Temporary Foreign Workers Program
Changes and New Requirements
January 14, 2014
Overview
• Purpose of the Temporary Foreign Workers
Program (“TFWP”)
• Motivation for the TFWP Changes
• Goal of the TFWP Changes
• Key Changes
• Reactions to the TFWP Changes
• The Newest Changes – as of December 31, 2013
Purpose of the Temporary
Foreign Workers Program
• Deal with acute skill shortages on a
temporary basis
• Intended to be a last resort for employers
Motivation for Changes
• Recent news stories:
• Mining company planning to import as many as 200
Chinese miners to work in Northeastern BC
• RBC plan to outsource information technology jobs to
Indian workers
• In 2011, number of foreign workers in
Canada doubled compared to ten years
ago.
Goal of the Changes
• “Qualified Canadians, including new
Canadians, should have first crack at
available jobs.”
Honourable Chris Alexander, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration – August 7, 2013
• Support Canada’s economic recovery and
growth
• Balance needs of employers with needs of
Canadian workers
Key Changes
• Removal of wage flexibility
• Suspension of the Accelerated Labour
Market Opinion (LMO) process
• Processing fee for LMOs
• Official languages restriction
• Advertising requirements
• Assessment of impact on job market
Removal of Wage Flexibility
• What’s changed?
• Previously, employers could pay temporary
foreign workers (“TFWs”) up to 15% less than
the prevailing wage
• Less than 5% of employers used this
wage flexibility
Removal of Wage Flexibility
• New requirement:
• Employers have to pay TFWs the prevailing
wage in the industry
Suspension of the
Accelerated LMO
• What’s changed?
• Previously, certain employers could obtain an
LMO more quickly and easier than the
general process
• Some employers of higher-skilled workers
could use accelerated LMO to bring in
much-needed workers efficiently
Suspension of the
Accelerated LMO
• New requirement:
• All employers are required to use the
standard LMO process, which may take
months for approval
• Suspension is temporary, but unclear
when the accelerated LMO process will be
reinstated
Processing Fee for LMOs
• What’s changed?
• Previously, there was no fee associated with
applying for an LMO
• Administration costs of processing LMOs
were covered by tax dollars
Processing Fee for LMOs
• New requirement:
• Employers must pay a $275 LMO processing fee
per position
• Fees have to be submitted at the time of the
application with a Processing Fee Payment Form
• Employers cannot recover the processing fee
from TFWs
• No refunds are issued for a negative LMO
Processing Fee for LMOs
• Purpose of fee:
• In 2012, 60% of positive LMOs did not lead to
a work permit being issued to a TFW
• Decrease wasted tax dollars
• Expecting a 30% decrease in LMO
applications
Official Languages Restriction
• What’s changed?
• Previously, employers could include other
languages as a job requirement when
advertising or recruiting for a position
Official Languages Restriction
• New requirement:
• Only official languages, French and English,
can be listed as a job requirement.
• Gives Canadians every opportunity to
apply for available jobs
Official Languages Restriction
• Exceptions:
• Rare circumstances will allow non-official
languages
• Onus on employer to prove that a non-official
language is a job requirement
• Assessment of the LMO will consider the
rationale for needing a non-official language
Official Languages Restriction
• Examples
• Translator of non-official languages
• Tour guide to foreign tourists in non-official
languages
• Negative LMO if employer fails to show
non-official language is an essential
element of the job
Advertising Requirements
• What’s changed?
• Employers used to be able to advertise a
position to Canadians for only two weeks
• Positions had to be advertised in the Job
Bank (national or provincial equivalent) and
by only one additional recruitment method.
Advertising Requirements
• New requirements:
• Duration of advertising: at least four weeks
before applying for an LMO
• Location/method of advertising: Job Bank
(national or provincial equivalent), plus two
other recruitment methods
• Employer has to continue actively seek
Canadian workers for the position until the
LMO has been issued
Advertising Requirements
• High-skilled Occupations:
• One recruitment/advertising method has to be
national in scope
• Lower-skilled Occupations:
• Show effort to target under-represented
groups, such as youth or people with
disabilities
Advertising Requirements
• Elements to include in advertisement:
• Salary
• Skills required
• Nature of the position
• Advertising of the position must be done
within the three months immediately prior
to the LMO application
Assessment of Impact
on Labour Market
• What’s changed?
• New questions added to the LMO application
regarding the employer’s use of TFWs and
the impact on the Canadian labour market
Assessment of Impact
on Labour Market
• Types of questions:
Will it lead to job losses for Canadian workers?
o Outsourcing or offshore practices?
o What efforts were made in the past two years to
hire and/or train Canadian workers for the
position?
o
• Negative LMO if there is a negative impact
on the Canadian labour market
Reactions to the Changes
• Mixed reviews
• Makes process less discretionary and more
predictable
• Not flexible enough for different labour markets
across Canada
• Up to 60% of TFWs do not require a LMO
• Not enough monitoring of workplaces once TFWs
are in Canada
• Lacks enforcement mechanisms
The Newest Changes
– as of December 31, 2013
• New conditions imposed on employers
• Retain documents for 6 years
• Authority to verify the employer’s
compliance by:
• Conducting warrantless on-site inspections
• Interviewing foreign workers or Canadian
employees, by consent
• Requiring employers to provide documents
that relate to compliance
The Newest Changes
– as of December 31, 2013
• Penalties of non-compliance:
• Employers could be subject to a ban of 2
years from the TFW program
• Employer’s name, address and period of
ineligibility will be put on the CIC website
• Any LMO application in progress will be
negative
• Revocation of any previously-issued LMOs.
The Newest Changes
– as of December 31, 2013
• Power to suspend/revoke LMOs or refuse
to process altogether
• Employer will be notified and given
opportunity to respond
• Suspension – If LMO suspended, cannot
use to get a work permit.
• Revocation – permanent cancellation.
Can occur before or after a work permit
has been issued.
The Newest Changes
– as of December 31, 2013
• New LMO application includes:
• modified questions
• Additional employer attestations regarding
responsibilities
Summary – A Brave New World?
• Canadian workers should be first choice,
with foreign workers being a last resort
• No wage flexibility
• LMO processing fee and not accelerated
• Official language requirement restrictions
• More and longer advertising requirements
• Monitoring impact of foreign workers on the
labour market