Borderlines Podcast #24 – The Temporary Foreign Worker Program, with Kyle Hyndman and Meera Thakrar

Meurrens LawPodcasts

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program, also known as the Labour Market Impact Assessment, is the main program through which Canadian companies hire temporary foreign workers. We discuss numerous aspects of obtaining Labour Market Impact Assessments, including prevailing wage, recruitment, transition plans, processing times, job match, the Global Talent Stream and the Owner – Operator LMIA.

Kyle Hyndman and Meera Thakrar are both Canadian immigration lawyers whose practices focus on helping companies recruit and retain foreign workers.

3:00 – What are the first questions or things that Kyle and Meera tell Canadian employers that want to apply for Labour Market Impact Assessments?

3:57 – What is the difference between the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the International Mobility Program?

8:00 – Why are companies generally reluctant to obtain Labour Market Impact Assessments?

8:20 – What are the recruitment requirements for a Labour Market Impact Assessment?

12:50 – What is Job Match?

19:00 – What do companies have to show and demonstrate through the recruitment process?

23:20 – What is the wage requirement for a LMIA? What is the prevailing wage?

25:00 – Do employers hire foreign workers to undercut Canadian wages?

26:30 – Can employers of foreign workers offer raises or bonuses?

30:00 – What are Transition Plans in High Wage LMIA applications?

36:00 – How does the Low Wage cap work?

37:00 – How does an employer show they can afford to pay the foreign worker?

39:00 – Can recruitment have a language requirement?

41:00 – What is an Owner Operator Labour Market Impact Assessment?

42:15 – What is the Global Talent Stream?

47:25 – How long do LMIAs take to process?

51:45 – What changes would Kyle and Meera like made to the Labour Market Impact Assessment process?