Changes to Alberta Semi-Skilled Worker Program

English: Alberta Province within Canada. Español: Provincia de Alberta en Canadá. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) has created a short-term initiative geared towards supporting businesses in the hotel and lodging industry throughout the province.

The ‘2013 Hotel and Lodging Additional Allocation Initiative’ is effective immediately. It will allow Alberta employers to nominate as many eligible clerks/agents, food and beverage servers, and room attendants for Permanent Residency as they need. Workers in these positions are considered semi-skilled.

The AINP program is a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) that allows the province to nominate workers in key fields to the Federal Government for Permanent Residency processing. PNPs have been a great help to provinces, which are able to tailor programs to reflect the economic needs of their region.

Normally, employers in the hotel and lodging industry are restricted to nominating a certain number of workers each year. For instance, a hotel with 1-50 rooms may nominate up to 2 individuals a year, while a hotel with 451 or more may nominate up to 18.

Other recent changes to the AINP include permanently closing the Family and US Visa Holder streams, as well as the temporary expansion of the Long-Haul Truck Driver stream.

EDIT: On Thursday, June 7th, the AINP announced changes to the Manufacturing Industry category. The following work experience criteria must be fulfilled in order for a worker to be eligible for nomination:

1. Possess a minimum of two years work experience in a job similar to the employer's field of business
2. At least one of the two years must be completed in Canada.

The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) has reduced work experience requirements in its Semi-Skilled Worker stream.

Effective immediately, applicants to the Manufacturing Industry sub-division of the Semi-Skilled Worker stream are eligible to apply if they have two years of work experience in a job similar to the job they will be working in Alberta. At least one year of work must be completed in Canada.

The AINP is one of many Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) in Canada. Most Canadian provinces run their own PNP, which allows the province to nominate foreign nationals for Canadian Permanent Residency. Provinces are able to tailor their PNPs to target individuals with skills and experience that are in high demand in the region.

The AINP has streams for the following individuals:

• Engineers
• Tradespeople
• Skilled Workers
• International Graduates
• Semi-Skilled Workers
• Self-Employed Farmers

Source: http://www.canadavisa.com/news 

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Canada Sees Largest Job Gains Since 2002

English: Scotia Plaza (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Canada’s economy shocked even the most optimistic observers, as the month of May saw 95,000 new jobs created across the country. This is the largest gain since 2002, over a decade ago.

Most Canadian economists had expected a jobs gain of about 15,000 for the past month. The actual number, which was reported by Statistics Canada, is more than six times this amount. The added jobs helped to lower the unemployment rate a tenth of a percentage point, to 7.1 per cent.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was cautiously optimistic about the new statistics, stating that “May jobs numbers are a good sign that our economic policies are helping steer the economy in the right direction. Even better, the jobs created in May were mainly full time and in the private sector – the types of jobs that will help support a sustained recovery (from the 2009 economic recession).”

According to economists with Scotiabank, one of Canada’s largest banks, if the US had experienced a similar growth rate it would amount to the equivalent of 1 million new jobs in a single month.

Many of the new jobs were filled by young people, an important step in creating job security for the country’s next generation of earners. In May, people between the ages of 15 and 24 took 54,000 of the jobs.

The construction industry also saw massive gains, creating 42,700 jobs, almost half of the total new positions. Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta saw the largest increase in this field.

Source: http://www.canadavisa.com/news/entry/canada-sees-largest-job-gains-since-2002-10062013.html

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Self-Made Millionaires, Immigrant Millionaires Common In Canada, BMO Study Finds

English: UBS Investment Bank offices at 299 Park Ave (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The American dream may be more alive north of the border than it is in the land of liberty, according to results of a new study.

Almost half of Canada’s millionaires are either immigrants or first-generation Canadians, compared to just one-third of wealthy Americans, BMO Harris Private Banking said Thursday.

The study on the make-up of high-net-worth Canadians (those with investable assets of $1 million or more) found the majority -- 67 per cent -- of members of the diverse group are self-made millionaires. One in five attributed at least some of their wealth to inheritance.

About 24 per cent of millionaires are immigrants to Canada and another 24 per cent described themselves as first-generation Canadians with at least one parent born outside this country, BMO found.

“For generations, many have considered Canada to be a place that provides opportunities for those who are willing to move here and contribute to the growth of the country. The findings of this study confirm this long-standing belief,” said Alex Dousmanis-Curtis, senior vice-president and head of BMO Harris Private Banking.

“Today’s high-net worth Canadians, whether they were born here or have adopted Canada as their own, prove that hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit can result in prosperity and success.”

The report from BMO’s wealth management division found that one-third of high net worth individuals are women. That figure has grown significantly since 2010, when just 21 per cent of members of the group were women. That still pales in comparison to the 68 per cent of male affluent Canadians.

And just 40 per cent of those wealthy women in the latest study generated their own wealth while only one-third said they managed their own investments, compared to 59 per cent of men, suggesting wealth management is still considered a man’s space. Many women feel the industry doesn’t try to cater to their needs.

Some believe both the underrepresentation of women in banking and their perceived lower level of interest in money matters are symptoms of the same historical issue –women being shut out of the financial boys’ club.

“Today’s women are controlling more and more wealth in Canada, and that number is increasing by eight percentage points annually,” said Dousmanis-Curtis.

“From a private banking perspective, it’s clear that the face of wealth in Canada is changing and there is no longer one stereotypical type of high-net worth client. As an industry, we need to anticipate and exceed the unique needs of this diverse client base if we are to succeed.”

Overall, the bank said the results were encouraging and showed that wealth in Canada can be acquired in many ways and regardless of gender or birthplace.The findings are similar to a study by the Conference Board of Canada and others that suggest income mobility is more attainable in Canada than the U.S. However, the think tank also pointed out that income inequality is still a troubling problem in this country.

The report indicates one major link between opportunity and wealth: Higher education levels suggested a greater likelihood of higher wealth, indicating that 80 per cent of affluent Canadians have at least an undergraduate degree and 46 per cent completed a graduate or professional degree.

Another interesting finding in relation to the U.S. was that Canada’s millionaires tended to be older than their American counterparts, with 24 per cent of high net worth Americans under the age of 40, compared to just four per cent of Canadians. 

The online survey was conducted by Pollara between Mar. 28 and Apr.11 with a sample of 305 Canadian adults who had $1 million or more in investable assets. While online surveys cannot be ascribed a margin of error because they are not a random sample of the population, the bank said the margin of error for a sample of that size is plus or minus 5.6 per cent, 19 times out of 20. The U.S. figures were from a similar survey during the same period of time among 482 adults with $1 million or more in investable assets.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/13/self-made-millionaires-immigrants-canada_n_3435347.html

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Canada Looks to Lure Away Skilled U.S. Workers

English: Population distribution of Canadians (Stats Canada 2006) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Meera Louis

Paul Thomas could hardly believe it when a Canadian recruiter called about a position as a mechanic in British Columbia. His annual income had dropped to $40,000 a year from $100,000 as business slowed at the Atlanta car dealership where he worked. He’d filed for bankruptcy, and his house was in foreclosure when the headhunter saw his résumé online. “My wife and I were excited,” says the 45-year-old. “Auto mechanics don’t get approached by recruiters, so it was sort of nice being catered to.”

The headhunter sent Thomas online videos about the heavy-truck dealership that wanted to hire him, and his prospective employer flew him in for four days for a fuller picture of life in Prince George. Last March the company hired him under an immigration program for skilled workers. Scoring the job, which pays about $90,000 a year and comes with government-provided health care, seemed like “I scratched a lottery ticket,” says Thomas. Within a month he had a work permit.

Canada has a high rate of unemployment—12.3 percent in some regions. It also has tens of thousands of open jobs nationwide for plumbers, electricians, and other skilled workers. Employers have a hard time getting potential hires to go where the work is. “Canadians just aren’t willing to leave their provinces,” says Kathleen Kischer, who recruited Thomas. So companies, particularly in Western Canada, are tapping headhunters to scourMonster.com (MWW), LinkedIn (LNKD), and even Craigslist in search of Americans and other foreigners with the right résumés—a task made easier by the national government.

This past winter it launched a fast-track immigration program for 43 trades, promising to process work papers within 12 months for applicants who speak English or French and have two years’ experience in their field. Among the most wanted: ironworkers, welders, oil and gas well drillers, and heavy-duty equipment mechanics. “We always point out to Canadians that even though there are too many unemployed Canadians, there are also too many unfilled jobs,” Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said during a speech in April.

Canada is opening the door to Americans at the same time the U.S. Congress is battling over whether to let in more skilled workers. In Canada last year, 160,617 immigrants were granted permanent residency because of the economic value they brought, while 64,901 became residents via family ties, according to the government. In the U.S., with a population about nine times as big as Canada’s, 680,799 immigrants became residents through family sponsorships in fiscal 2012, and only 143,998 obtained residency based on their employment, federal data show.

It can take a decade for an employed immigrant to get a U.S. green card; in Canada a skilled worker can obtain permanent residency within 18 months, says Richard Kurland, an immigration lawyer in Vancouver. Foreigners can also apply for residency on their own, without an employer’s help—another big difference from the U.S. Word of the perks has spread all over the world. In 2011 the U.S. was only the fourth-largest source of immigrants to Canada, behind the Philippines, China, and India.

Kael Campbell, a headhunter in Victoria, says Canadians are benefiting from the influx of foreigners. “The hiring of one American John Deere (DE) or Caterpillar (CAT)mechanic with 10 years of experience can result in the direct employment of eight to nine Canadians” that are less skilled, Campbell says. His firm landed jobs in the mining and equipment industries for 30 immigrants last year, up from 18 in 2011.

Going north solved Thomas’s financial problems. His wife is now a cashier at a Costco (COST). They’ve made friends. “Home will always be the States,” says Thomas. That won’t stop the couple from applying for permanent residency in their new country. “Canada was my saving grace,” he says. “I believe I will stay here for a while.”

The bottom line: Canada gives preference for visas to immigrants who’ll add to its economy—a contrast with the U.S., where family ties trump employment.

Louis is a reporter for Bloomberg News in Washington.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-16/canada-looks-to-lure-away-skilled-u-dot-s-dot-workers

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Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification: Phase II

English: A grandfather teaching his little granddaughter how to ride a kick scooter. Simmering, Vienna, Austria, June 2006. Photo by KF. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With the backlog and wait times being cut in half, Phase II of that Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification will build on that success with further backlog reduction and even faster processing times.

First: Maintain high admissions

In 2012 and 2013, Canada will admit 50,000 parents and grandparents. This represents the highest level in 20 years. In 2014, Canada will maintain high levels of admissions for parents and grandparents.

This will help reunite more families and enable further backlog reduction.

Second: Make the Super Visa a permanent program

The Super Visa will become a permanent program and will continue to provide flexibility for families who can access the 10-year multiple-entry visa that allows parents and grandparents to remain in Canada up to two years at a time. The Super Visa is very popular. Over 1,000 Super Visas are issued each month, with over 15,000 Super Visas issued since its launch in December 2011 and approval rates remain high at 86 percent.

Third: New qualifying criteria for permanent residency sponsorship

New qualifying criteria ensure that sponsors have the financial means to support parents and grandparents, while reducing the net costs to Canadian taxpayers by leading to less reliance on health care and social programs.

The new qualifying criteria include:

• Increase minimum necessary income (MNI) for sponsoring parents and grandparents equivalent by 30 percent: The current MNI does not accurately reflect the increased costs associated with being financially responsible for elderly parents and grandparents. The modest increase in the MNI will ensure sponsors are able to meet the financial needs of their sponsored parents and grandparents, which will reduce the net costs to Canadian taxpayers.
• Lengthen period for demonstrating the MNI from one year to three years:  Individuals who seek to sponsor their parents and grandparents and their accompanying family members will be required to demonstrate that they meet the new income threshold for the three consecutive tax years prior to submitting the sponsorship application. Requiring prospective sponsors of parents and grandparents to provide evidence of income over a three-year period, as opposed to 12 months, will help ensure sponsors have income stability and the financial means to provide for the basic needs of their parents and grandparents. It will also guarantee that prospective sponsors are contributing to the public services their sponsored family members are likely to use (for example, provincial health care, public transportation, etc.).
• Evidence of income confined to documents issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA): Individuals who seek to sponsor their parents and grandparents and their accompanying family members will be required to demonstrate that they meet the new income threshold for three consecutive years using CRA notices of assessment. This will mean that officials could spend less time reviewing and verifying documents and could help speed up processing times even further. It will also guarantee that prospective sponsors are contributing to the public services their sponsored family members are likely to use (for example, provincial health care, public transportation, etc.).
• Extend the sponsorship undertaking period to 20 years instead of 10 years:  The current sponsorship undertaking period for parents and grandparents is 10 years.  Individuals who seek to sponsor their parents and grandparents and accompanying family members will be required to commit to a lengthened sponsorship undertaking period of 20 years. This means sponsors and co-signers (if applicable) will be responsible for repaying any provincial social assistance benefits paid to the parent and grandparent and their accompanying family members for 20 years. A lengthened sponsorship undertaking will protect Canadian taxpayers and ensure sponsors assume more financial responsibility for the basic needs of their parents and grandparents over a longer period of time, as well as for health care costs not covered by provincial health care (for example, eye care, dental care, mobility aids, etc.). 
• Changing the maximum age of dependents: The maximum age of dependents will be set at 18 years of age and under for all immigration programs, including the Parent and Grandparent program. This is in line with the standard age of majority in Canada. Those over the age of 18 can apply to visit or immigrate to Canada independently. There will be an exception for individuals, regardless of age, who are financially dependent on their parents due to a mental or physical disability.

Fourth: Accepting 5,000 applications in 2014

By accepting 5,000 applications in 2014 while maintaining high levels of admissions of parents and grandparents, the government will be able to further reduce the remaining backlog so that families can be reunited even more quickly. Opening the program to an unlimited number of applications as was done in the past will grow the backlog again and increase wait times, undoing the progress made to date.

For additional information on the proposal to redesign of the PGP program, please consult the draft regulatory package.

New Parent and Grandparent program re-opens January 2, 2014

Matti (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mississauga, May 10, 2013 — Citizenship and Immigration Canada will re-open the Parent and Grandparent (PGP) program for new applications on January 2, 2014, by which time the backlog and wait times in the program are expected to have been cut in half.

“The Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification is on track to meet the goals of cutting in half the backlog and wait times in the Parent and Grandparent program,” said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney. “It is very important that we continue to make progress and not return to the old broken system with wait times as long as a decade—that would be unfair to families.”

Phase II of the Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification will provide even faster processing times, reduce the backlog further, prevent future backlogs, ensure that families have the financial means to support those they sponsor, and protect the interests of taxpayers.

First – In 2012 and 2013, Canada will admit 50,000 parents and grandparents as permanent residents. This represents the highest level of parents and grandparents admitted in 20 years. In 2014, Canada will maintain high levels of admissions for parents and grandparents.

Second – The Super Visa will become permanent and will continue to provide flexibility for families who access the 10-year multiple-entry visa, allowing visa holders to remain in Canada up to two years at a time. Over 15,000 Super Visas have been issued since the program’s launch in December 2011 with approval rates averaging 86 percent.

Third – New qualifying criteria for permanent residency sponsorship of parents and grandparents will increase the financial responsibility of sponsors to ensure they have the means to support those they sponsor, while limiting the program’s cost to taxpayers and Canada’s strained health and social programs.

Fourth – 5,000 new sponsorship applications will be accepted in the program in 2014. By accepting 5,000 applications in 2014 while maintaining high levels, the government will be able to further reduce the remaining backlog so that families can be reunited more quickly.

“These new criteria ensure sponsored family members are well supported by their sponsors throughout their time in Canada,” said Minister Kenney. “The redesigned Parent and Grandparent program reunites families faster while respecting Canadian taxpayers and the limited resources for health and social programs.”

Canada has one of the most generous family reunification programs in the world. The United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand do not allow grandparents to be sponsored at all or only in very limited circumstances, and they have very restrictive criteria for the sponsorship of parents.

The amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations that are being proposed will be pre-published in theCanada Gazette (Part I) and the public will be able to comment for a 30-day period.

• Backgrounder: Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification - Phase II
• Backgrounder: Regulatory Impact Assessment Statement - PGP Program
• Backgrounder: Regulatory Impact Assessment Statement - Age of Dependents

Canada reforms temporary immigration visa regime

English: The Montreal head office of the Royal Bank of Canada is the Place Ville-Marie's largest tenant (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Canadian government ministers have announced a U-turn in their policy on temporary foreign workers. The announcement comes after two high profile cases which seemed to show abuse of the system have caused negative headlines for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Last year, Canada introduced several changes to the TFWP aimed at stimulating the economy. It allowed employers to pay foreign temporary workers 15% less than the median pay in any sector and also speeded up the system for gaining work permits. The Accelerated Labour Market Opinion (ALMO) allowed employers to get work permits for foreign staff in about ten days. Both these measures have been reversed because of cases which seem to show that they are encouraging employers to employ foreign workers instead of Canadians.Temporary foreign workers who work in Canada under the Canadian Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) must now be paid at the same rate as Canadian workers, there will be greater enforcement of the requirement that temporary foreign workers should not displace Canadians and English and French will be the only languages which can be specified as a requirement for employment. The changes will take place with immediate effect.

Temporary workers must be paid 'the prevailing wage'

On 29th April 2013, Jason Kenney, the Canadian Minister for Immigration and Multiculturalism, and Diane Finley, the Human Resources Minister, gave a joint press conference in Ottawa to announce the changes which are as follows.

• All temporary foreign workers must now be paid 'the prevailing wage' for the job that they are doing.
• The Accelerated Labour Market Opinion (ALMO) process will be suspended.
• The government will have greater powers to suspend and revoke work permits where the system has been abused
• Employers will need to show that they are not replacing Canadian workers with foreign workers.
• Employers which rely heavily on foreign workers will need to show how they intend to employ more Canadians in future
• The government will raise the fees for applications to employ foreign workers.
• Employers will no longer be able to specify that employees must speak language other than English and French (Canada's national languages) in order to take a job.

The ministers were responding to two recent, high profile cases which, unions allege, show that the TFWP is being abused by employers.

In November 2012, unions launched a court case against HD Mining, a mining company which imported 200 Chinese miners into a mine in British Columbia. The unions said that there were plenty of available Canadian miners to do the job and the Chinese miners were being paid CAN$10 an hour less than the market rate. The company said that this was because the mine was using the 'long wall' mining technique which was not used in Canada so there were no suitably qualified miners available locally. HD Mining is 55% owned by a Chinese company.

Unions allege abuse of the system

Unions alleged that the Chinese miners were also being forced to make illegal payments to that company in order to work in Canada. The unions said that it was an abuse of the system to bring in workers and pay them less than the market rate when there were plenty of unemployed Canadian miners living locally. They said that the employer was only employing Chinese speaking miners, further disadvantaging Canadian workers.

The second case was even more damaging to the reputation of the TFWP because it involved the flagship Canadian bank, The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). It also involved allegations that existing staff were being made redundant and replaced by foreign temporary workers.

Unions allege that RBC subcontracted certain functions to Indian outsourcing firm iGate. iGate then applied to the Canadian government for permission to bring in temporary workers. This was granted and once the temporary workers arrived, existing Canadian staff were instructed to train them and were then made redundant. The iGate staff were paid less than their Canadian counterparts.

iGate: 'Authorizations are properly issued under existing law '

When the news of this arrangement broke in early April, iGate spokesman Prabhanjan Deshpande said that the company was doing nothing wrong; 'For any engagement requiring foreign workers, appropriate immigration applications are filed by iGate and all work authorizations are properly issued under existing law and policy'.

However, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Go Public investigative TV programme claims that iGate has yet to respond to allegations that it did not inform the Canadian government that its workers would take the jobs of Canadian staff when applying for Canadian work permits.

At the time, a Canadian government spokesman said 'We recently learned of allegations that RBC could be replacing Canadian workers by contracting with iGate, which is filling some of the roles with temporary foreign workers. If true, this situation is unacceptable'.

Even before these latest cases, unions in Canada were complaining that Canadian employers were replacing indigenous workers with cheaper temporary foreign workers on work permits. They say that foreign workers are not being used as a last resort, as the law requires, but were, instead, being used as an alternative to Canadians and to drive down wages.

Number of temporary foreign workers has more than doubled since 2002

The unions point to the fact that the number of temporary foreign workers with short term work permits (usually lasting either one or two years) has risen from about 185,000 in 2002 to around 447,000 in 2011. Meanwhile, the Canadian unemployment rate has remained higher than 7%.

But Sharaf Sultan, a lawyer at Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie says that the TFWP contains many protections for Canadian workers and 'thoughtfully assesses the potential impact of the entry of a foreigner in the Canadian labour market. Contrary to the accusations of several commentators, the TFWP is already geared, first and foremost, at protecting local labour markets'. He adds 'Canada faces serious labour shortages across various regions and sectors of the economy'.

In order to employ a foreign worker under the TFWP, a Canadian employer (or international employer like iGate) must receive a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), the Canadian government's department for employment.

Accelerated LMO procedure reduced protection

An LMO is a certificate which assesses the likely impact of employing a foreign worker on the Canadian economy. In order to be allowed to employ a foreign worker, employers must show that this will have a neutral or a positive effect on the Canadian jobs market. This is done by showing that the job has been adequately advertised to Canadian workers. However, after the government had introduced the Accelerated Labour Market Opinion (ALMO), it became easier for employers to get approval without showing that they had advertised. The unions say that this resulted in reduced protection for Canadian workers.

The joint announcement by Mr Kenney and Ms Finley will, seemingly, make it harder to get LMOs for foreign workers. Ms Finley told the press conference 'The purpose of the TFW program is to help fill genuine and acute labour needs and we have been reviewing the program to ensure that goal is met and Canadian workers are never displaced.'

Even so, the overall trend towards the employment of more workers on temporary work visas, both in Canada and globally, looks set to continue.

Workpermit.com is a specialist visa consultancy with nearly twenty-five years of experience dealing with visa applications. We are OISC registered. We can help with a wide range of visa applications to the UK or your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details.

Source: http://www.workpermit.com/news/2013-05-03/canada-reforms-temporary-immigration-visa-regime

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Working in Canada Just Got Tougher: Changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program Coming

Posted on April 29th, 2013 in Canada Work Permit

As I’ve mentioned in the past, if you want to immigrate to Canada and you qualify, you should begin the process immediately, as rules seem to change often these days, and it seems increasingly more difficult to qualify.
Following the public outcry after the Royal Bank hired foreign workers from India to replace Canadians.  Some of those workers were in Canada to train for jobs that would be outsourced to India.  Canadians lost their jobs at the Royal Bank and the public backlash was fierce.
The government has moved quickly and today announced a series of reforms that will be introduced through legislation, regulation and through practise and administrative process directives.
So how exactly will it be more difficult to work Canada?  The government is taking aim at both employers and temporary workers.  The new provisions include:
Requiring employers to pay foreign workers at the prevailing wage
This replaces the wage flexibility employers used to enjoy in hiring foreign workers.  The loss of this flexibility may make it more difficult for employers to justify hiring someone from abroad.
Suspending the Accelerated Labour Market Opinion Process
This program allowed employers who had previously issued a positive Labour Market Opinion (“LMO”) and who complied with all requirements to obtain a new LMO is just over a week.  This program is no longer available so employers will have to go through the entire LMO process which can be lengthy.  It also means they can’t hire foreign workers as quickly as before.
Government authority to suspend and revoke work permits
The government now has discretion to intervene where the foreign worker program is being “misused”. We don’t have a definition of “misused” yet, but I suspect this provision was aimed at the RBC scenario described above.
Adding questions to the LMO application to ensure outsourcing is not on the table
Employers will have to confirm that they are not using foreign workers to outsource jobs to a foreign country by training them in Canada.  Again, this is aimed squarely at the RBC case above.
Ensuring there is a transition plan to hire Canadian workers
Employers will have to provide a plan on how they will transition from using foreign workers to Canadian workers over time.  This is an administrative burden that some employers may not be able to address fully.  For example, if there is a chronic shortage of Canadians with certain specialized skills, it is going to be tough to make a plan to transition to Canadian workers.
Fees for LMO’s and increasing fees for workers
In past, applying for an LMO was free.  Not any longer.  It’s going to cost employers to apply for an LMO with no guarantee it will be accepted.  This could be a big disincentive.  Work permit fees will also increase.
English and French as the only languages used as a job requirement
In my view, this will be one of the biggest challenges to overcome.  In past, employers could state that a worker required a foreign language (such as Spanish or Mandarin or whatever), because that employer did business in those parts of the world, and needed a worker with those language skills.  As a result, finding a fluent Canadian with those language skills was difficult, and often a positive LMO was issued and a foreign worker hired.
No longer.  With only English and French as language requirements for a job, a great number of employers simply won’t be able to hire foreign workers for their language skills (among other technical skills of course).  In a global economy, I simply can not understand this requirement – this will hurt our employers who do significant business overseas in different languages and who can’t find Canadians with the right technical and language skills to do the job.
So there you have it – the new changes in a nutshell.
I’ll post further details as we get them.

About the author

Gianpaolo Panusa is a Canadian immigration lawyer, writer, and founder of the PanCanadian Immigration Law Group based in Vancouver, Canada.Google+ Profile

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