Former Lancastrian

That came from this paragraph
Reducing the Duration of Work Permits set out in Labour Market Impact Assessments
Effective immediately, the duration of work permits set out in Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) will be limited to a maximum of one year for all low-wage positions, rather than the 2-year duration that existed previously . Employers of low-wage temporary foreign workers must reapply every year for an LMIA, better accommodating for changes in labour market conditions that might have occurred .

bc_guy

Well, if the length of time requested on a pre-moratorium LMO is 2 years, would the border officer still issue a 2-year permit or will they only issue a 1-year permit due to the new rule change?

Intocanada

So only effect on high skilled labour - lmo is now changed to lmiA and fee is increased. Is that true?

Former Lancastrian

Not totally as most of the info is to do with low skilled workers there are policies that will also affect higher skilled workers. An example of this is this paragraph

Transition Plans for High-Wage Positions
Employers who want to hire temporary foreign workers in high-wage occupations will be required (with limited exceptions) to submit transition plans with their Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) application to ensure that they are taking steps to reduce their reliance on temporary foreign workers over time . This underscores the purpose of the program — which is to operate as a last and limited resort to address immediate labour needs on a temporary basis when qualified Canadians are not available.

So basically they want these companies to train Canadians over time to do these jobs. If the boom in certain areas continue there will be a shortage of certain skilled or trades but they are saying you need to train Canadians and can only hire a TFW as a last resort. Don't forget those wanting to come permanently will have the EOI programme and the various PNPs to apply under as well.

Eddmac

So,

Any idea if LMO applications currently submitted will be affected?
Mine was submitted approx 3 weeks ago, so hoping that those in the pipeline will still be processed!
(NOC 0)

beckiwoo

There is post in one of the IEC Facebook groups about this - the Irish participants are worried their visa will go from 2 years back to one year (as it was 3 years ago).

The general feeling is that Australia is going to get looked at with their non-quota and as many 2 year visas under the age of 30, but then I suppose if enough Canadians are going to Australia as the other way round it won't be a problem.

Could it mean a decrease in visas for the UK then if it gets looked at?

MrFloyd

I don't know, I don't know... But this is all worrying D:!

Former Lancastrian

The IEC is looked at differently though part of the IMP (International Mobility Programme) part of the TFW. No LMIAs are required. If no Canadians were participating in the UK programme then Yes they would alter the numbers available to UK citizens. Nobody knows at the moment if the IEC will be affected.

scrubbedexpat091

Current government plans seems to have the eventual goal of shutting down the low wage TFW's altogether.

In 2016 the government that is in power, will have the option to bring down the cap from 10% to 0% for low wage jobs.

"The minister said that in 2016, "The government could then decide to go to zero per cent and eliminate the low-skilled stream, but we're trying to do this in a prudent way where the adjustment costs are moderate and we don't just end up causing devastation for thousands of businesses."

Jason Kenney effectively phasing out temporary foreign workers in low-wage jobs - Politics - CBC News

beckiwoo

The only thing this will do is mean that more young people will head to Australia and New Zealand, which I suppose is the same as it is now

Former Lancastrian

Good then we won't have as many stupid questions to answer
I still expect the UK to get around 5,500 spots plus some businesses rely on the IEC workers and thats why it was hardly mentioned in the TFW revamp as they fall under the International Mobility programme which is LMIA exempt.

SchnookoLoly

I was chatting about this with my husband this weekend... he brought up a very good point. Similarly to the UK (which is being addressed there), it's simply "not worth it" for those who are on government assistance to go work - as soon as they get even a part-time job they lose a lot of their government assistance, and for some people that includes a drug plan, which they lose entirely when they start working. So it ends up being a "better option" to stay on assistance than to get a job, which is rather counter-intuitive.

While these measures are good in some ways, they do nothing to address the problem of Canadians on assistance who simply WON'T go out and work because it "isn't worth it".

Just an interesting perspective I thought I'd share.

Steve_

Look, basically it's a ban on low-skilled temporary workers coming into Canada, the vibe I got from the press conference is that the changes were based on the H-2B program in the US except instead of a fixed quota they're going to use the unemployment rate.

6% is pretty low, not sure what the rates are across Canada but I suspect that rules out most of the country. Certainly places like Vancouver and Toronto.

So basically, you've got to have more than 6% unemployment (i.e. can't find and we really mean CANNOT FIND anyone locally), they can't be more than 10% of your labour force, the permit is valid for only two years, and it costs $1,000. Plus - odds are very high you will get audited.

That's pretty much a prohibition by any other name, because there's little point in bothering with it for only a two-year permit. In addition, a lot of the employers (probably most) who have TFWs in this class are probably already way over the 10% limit, which means there's basically no chance of them bringing in anyone new using this method for some time. And once you've figured out how to manage with such a small percentage, why bother with the programme at all?

It's a complicated way of saying it's ended, except in some very exceptional circumstances.

Of far more interest to me than the two-hour description of the word: "prohibited" was the passing mention of greater vetting of people on intracompany transfers, designed apparently to stop a repeat of the RBC scandal a couple of years ago. That is more likely to have an impact imo as instead of causing a few hotels and restaurants to close down that will seriously bugger up outsourcing operations by big corporations.

The most interesting comment from Kenney to me was when he said bringing in TFWs might be a great business plan, but it's not consistent with the spirit of the immigration law - he's right, look at Sunwing airlines.

Also he kind of glossed over the fact that the number has increased markedly since the changes HE made to the immigration system back in 2008. My personal opinion is that TFWs probably weren't needed until they imposed the quotas on skilled workers, because the dependents of those people probably were doing the jobs they had to bring in TFWs for.

So if you shut down one avenue, people use another. The next thing that's going to happen imo is an increase in people working illegally.

PMM

Hi


1. Actually you have it slightly backwards, effective immediately, Employment and Social Development Canada will refuse to process certain Labour Market Impact Assessment applications in the Accommodation, Food Services and Retail Trade sectors. Specifically, any applications for positions that require little or no education or training will not be processed in economic regions with an unemployment rate at or above six percent. Pretty well eliminates Eastern Canada, Western Canada will make the cut (Hey isn't that where the Conservators support is?) See: CBC News - Unemployment statistics

Temporary foreign workers being paid under the provincial/territorial median wage will be considered low-wage, while those being paid at or above will be considered high-wage. Low wage TWPs will only get a maximum of 2 years.

scrubbedexpat091

If you check how low welfare rates are in Canada, you'd see that few who can work would choose to be on welfare.

BC for example 235/month for living costs for a single no kids.

Ontario isn't much better, about the same, by a few dollars last I checked.