The Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act (the “FPFAA“) establishes the Canada Social Transfer, a federal block transfer to provinces and territories to support post-secondary education, social assistance, social services, early childhood development, and early learning. In 2014-15 the total Canada Social Transfer transferred to all provinces and territories will be almost $12.6 billion. The FPFAA stipulates that one of the objectives of the Canada Social Transfer is to maintain a national standard in which no period of minimum residency is required or allowed for an individual to receive social assistance, and the current version of s. 25.1 of the FPFAA achieves this by stipulating that: Criteria for eligibility — Canada Social Transfer 25.1 In order that a province may qualify for a full cash contribution under [the Canada Social Transfer] for a fiscal year, the laws of the province must not (a) require or allow a period of residence in the province or Canada to be set as a condition of eligibility for social assistance or for the receipt or continued receipt of social assistance; or (b) make or allow the amount, form or manner of social assistance to be contingent on a period of such residence. In other words, provinces and territories … Read More
Environmental Overview – Colombo
The following is a summary of the Environmental Overview of the immigration functions at the Canadian High Commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka (the “Environmental Overview”). The Environmental Overview was prepared as part of the Citizenship and Immigration Canada 2014-2015 planning exercise, and is current as of January 2014. Areas in blockquote are direct passages from the Environmental Overview. If you would like to obtain a copy of the full Environmental Overview, please contact me.
Low-Wage Caps
Employers offering wages to prospective foreign workers that are below the provincial/territorial median hourly wage will subject to a maximum 10% cap on the proportion of low-wage foreign workers. The cap is being phased in over 2 years.Employers that have a low-wage foreign worker workforce will be: limited to 30% or frozen at their current level, whichever is lower; reduced to 20% beginning July 1, 2015; and further reduced to 10% on July 1, 2016. Cap Exemptions There are a few exemptions to the low-wage cap requirement, including employers that: have fewer than 10 employees nationally, including the vacant positions they are applying to staff with TFWs. are hiring TFWs for jobs that are truly temporary (e.g. emergency or warranty work positions). are hiring TFWs for low-wage positions located in Quebec. Calculating the Cap To calculate the cap, employers need to follow a complicated 2-step process that includes: Establishing the cap for the specified work location; and Determining the effect of hiring TFWs on the cap. Establishing the cap for the specified work location The first step of the cap calculation is to determine the percentage of foreign workers in low-wage positions at the work location where the TFW will be employed. The steps towards calculating this are: Select 4 consecutive weeks between May 10, 2014 and June 20, 2014. This time … Read More
Communicating by email with IRCC
The following article appeared in the November 2014 edition of The Canadian Immigrant. —— People wishing to immigrate to Canada have traditionally had to submit paper-based applications, and communicate with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) by regular mail. CIC, however, is modernizing its processes. An increasing number of applications can now be uploaded to CIC’s online portal, and visa offices regularly communicate with applicants by email. Indeed, visa officers frequently send important emails to applicants that contain requirements for the applicants to provide specific documentation within strict deadlines. Unsurprisingly, many emails from CIC to applicants appear to go missing, and both CIC and the Federal Court have had to determine what procedures are fair when applicants miss deadlines contained in emails that they allege they never received. You get to decide how to communicate You, the applicant, has the ultimate choice of when to communicate by email with CIC. CIC will initiate email communication with you if you submit a completed application form, which includes an email address, if you provide a signed Use of Representative form that includes an email address, or if you initiate email communication with CIC. At any point, however, you may request that CIC communicate … Read More
Service Canada Transition Plans
On June 23, 2014, we wrote about how on June 20, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) and the Ministry of Economic and Social Development Canada (“ESDC”) announced significant reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (“TFWP”). One of the changes was: Introduction of Transition Plans for High-Wage Positions Employers seeking to hire High-Wage TFWs will now be required to submit Transition Plans to demonstrate how they will increase efforts to hire Canadians, including through higher wages, investments in training and more active recruitment efforts from within Canada. An employer will have to provide a Transition Plan for each position that it is seeking a LMIA for. The requirement that employers provide a Transition Plan has taken effect immediately. Employers may be exempt from the Transition Plan requirement if they are hiring TFWs for positions which: require unique skills (ESDC has stated that two examples include nuclear physicist and senior executives such as Chief Executive Officer); have a limited duration of between: 1 and 120 days (ESDC has stated that two examples include emergency or warranty work repair technicians / mechanics); or more than 120 days to a maximum of 2 year (ESDC has stated that two examples include project-based … Read More
Service Canada “Refusal to Process” in Certain Economic Regions
On June 23, we wrote about how on June 20, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) and the Ministry of Economic and Social Development Canada (“ESDC”) announced significant reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (“TFWP”). One of the changes was: Refusing Low-Skilled Applications in Areas of High Unemployment in Some Occupations ESDC will refuse to process certain LMIA applications in the Accommodation, Food Services and Retail Trade sectors. Specifically, ESDC will not process LMIA applications for employers if they meet all of the following criteria: the employer is applying for an LMIA in a Statistics Canada economic region with an annual unemployment rate over 6%; the employer is seeking an LMIA in a specific occupation identified under North American Industry Classification System as Accommodations & Food Service or Retail Sales; and the employer is seeking an LMIA in an occupation in one of the following occupations: Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Occupations ; Light Duty Cleaners ; Cashiers; Grocery Clerks and Store Shelf Stockers; Construction Trades Helpers and Labourers; Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance Labourers; Other Attendants in Accommodation and Travel; Janitors, Caretakers and Building Superintendents; Specialized Cleaners; and Security Guards and Related Occupations. In today’s post, I wish to … Read More
The Canada-European Union: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
On September 26, 2014, Canada and the European Uniona agreed to adopt the The Canada-European Union: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (“CETA“), with the goal at the time being that the agreement will take effect in 2016. While that ultimately did not happen, on October 30, 2016, Canada and the European Union signed a final version of the agreement. Chapter 10 of CETA provides for the facilitation of the temporary entry of business persons. The European Union’s commitments are the most ambitious that the region has ever negotiated in a free trade agreement. For Canada, the CETA’s temporary contain similar ideas to those contained in the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA“), although there are very significant differences. CETA is significant from a Canadian immigration perspective because prospective foreign workers who are eligible for work permits under CETA do not require Labour Market Impact Assessments (“LMIAs“). Any Canadian businesses seeking to hire United States or Mexican nationals will typically begin by determining whether their prospective employees are eligible for work permits under NAFTA. When CETA takes affect, the same will be true for Canadian employers hiring citizens from the European Union.
Court Certifies Numerous Questions in Dismissal of Skilled Worker Class Action [Updated – Federal Court of Appeal Dismisses Appeal]
In Tabingo c. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2013 FC 377, the Federal Court (the “Court“) certified three questions when it dismissed the class action lawsuit launched by people whose permanent residence applications were terminated by Bill C-38, the Jobs Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act (“Bill C-38“). Bill C-38 introduced a new s. 87.4(1) (“Section 87.4(1)“)to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27 (“IRPA“) ,which terminated Federal Skilled Worker Class applications made before February 27, 2008 unless an officer had made a selection decision before March 29, 2012. Section 87.4(1) reads: 87.4 (1) An application by a foreign national for a permanent resident visa as a member of the prescribed class of federal skilled workers that was made before February 27, 2008 is terminated if, before March 29, 2012, it has not been established by an officer, in accordance with the regulations, whether the applicant meets the selection criteria and other requirements applicable to that class. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to an application in respect of which a superior court has made a final determination unless the determination is made on or after March 29, 2012. (3) The fact that an application is terminated under subsection (1) does not constitute a decision … Read More
Proposed Changes to Temporary Foreign Worker Program Compliance
On September 24, 2014, the Ministry of Economic and Social Development Canada (“ESDC“) posted on its website a discussion paper titled “Regulatory proposals to enhance the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and International Mobility Program compliance framework.” ESDC appears to recognize that the existing legal authority to ban a non-compliant employer for two years and revoke associated Labour Market Impact Assessments (“LMIA“) may be too severe in some circumstances and not severe enough in other cases. As such, the Government of Canada is proposing to introduce some compliance activities that are preventative and educational in nature, and others where the penalty for non-compliance is more severe. Specifically, ESDC is proposing to expand the range of bans from two years to include one, five, and ten year bans. As will be seen below, however, there appears to be alot more “stick” than “carrot” in ESDC’s approach.
The Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement
On September 22, 2014, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and South Korean President Park Geun-hye signed the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (“CKFTA“). Chapter 12 of the CKFTA provides for the facilitation of the temporary entry of business persons. The CKFTA Final Agreement Summary notes that South Korea’s commitments are the most ambitious the country has ever negotiated in a free trade agreement. For Canada, the CKFTA’s temporary entry provisions are pretty similar to those contained in the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA“), although there are differences. The CKFTA is significant from a Canadian immigration perspective because prospective foreign workers who are eligible for work permits under the CKFTA do not require Labour Market Impact Assessments (“LMIA“). Indeed, as the CKFTA Final Agreement Summary states: When it comes to investing and providing services, there is no substitute for being on-site, where clients are located. Investors want to witness their investments, talk to their partners and get a feel for the local environment. Professionals, including architects, management consultants and engineers, need to contact clients on-site in order to fulfil contracts in the South Korean market. Temporary-entry provisions in the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement address barriers that business persons face at the border, particularly by … Read More