A positive Labour Market Impact Assessment is given to the foreign worker to attach to a Canadian temporary work permit application. It’s generally issued for 12 months if granted.
The ESDC(Employment and Social Development Canada) is the institution with the mandate to oversee the labor market impact assessment. Any temporary work permit application that a foreign worker submits attracts an application fee of $1000.
Some occupations (for example, highest paid, shortest duration, and highest in demand) have a relatively more straightforward processing time of only ten days. A skilled trade in the top 10% of the wage bracket and aiming for a position that is no more than four months is likely to have their application processed within a shorter than average processing time.
The Labor Market Impact Assessment process differs from case to case depending on whether the foreign employee in question is low-wage or high-wage. A foreign worker whose pay falls under territorial/provincial median income will be put in low wage. A high-wage foreign worker is anyone whose income is not less than the Territorial/provincial media pay. The several provisions that apply depend on whether the foreigner looking to secure employment in Canada is in the class of low-wage or high-wage.
High-wage foreign employees in Canada
Canada discourages over-reliance on temporary foreign talent for jobs that Canadians and permanent residents can do. Thus, if the employer is submitting their LMIA, they must also submit their transition plan.
The transition plan aims to ensure an employer seeking to utilize a foreign talent does not fail to fulfill the program’s purpose. Hence, by using the program, the employer does not deny Canadian citizens and permanent residents employment opportunities; but uses the LMIA as a limited and last resort to find someone to do the job that can’t be done using local human resources.
The province of Quebec facilitates the process of finding the right foreign workers for specific occupations. Thus, if the province is enabling a particular trade, it may undertake some recruitment responsibilities on behalf of the employer. In doing so, the employer does not have to submit an LMIA when looking for a foreign worker to engage temporarily.
Low wage-foreign workers in Canada
An employer looking to hire a low-wage foreign worker does not need to have a transition plan. However, they still need to have an LMIA.
There is a cap on the number of foreign low-pay workers a Canadian employer can hire. The measure aims to offer local talent the priority and at the same time avoid the abuse of the TFWP (temporary foreign worker program). Moreover, the Canadian government can refuse the processing of LMIA for specific low-wage jobs.
A Canadian employer with at least ten workers who are looking to hire more workers from other counties temporarily is subject to a 10% cap on the fraction of their employees that can be on a TFWP. Thus, the number of temporary foreign low-wage workers in a Canadian company cannot exceed 10 percent of its total workforce.
An employee looking to hire a low-wage foreign worker must:
- Avail affordable housing facilities to the worker
- cater for round-trip travel expenses for their employees who are on a TFWP
- Pay for the employee’s private health insurance and until the worker qualifies for provincial health coverages
- ensure that someone on temporary foreign worker program in their company is registered with the territorial/provincial workplace safety board
- Enter into an enforceable contract with the foreign employee
Understanding the working of LMIA
Canada publishes quarterly LMIA statistics relating to many factors, including the number of applications, the geographical location of the jobs, the country of origin of applicants, and the number of advertised positions. You need to remember that the favorable Labour Market Impact Assessment position does not guarantee someone a temporary work permit. The issuance of work permits rests squarely with IRCC.
Moreover, the date someone obtained their TFW (temporary work permit) does not necessarily coincide with the date they’ll set foot in Canada. Thus, you can’t use the Labor Market Impact Assessment certificate as the basis for calculating the number of temporary foreign worker permits that have gone through or foreigners that will enter Canada.
If you are an employer looking to employ a foreign worker temporarily, you need to remember that In 2021, Canada amended its median wage requirement, which guides employers intending to apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment under the low-wage and high-wage streams.
Canadian employers who are hiring foreign employees use the provincial and territorial.
The location and type of the job you are offering will determine if you need to apply for an LMIA under the low and high-income categories. [/miako-vc-about][/vc_column][/vc_row]