ESDC – Determining Who the Employer Is

Meurrens LawLabour Market Impact Assessments, Work Permits

Canada’s Department of Employment and Social Development Canada (“ESDC“) administers the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (the “TFWP“).  This is the program through which employers can obtain Labour Market Impact Assessments (“LMIAs“). The following is a partial reproduction of the TFWP Manual (an internal document) regarding who the employer is for the purpose of administering the TFWP. Who is the Employer ESDC policy states that an employer is an entity (e.g. person, business, corporation or organization) that makes an offer of employment to one or more foreign nationals who provide labour in return for compensation for a specified period of time.  The employer is generally the entity that hires, controls working condititions and remunerates the foreign national. For the purpose of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, charachteristics of the relationship, such as control and remuneration, including statutory benefits (e.g. CPP and EI) will be reviewed to determine when an employer – employee relationship exists. The total relationship will be examined and assessed, bearing in mind that no one factor is determinative and there is an extensive list of factors that may be examined. In cases where two or more entities are determined to share employer responsibilities by the Department, a group … Read More