Minister Kenney announced today that the moratorium on temporary foreign workers in the foodservice sector has been lifted and announced the changes below.
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LMOs are renamed LMIAs 1 -
Temporary Foreign Workers who require an LMIA are still under the TFW Program 1 -
Temporary Foreign Workers whose entry does not require an LMIA are now under the International Mobility Programs (IMPs) 1
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Officially, the IMP workers will no longer be Temporary Foreign Workers 1
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- The new definition TFW Program is subject to several new conditions.
- The only restrictions on bringing in IMP workers are:
- Also, for the new-definition TFW Program, the government is introducing a 10 day fast-track LMIA for high-demand jobs, high-paying jobs or very short-term jobs. 3
- The TFWP as mentioned, now only covers temporary foreign workers whose entry requires an LMIA.
- It is now administered by wage levels, the government says this better reflects occupational skill level and local labour market conditions1
- Jobs with wages below the provincial/territorial median wage are considered “low-wage,” those with wages at or above the median are considered “high-wage.” 1
- The LMIA fee is increasing from $275 to $1,000 each TFW requested 1
- Employers must provide more information, including the number of Canadians that applied for a job, the number of Canadians interviewed and why those Canadians were not hired 1
- Work permits will be reduced from a two-year standard to one-year as set out in the LMIAs 1
- Farm workers are not covered by the $1000 LMIA fee, the cap on low-wage TFWs or the 1-year LMIA duration 1
- Live-in Caregivers are not covered by the cap on low-wage TFWs and 1-year permit standard 1
- The Government states it is increasing the number of workplace inspections 1
- Under the TFWP, the Government will impose fines of up to $100,000 on rule-breakers beginning in fall 2014 1
BUT - The government is also introducing a 10-day fast track LMIA for:
- High-demand occupations, high-paid occupations (skilled trades) or jobs where the work period is 120 days or less and the wage offered is the province/territory’s median wage or greater 3
- Government of Canada Overhauls Temporary Foreign Worker Program
June 20, 2014
http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?mthd=tp&crtr.page=1&nid=859859&crtr.tp1D=1 - A guide to the ‘reformed’ temporary foreign worker program
By Jason Fekete, & Mark Kennedy, Ottawa Citizen
June 20, 2014
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/touch/story.html?id=9959276 - Reforming the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Accesed June 25, 2014
http://www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/foreign_workers/reform/restrict.shtml