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Everyone’s going through the labour crunch in Canada, yes you!, the employer. We all agree that there is a labour mismatch in Canada, whether it’s in IT, healthcare, low-skilled jobs, or even retail.
The government of Canada is supporting employers to apply and hire from anywhere in the world. They have basically given the green light to local businesses to allow them to hire the necessary skills, if they cannot find them in the labour pool in Canada. Whether it’s through Provincial Nominee Programs, The Global Talent Stream, the mobility programs through Free Trade Agreements, or through a Labour Market Impact Assessment route, businesses have the possibility to fill this shortage.
If you’re an employer and you’re interested in finding skilled workers overseas, you’re at the right place. At INGWE, we offer turnkey solutions to you and your business. Get a FREE assessment with us! Click here.
There are a number of misconceptions about LMIA’s that many employers believe to be true. Here are some facts to help clarify them.
- The hires don’t have to be permanent. Employers can hire for 6 months or up to 3 years depending on the occupation.
- The same employment regulations apply for foreign workers as they do for local Canadian employees which means you can hire and fire as per the same framework of regulations – if your business does not require the foreign worker you can terminate on the spot and pay the settlement fees.
- The government does not penalize employers hiring from overseas, but rather supports them through various programs.
- You can apply for a no-name or blank Labour Market Impact Assessment and select the worker you want to sponsor later on.
- You can convert visitors inside Canada to workers up to the February 2023 temporary policy put in place by the government.
And if you don’t want to deal with all this hassle, then you just outsource it to us. We call it turn-key solutions and we assist you with every step of the way, navigating your office through a successful application. We make it so easy that you’ll won’t feel the pain in dealing with government departments! Click here.
Here is the list of pros and cons of Labour Market Impact Assessments (also known as LMIA’s):
Here are the Pros:
- You can hire and fire as required – no obligation to keep the worker for the full duration of the contract.
- You can hire anyone who is qualified for the job from anywhere in the world, with literally no restrictions.
- You can get a decision from Service Canada these days within a month or less, so it’s relatively fast compared to previous years.
- You only pay the government application fee once for each position but unlimited vacancies, this means that if you need 5 workers in one position, you’re only paying one application fee to the government.
- You can extend your valid LMIA for up to 18 months based on the new policies announced during the past few months.
- You can apply for a non-name or blank LMIA without any worker’s names on them and can decide on whom you want to hire after you have received a positive LMIA decision.
Here are the cons:
- Unless you are in the agricultural industry, the employer needs to pay $1000 per position to Service Canada as an application fee – non refundable.
- You need to pay for the advertisement of the jobs on specific portals which the employer has to pay for.
- Service Canada will require some basic financial documents from you and will interview you before they render a decision on your LMIA application.
- If you hire a worker and they apply for a work permit, enter the country, start working for you and you decide to fire them – you will not be able to use the same approved LMIA again for the same position.
- From the day you start advertising and applying for the LMIA until a decision is rendered, it could take up to 60 days – not to mention the work permit processing time of the foreign workers you are planning to hire.
These were just a few possible solutions if you really need to avoid dealing with Service Canada and LMIA’s. And if you have no option except to apply through an LMIA, well look no further – we can take it from here, click here.
How can you avoid LMIA’s or Labour Market Impact Assessments to hire foreign workers:
1) Use your provincial nominee program which is LMIA exempt to sponsor foreign workers. The upside is that no LMIA is required or dealing with Service Canada. The downside for the employer who is hiring the foreign worker is that they’ll have to sponsor them for permanent residency alongside the work permit, it’s not just a work permit. During this time though there is no obligation to maintain and keep the worker if you do not require them even though you have sponsored them through the Provincial Program.
2) Use the Free Trade Agreement LMIA exempt occupations to hire from countries such as Europe / UK / Mexico / Peru / Colombia and Chile. Specific occupations can be processed for work permits for citizens of these countries without an LMIA or even dealing with Service Canada.
3) Another alternative recruitment solution is to tap into the pool of international students or spouses of international students who have open work permits inside Canada or even working holiday applicants who arrive in Canada with a 1-year work permit and are looking for jobs.
These were just a few possible solutions if you really need to avoid dealing with Service Canada and LMIAs. And if you have no option except to apply through an LMIA, well…look no further, we can take it from here, click here.
1) You need to advertise at least on 3 national platforms to attempt to hire Canadians for the position you plan to hire. One of these platforms must be the Canadian government’s Job bank portal which is all done online. The advertisements need to run for at least 30 days before you are allowed to apply for the LMIA, on the condition that you were not able to fill all the positions with qualified Canadians. The advertisements need to continue until a decision is issued by Service Canada for your LMIA application. And the Job Bank advertisement needs to be running even after the LMIA approval in case you applied for a blank no-name LMIA, until you link a foreign worker’s name to your valid LMIA in order to allow them to apply for the work permit from either inside or outside Canada.
2) The next point you need to cover is to make sure you have the financial capacity to pay the salaries of the foreign workers you plan to hire, and you are an active and operational business. So, in case you are a brand-new company with no sales or are a loss-making company, you need to have some proof that you are capable of paying the salaries. Whether it’s cash in the account, a grant or loan you received, or some huge new contract with clients who are paying you a deposit in advance, these can be sufficient proof. And if you don’t have a T4 summary, a schedule 125 for your company, or GST and PST documents, then a letter from your lawyer or Chartered Professional Accountant can also suffice.
3) Can I hire 5 or 10 foreign workers or as many as I need if I follow the instructions and advertise nationally and apply for an LMIA? The answer is it depends. If you are offering to pay the workers less than the ‘high wage’ identified by Service Canada for your province, then you are limited by the low wage cap rate. You are guaranteed to be allowed to hire at least 1 low-wage foreign worker no matter how many staff you have or don’t have on your payroll. However, if you want to hire more, it is limited by the low-wage cap which is a tricky little formula that takes into consideration how many Canadian staff you have and so forth. If you pay the high-wage, then there is no limit to how many workers you can hire.
There are a few occupations which are exempt from the low wage cap such as farm workers, greenhouse workers, caregivers in healthcare, temporary positions under 120 days and seasonal workers.
4) How much is the low wage vs high wage for your province?
If you are paying under the following wages for your province, your job is considered low wage and you will be limited by the low wage cap except for specific occupations which are exempt that we just listed.
Please note that even if you are paying a high or median wage for the specific position, it’s still defined by the high-wage minimum limit published by Service Canada. These wages change regularly, and you need to be aware of the most updated rates. The rates I am mentioning in this video are valid as of September 18th, 2022.
Remember when you want to apply for your LMIA, you will fill out the forms online, provide proof of recruitment activity and why you were not able to find and/or hire qualified Canadians for your position, along with proof of business activity such as your Schedule 125, T4 summary or other documents or a letter from your lawyer or CPA. After approx. 3-4 weeks a Service Canada officer will schedule an interview call with you or your company manager. Within a week they typically either request more details or issue a decision regarding your application.
Most of our clients receive approval from Service Canada within 4-6 weeks based on today’s latest information.
Find out if your company is eligible to apply for an LMIA, get a consultation with our licensed professionals, click here.
If you’re interested in our labour shortage solutions, fill out our form and contact us! Click here.
