arranged employment offers or those who are applying under the PhD eligibility stream.
“We have been making lots of changes to our economic immigration system,” said Minister Kenney. “We will take the next six months to do a lot of the heavy lifting to get us closer to a fast and flexible immigration system.”
This temporary, yet indefinite, pause to the program will allow the government to catch up and process over 120,000 files in the backlog. Applications filed before February 27, 2008 have been stuck as a result of the ministerial instructions implemented in 2008.
The Minister promised that Citizenship & Immigration Canada will be consulting with provinces, territories and stakeholders on ways to reform the current immigrant investor program which is also currently frozen.
Programs currently frozen; Federal Skilled Worker program, Federal Investor Program, Parents/Grandparents sponsorship, and the Federal Entrepreneur program.
For more information regarding these changes we strongly suggest that you contact our office. Let one of our immigration advisers provide you with a free, no obligation consultation to determine your chances for immigration to Canada.
Tell us what you think about the news today. Write your comments and concerns below.
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Freezing the Skilled Worker, investor programs?
The federal government is possibly going to place a hold on accepting new federal skilled worker and immigrant investor program applications. While many applicants are expecting to file their federal skilled worker applications beginning July 1st, they may be disappointed at the news. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is expected to make an announcement later today.
Minister Kenney is planning to hold consultations with stakeholders on how to better improve these programs. He calls for a faster, more flexible immigration system that is economically driven and designed to attract workers with stronger language skills, and employment credentials that are in demand by the current labour market in Canada.
We will continue to post news on this blog as it happens. Stay tuned for further information.
As always we encourage you to share this article on Facebook, Twitter and other social media websites. Posting your comments below, is always appreciated!
Beware Scams: Be Sure You Are Hiring a Licensed Immigration Representative!
Unfortunately, there are plenty of people out there who would like to take advantage of innocent immigrants. These people are scam artists who claim to be regulated immigration consultants, but who are “ghost consultants”. Before you hire an immigration representative, make sure they really are licensed!
Certain types of people are especially at risk. If you do not speak English well or if you are not currently in Canada, you are more at risk. You should investigate and ask questions, such as their license number, and should look at their website or Google them in order to find out more information. Can-Am Immigration is a consulting firm with regulated, licensed and insured immigration consultants available to help you. Give us a call and we will be happy to explain to you everything about our experience and licensing that you need to know.
If you are not currently in Canada, you should beware. In countries like India, “immigration consultants” or “travel agents” will claim to sell you a visa for $10,000 – $25,000 Canadian or more! They will tell you that they are taking care of all of the paperwork when in reality, they simply sell you a plane ticket and then disappear. Therefore, if they are filing paperwork for you or “representing” you, you must be careful because the applications can be deemed fraudulent and the visas might be fake. The best thing to do if you are outside of Canada is still to contact a Canadian consulting firm, like ours, and work with them directly.
If you have experienced any of these types of problems, please give us a call and we will try to help you. If you do not hire a licensed immigration consultant, you never know what kind of trouble you could have! You could lose your money, end up in jail, or be deported back to your home country. It is better to avoid any scams and hire a licensed expert immigration consultant!
Contact Can-Am Immigration today.
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