As immigration lawyers we are frequently consulted by Canadian employers about how they can hire foreign workers to fill job vacancies. The generic answer without knowing anything about the employer or the foreign worker is that all Canadian employers can hire foreign workers through the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process, which requires an employer to demonstrate that it has a job vacancy and that there are no qualified Canadians or permanent residents who are available to fill it.
On June 27, 2023 the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Honourable Sean Fraser, announced the creation of a new and groundbreaking “Tech Talent Strategy” that is intended to attract technology workers to Canada. While similar initiatives such as the Global Skills Strategy have been created in the past, the Tech Talent Strategy differs from its predecessors because it takes a holistic approach to improving our current immigration system when it comes to Canada’s ability to attract and retain technology workers. Employers working in the technology sector will want to familiarize themselves with the details of the Tech Talent Strategy.
BlogBest immigration program of the year? BC PNP hits a home run with healthcare workers
14 December 2022
As we approach the holidays it is customary to pause and reflect on this past year’s milestones and challenges. 2022 was another busy year highlighted by numerous and significant immigration policy changes and, frankly, bad headlines for the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. You do not have to reach far into your memory banks to recall that the CBC published several articles in the summer reporting that there was a backlog of more than 2 million immigration applications. Just this week, the CBC published a scathing report that tens of thousands of immigration applications have been assigned to inactive immigration officer accounts for processing. Despite these negative headlines, however, there have also been many examples of positive immigration changes and today I will review what I think is one of this year’s most underrated immigration success stories.
BlogCanada’s White Hot labour market leads Immigration and Tourism ministers to dramatically expand employment opportunities for spouses and working-age children of Canadian foreign workers!
7 December 2022
This past Friday, December 2, 2022, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Sean Fraser, and Tourism Minister and Associate Minister of Finance, Randy Boissonnault, introduced a significant expansion of employment opportunities for the spouses and working-age children of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) already in Canada. Recognizing the significant challenges that employers are facing in the current Canadian labour market, the changes introduced will now provide for employment opportunities for the spouses of lower and low skilled workers as well as for their working-age children. This new measure is set to be implemented in January 2023 and will last for a period of two years.
The Agri-Food Pilot (“AFP”) is a Canadian economic-class immigration program introduced in May 2020 that will remain in effect until May 2023. This 3-year pilot program was implemented to address the labor needs of Canadian employers in the agriculture sector. The AFP provides a direct pathway to Canadian permanent residence for skilled workers employed in agricultural industries across Canada.
Sas & Ing are pleased to share the announcement about Canada’s newest immigration program for healthcare and essential workers and international students currently in Canada.
Beginning on December 15, 2020, BC employers looking to hire foreign workers through the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) stream or caregivers through federal the Home Child Care Provider Pilot or Home Support Worker Pilot will need to register online with the provincial government to receive a “certificate of registration”. Although there is no charge to obtain a certificate of registration, BC employers will no longer be able to access these immigration programs to hire foreign workers if they have not obtained one.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced many new policy changes designed to help mitigate the disruptions that have affected the normal processing of immigration applications. However, not enough is being done to help workers and students who are waiting to come to Canada or who are already in Canada and need to complete the biometrics enrolment process to obtain new study and work permits.
How do I get a work visa for Canada?How do I immigrate to Canada?Working in CanadaImmigration levels stay the course but workers to be sped up!
8 November 2016
Last week was full of announcements on the Immigration front for the Liberal government. On Monday, October 31, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Minister John McCallum, tabled his annual report to Parliament setting immigration levels for the year ahead. The next day, Minister of Finance Bill Morneau introduced his Global Skills Strategy to make it easier and faster for companies to bring foreign workers to Canada. Let's see what the future holds!
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