New Canadian Labor Market Requirements Take Effect

March 17, 2011—Effective April 1, 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will introduce new restrictions on Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and Labor Market Opinion (LMO) applications. The new criteria require employers to demonstrate their past compliance with program rules and commitments and face potential suspension for violations.

New Forms and Supporting Documentation: All employers must use new application forms specific to each LMO subcategory. Employers must provide a description of their main business activities, an explanation of how hiring a temporary foreign worker will meet their employment needs, their Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) business number, and a signed statement attesting that the employer will abide by the Program requirements with each application. Employers that are applying for their first LMO under the TFWP will also have to provide a copy of their business license or permit.

New Compliance Criteria: CIC and Canadian labor authorities will review every LMO application to ensure the job offer made to the prospective temporary foreign worker is genuine, and will examine whether:

 
  • The employer is actively engaged in the business in which the job offer is being made 
  • The job offered to the foreign national meets the employment needs of the employer and is consistent with the type of business in which it engages
  • The employer can fulfill the terms and conditions of the job offer
  • The employer, or a third party representative acting on behalf of the employer, is compliant with all relevant federal and provincial/territorial employment and recruitment laws
    		•

    Review of Past Compliance Efforts: Employers that have participated in the TFWP in the past will undergo an assessment of their compliance with program requirements over the preceding two years. Canadian authorities will examine whether the sponsoring employer has provided its TFWP workers with wages, working conditions and an occupation that were substantially the same as the terms and conditions of the job offer that supported prior work permit applications. In addition, some employers may be flagged for a more intensive review and asked to submit any or all of the following documentation:

     
  • Payroll records
  • Time sheets
  • Job descriptions
  • Copies of employer-employee contracts
  • Collective agreements
  • The work permits of current temporary foreign workers
  • A provincial workers compensation clearance letter or other relevant provincial documentation
  • Receipts for private health insurance (if applicable)
  • Receipts for transportation costs
  • Information about accommodations provided by the employer

    •  An employer who does not meet the terms and conditions of a prior job offer may be subject to a two-year probationary period during which it may not hire a foreign worker under the program, unless the employer can show its earlier noncompliance was justified.

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    AIReS, which was named to the 2010 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing independently owned businesses in the U.S., is in its 30th year of providing best-in-class relocation management services. With seven ISO registered U.S. offices and other strategically located employees located around the globe, AIReS is a recognized industry leader in delivering high quality relocation and assignment management services to leading corporations. The company boasts some of the industry’s highest annual customer-satisfaction scores and a client-retention rate of over 98%. For more information, please visit the AIReS website at www.aires.com.

     

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