As of March 1, 2017, camp counsellors going to residential camps during the summer season are exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment (“LMIA“) requirement. They can apply for work permits once their employers submit their online offers of employment into the employer compliance portal. Religious Camp Counsellors Religious camp counsellors should note that they should not be indicating in their online offer of employment offers that the LMIA exemption code is religious or charitable work under LMIA exemption code C50. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) has determined that the normal work of a camp counsellor (whose primary duties consist of supervising children and leading sports, crafts, games and other recreational activities) is not considered religious in nature. Rather, LMIA exemption code C20 should be used. In the case of a counsellor who is unpaid and who works for a charitable or religious organization, an employer compliance fee fee exemption may apply. To be fee-exempt, the foreign national cannot receive remuneration other than a stipend for living expenses, which, if monetary, should be below the prevailing minimum wage. Otherwise, the foreign national should receive only non-monetary benefits (e.g., accommodation and health care). It is the responsibility of the organization to prove that … Read More
Foreign Worker Stats – 2004 – 2014
The following are some interesting stats on the number of foreign workers in Canada from 2004 – 2014. The first chart is for the number of foreign workers in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program from 2004 – 2014. The top four countries where the Philippines, India, the United States of America, and Mexico. In the International Mobility Program the top 5 countries are very different. There, it is the United States of America, India, China, and France. The data also shows that from 2004 – 2014 the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada more than doubled from 86,551 to 177,704. Almost all of this growth was in the Labour Market Impact Assessment Program, with most of it being lower-skilled foreign workers. There was also considerable growth in the International Mobility Program, with the number of work permit holders going from 110,525 to 390,273 during the period from 2004 – 2014. Much of the growth came from the introduction of the Post-Graduate Work Permit Program, International Experience Canada, and C-10 applications.
The Global Skills Strategy
On June 12, 2017 Canada launched the Global Skills Strategy. The Global Skills Strategy introduces new work permit programs and work permit exemptions at both Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) and the Department of Employment and Social Development Canada (“ESDC”). Specifically, the Global Skills Strategy includes: ESDC introducing the Global Talent Stream to its Labour Market Impact Assessment (“LMIA”) program; IRCC committing to processing certain work permit applications within 10 days; IRCC introducing a new work permit exemption for short-term work in certain occupations; and IRCC introducing a new work permit exemption for certain researchers. All employers of prospective foreign workers, and especially those in technology related industries, should familiarize themselves with the Global Skills Strategy. ESDC’s Global Talent Stream Employers of foreign workers for positions that are eligible for ESDC’s Global Talent Stream will need to decide whether they want to submit their LMIA application(s) under the normal LMIA streams or under the Global Talent Stream. There are two main benefits of participating in the Global Talent Stream. First, ESDC is committing to processing LMIA applications submitted under the Global Talent Stream within 10 business days. Second, LMIA applications submitted under the Global Talent Stream will not have … Read More
Don’t misrepresent: honesty is the best policy when filling out applications
The following is an article that I wrote for The Canadian Immigrant magazine. Prospective immigrants committing misrepresentation in their applications is becoming an increasingly big problem in Canada. In Vancouver, an individual was recently sentenced to eight years imprisonment for helping around 1,500 people lie in everything from permanent residency applications to permanent resident card renewals, including the use of fake passport stamps. As well, thousands of Canadians across the country are embroiled in citizenship revocation proceedings. Meanwhile, increased information sharing between government agencies, and improvements in the collection and analysis of data are resulting in a huge increase in immigration officials detecting everything from little white lies to complex fraud. What is misrepresentation? Canadian immigration officials interpret the definition of misrepresentation very broadly as the goal is to help maintain the integrity of Canada’s immigration process. The law is clear that the onus is placed on the prospective immigrant (or visitor, worker or student) to ensure the completeness and accuracy of their application. Not all misstatements or omissions will result in an individual committing misrepresentation. The lie has to be material. In other words, the misstatement or omissions need to be ones that could affect whether someone is eligible … Read More
Information Sharing Between Canadian Immigration Authorities and Other Countries
The Five Country Conference (the “FCC“), commonly referred to as the “Five Eyes” is a forum for cooperation and information sharing between the border and immigration agencies of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Under the FCC, Canada participates in manual case-by-case and automatic information exchanges with other FCC partners. In 2009, Canada began manually running a small number of fingerprint-based immigration checks with each FCC partner as part of the High Value Data Sharing Protocol, an immigration information-sharing arrangement that was introduced as a pilot for automated information sharing. In 2011, the members of the FCC agreed to expand and automate the manual, low volume, and case-by-case exchanges. Since 2013, under the Beyond the Before Initiative, Canada has been automatically sharing immigration information with the United States. Perhaps the most visible consequence of this information is the dramatically increased number of people who are determined to be inadmissible to Canada for not disclosing their United States visa applications, especially refusals. In May, 2017, the Trudeau government expanded upon the Harper government’s initiative, and introduced regulatory amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to allow for the automatic sharing of immigration information with Australia, New Zealand, and the United … Read More
The Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program
In March 2017 the Government of Canada created several programs to encourage immigration to Eastern Canada through the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (the “AIPP“). The AIPP consists of the following three immigration programs. Atlantic High-skilled Program (“AHSP“) Atlantic Intermediate-skilled Program (“AISP“) Atlantic International Graduate Program (“AIGP“) In 2017 a maximum of 2,000 applications will be accepted, unless Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC“) decides to increase the cap. Within the 2,000 cap, a maximum of 646 applications will be processed for people destined for New Brunswick, 792 applications applications will be submitted for people intending to live in Nova Scotia, 442 applications for Newfoundland and Labrador, and 120 applications for Prince Edward Island will be accepted for processing. The main attractiveness of the program compared to federal immigration programs appears to be lower language requirements and the ability of people working in National Occupational Classification (“NOC“) C to participate. Provincial Endorsements In each of the programs listed above, applicants must receive provincial endorsement. Provinces can only endorse individuals in support of applications for permanent residence made through the paper-based (non-Express Entry) process.Atlantic High-skilled Program. The PEI designation process is described in detail here. The Newfoundland designation process is described in detail here. The New … Read More
eTA Regulations Amended
On April 13, 2017 the Government of Canada introduced several regulatory amendments to the Electronic Travel Authorization (“eTA”) regime. The changes to the eTA program came into effect on May 3, 2017. Before reading about the changes, those who are unfamiliar with the eTA should read my previous posts on this topic titled ETA Regulations Announced and Electronic Travel Authorizations. In brief, the eTA is an electronic document requirement for visa-exempt air travellers to Canada, excluding citizens of the United States. Travellers who are visa-exempt must apply online for an eTA by providing basic biographical, passport and personal information. An automated system then compares this information against immigration and enforcement databases to determine if the traveller is admissible to Canada. The vast majority of applications are approved automatically, with a small percentage referred to an officer for review. It is similar to ESTA in the United States. Brazil, Bulgaria and Romania Effective immediately, citizens of Brazil, Bulgaria, and Romania no longer need to apply for temporary resident visas to visit Canada and can instead apply for eTAs if they have held a temporary resident visa at any time during the 10-year period immediately preceding the day on which they make their application or hold a … Read More
Canadian Immigration Law and International Law
Section 3(f) of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states that Canadian immigration law is to be construed and applied in a manner which complies with international human rights instruments to which Canada is a signatory. In de Guzman v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), the Federal Court of Appeal articulated the following principles for what this means: While previously international conventions to which Canada was party to did not give rise to rights and duties enforceable in Canadian courts, this is no longer the case. The values reflected in international human rights law may help inform the contextual approach to statutory interpretation and judicial review. Canadian immigration law does not incorporate into it “international human rights instruments to which Canada is signatory” but merely directs that the law be construed and applies in a manner that complies with them. The words “shall be construed and applied in a manner that complies with” are mandatory and appear to direct courts to give the international human rights instruments in question more than persuasive or contextual significance in the interpretation of the Canadian immigration legislation. Canadian immigration law must only be construed and applied in a manner that complies with international law where Canada has … Read More
10 Pieces of Advice Before Entering First Year
Half way through my second year of law school I drafted a list of 10 pieces of advice that I would give to anyone entering their first year. I passed this list on to between 5-10 people, and everyone seemed to appreciate it. After not having thought about the list for a few years someone who had heard of it recently asked me for a copy. It took me a fair bit of time searching through old Facebook messages to find it. I accordingly decided to publish the list here so that if I was ever asked again I could easily find my recommendations rather then spend time during a sunny Sunday looking for it. Remarkably, while I have updated the rationale behind each suggestion, my recommendations for people entering first year law remain the same now as they did when I was a second year law student. So here they are. 1) You Control How Intense Law School Is First year law school is intense. There are typically mandatory year long courses, most of which are graded almost exclusively on a final exam. You will be surrounded by some of the smartest people that you have ever met and will (depending on … Read More
Strict Interpretation of Compliance in the Foreign Worker Program
[The following article appeared in the May edition of The Canadian Immigrant. I have slightly modified it for this blog post.] Back in 2013, Canada’s temporary foreign worker program was rocked by well–publicized stories of abuse. As a result, the Government of Canada introduced a comprehensive compliance regime for employers of foreign workers, and promised to ban companies from being able to hire temporary migrants for two years if they breached the new conditions. In 2015, Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations were further amended to introduce an administrative monetary penalty regime, which would also fine employers for non-compliance. The number of Canadian employers who have either been banned or fined for non-compliance is currently quite small, although both Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Department of Employment and Social Development (ESDC), the two main government agencies that manage Canada’s foreign worker programs, have indicated that the number is likely to grow in the near future, especially considering new funding announced with Budget 2017 to better protect vulnerable workers and to encourage employers to do more to hire Canadians first. On March 23, 2017, the Federal Court of Canada released its first publicized decision on an ESDC decision to … Read More