Hi

HRSDC announced changes today in the LMO procedures for TFW.

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/fore.../changes.shtml

Highlights/Low Lights.

1. $275.00 free every person requested on a LMO.

2. Only English or French as a language requirement

"Employers advertising a job for a position that legitimately requires a language other than English or French must clearly demonstrate, in writing, that the language requested is consistent with the regular activities of the job (e.g. a translation company hiring a translator to work in a language other than English or French, a tour company catering to foreign tourists only in a non-official language)."

3. As of July 31, 2013, employers will need to make greater efforts to hire Canadians before they will be eligible to apply for temporary foreign workers. (no explanation what these greater efforts are) LMO application includes additional questions that must be answered by the employer. These questions were added to help ensure that the TFWP is not used to facilitate the outsourcing of Canadian jobs.

4. All occupations, The advertisement must be posted for a minimum of 4 weeks starting from the first day the ad appears and is accessible to the general public.
The advertisement must remain posted to actively seek qualified Canadians and permanent residents until the date a labour market opinion is issued. NOC C/D only a 2 year work permit.

Will this affect LMO' applications that are already with HRSDC?

I doubt it. Im guessing that as of 31 July any employer who submits an application for the LMO will now have to pay the fee. Those awaiting a decision on LMOs applied for before this date and a decision to be made will still be fee exempt.

Fee for Labour Market Opinion processing
Effective July 31, 2013, employers applying to hire TFWs must pay a processing fee of $275 for each position requested to cover the cost of a Labour Market Opinion (LMO).

Employers hiring TFWs for on-farm primary agricultural positions (specifically under National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes 8251, 8252, 8253, 8254, 8256, 8431, 8432 and 8611), under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program or, the Agricultural Stream, are exempted from the fee.

from all these rules I think number 4 is the most problematic for us

Given the current events, it seems like pretty reasonable changes.

this is without doubt the 'death kneel' of the LMO process. I had 3 different companies discussing employment prospects with me since the may changes and all said further information was due at the end of july from the cic and they needed to await to see what it was .... and this obviously is it.

can anyone explain to me if i could lodge a permanent residence application and whats involved including time and costs......i was pursuing a construction management position in alberta / sask or manitoba

incidentially all 3 employers said if i had PR then i should come to over in the morning and they'd hire me !!!!

thanks if you could

Ouch, this does make it a lot harder to immigrate for people. The Work Permit - PR route was challenging, but doable, this sounds like it's making it much more painful.

It maybe worth looking into the PNP route for the provinces you mentioned. Some require an offer of employment and some do not. The PNP route can offer a TWP of the back of the nomination which would be handy, it will take time though

I agree with Mikeypm

As I said in my response to your pm yesterday, your best bet is to apply through one of the PNP programs. You may need the offer of a full time permanent job from a qualifying company, but once nominated by the Province you would be able to obtain a letter of support and get a temporary work permit with no LMO requirement. PNP nomination approval generally takes between 8 and 16 weeks (though it could be longer, depending on the Province).

I would suggest contacting the 3 employers and asking if any of them would be willing to go down the PNP route.

Actually I think the new LMO rules afford some protection to perspective employees.
If serious about wanting to employ a foreign worker then the $275 fee is a minimal amount to pay and hopefully not refundable if negative decision.
It gives Canadians and PRs the opportunity to apply for jobs as there are now stricter rules placed on employers wanting a quick fix or offering jobs that are somewhat shady.
Too often many foreign workers have been duped by employers and spent thousands of dollars coming here only to find the job not as advertised.

Time will tell I guess.

It never hurts to ask and if you have multiple offers it may reduce your decisions
If only 1 or 2 are willing to support you through the PNP. After all if a company ones you bad enough they will move heaven and earth to get you there. If a company is willing to jump hoops to get you then 99.9 percent of the time that would be a company you would want to work for. As anything there are company's that hire foreign workers to save money and get stuff done no one else wants to do, but that's a minority and it can easily happen anywhere in the world not just Canada. If your determined to make the move then you will make it work for you

I agree with what you suggest but as you say only time will tell. I'd say in principle it's a more robust system, but as per any new government ideas it's how it's implemented on the ground by the relevant service Canada offices and staff

Does anyone know current timelines for LMO applications submitted for Ontario?

I think this fee is insignificant, even for low-skill jobs. It's cheap, really.

Big deal is here: your job will be advertised for at least 3 months (4 weeks + 8 weeks minimum to get LMO) on the government website.
Means that if many Canadians apply for the jobs the LMO will be rejected, no matter how much the company is in love with you. It increases the chances of rejected LMO.
Of course, it would be more fair with everyone if the LMO didn't take so long.

I think these new rules could discourage shady applications, making faster processing times.
Given the kind of abuse this program has experienced I'm surprised the changes are not even more strict! There're no caps, no lists, etc.