Temporary Foreign Worker Program Applications Fall By 74%

Following the big changes to the Canadian Foreign Worker Program, the month of August, 2014 saw a drop by nearly three quarters on the same month in 2012 in the number of applications made to hire temporary foreign workers.

Speaking during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Employment Minister Jason Kenney stated that “We announced a fundamental sweep of reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program earlier this year to ensure that it is used as a last and limited resort and that Canadians always come first in the workforce.

Kenney Temporary Foreign Program

“Since those reforms were announced we’ve seen a 75-per-cent reduction in the number of applications in temporary foreign workers on the part of employers,” added Mr. Kenney, who used to hold the Citizenship and Immigration portfolio within the Government of Canada.

New rules for hiring temporary foreign workers introduced in June make it more difficult for employers to hire internationally, requiring them to meet strict criteria to ensure Canadians are first in line for jobs. It has also seen a large increase in the application fee, from 0 to $1000 per application for every employee. 

Immigration Will Have Large Effect On Population Changes, Says Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada, the federal agency assigned to produce statistics to better understand Canada, has released its latest population projections. It is projected that immigration will heavily influence the makeup of the country over the coming decades.

Alberta, for example, will most likely overtake British Columbia as the third most populace province by 2038, reaching between 5.6 million and 6.8 million. Its current population is just over 4 million. A young workforce attracted to the province by a strong economy will result in Alberta continuing to have the lowest proportion of seniors in the country.

Quebec’s population will also increase, mostly due to immigration, but its share of the Canadian population will reduce in size as the populations of other provinces increase more rapidly.

The population of Ontario is expected to increase to between 14.8 million and 18.3 million by 2038. Ontario would remain the most populous province according to all scenarios. In all scenarios, immigration would remain the key driver of Ontario’s population growth.

Most scenarios show Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick all losing population over the next 25 years. This is due to their relatively older age structure, their small share of Canadian immigration, and the tendency of many younger members of their Canadian-born populations to seek work in other provinces.

The overall population of Canada is projected to be between 39 million and 48 million by 2038.

Canada to make both Irish and UK temporary skilled workers a priority in 2014 through the IEC program

Ireland has had a difficult last six years. The Celtic Tiger Economy refers to the economy of the Republic of Ireland between 1995 and 2000, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment, and a subsequent property price bubble which rendered the real economy uncompetitive. The Irish economy expanded at an average rate of 9.4% between 1995 and 2000 and continued to grow at an average rate of 5.9% during the following decade until 2008, when it fell into recession. Since 2008, many Irish youth have been looking for opportunities abroad.

Irish national youth speak good English, are well educated by world renowned universities, come highly skilled and can easily assimilate into developed economies in countries such as Canada. Traditionally, Irish Nationals have come to Canada via the IEC (International Experience Canada) Program, which has been continuously upping their quota of Irish visas extended every year. The working holiday visa under IEC has worked well in the past. The Program has served as a two year work experience open permit for foreign nationals between the ages of 18 and 30. It is understood that at the end of a working holiday visa, that the foreign national return to their home country, and be in possession of a departure ticket as well as the needed travel funds and medical insurance to ensure their stay is fully covered. A participation fee of CDN$150 is also payable at time of application.

The IEC Program – History and growth

The highly anticipated opening of the IEC Program on March 13, 2014 was capped at its maximum quota (3,850 applicants) within 7 minutes. We anticipate a second round shortly; however, it is proving challenging for applicants to successfully obtain their visa through this program as demand for the program outweighs current resource levels to run the program.

This year’s IEC Program made a further 2,500 work permits available to Irish Nationals who already have a secured job offer in Canada, and an additional 500 work permits were issued to Irish foreign nationals who were willing to do a cooperative educational program as part of their Post-Secondary studies to gain international work experience in their field. And these current quotas of work permits are expected to grow.

Canada needs highly skilled workers and wants to attract them to fill temporary skilled labour shortages specifically in the western provinces. Canada has recently renewed a commitment to Ireland to extend the open permit after several visits to Ireland by Minister of Citizenship & Immigration in 2012 and praised Irish apprenticeship programs for their certification standards. The Calgary Economic Development has just sent a delegation of 6 companies to Dublin’s Working Abroad Expo Recruitment Fair (March 22-March 30, 2014) in order to recruit skilled labour to fill Alberta’s current shortages.

Trade agreement set-up between Canada and the UK and Ireland

Canada wants to do even more to attract skilled labour from Ireland and the United Kingdom. On March 14, 2014, it was announced by CIC that a new international study will be launched, in an effort to help British and Irish tradespeople assess their skills against Canadian trades criteria, fully supported by CIC. In other words, streamlining the foreign credential recognition process for people coming from these countries is a high priority for the Canadian Government. The ACCC (Association of Canadian Community Colleges) and the UK NARIC (United Kingdom National Recognition Information Centre) have signed an agreement to work together for mutual recognition of skills, competencies and certifications. Both organizations will work with employers as part of the CIC-funded Canadian Immigrant Integration Program, which provides settlement and integration services to newcomers in Canada. Specifically, the organizations will be concentrating on the following areas of international competency which are in high demand across Canada:

  1. Heavy Duty Equipment Technician
  2. Construction Electrician
  3. Welder
  4. Carpenter
  5. Steamfitter/Pipefitter
  6. Plumber
  7. Machinist
  8. Industrial Mechanic (Millwright)
  9. Powerline Technician

As well, electronic tools are currently being developed, and UK NARIC expects to have an electronic guide published that will feature all the provincial and territorial apprenticeship authorities, which will be a “textbook” to be used by employers, workers, and trade associations in order to assess credentials quickly and fast-track the process for a foreign national to obtain their trade certification. This program intends to assist the Federal Skilled Trades Program applicants under the Federal Stream, in creating an international partnership and streamlined process of integration into the Canadian economy.

What to do if you want to immigrate to Canada

If you are currently a tradesperson from Ireland or the United Kingdom, you want to ensure that you know which program you wish to apply for to immigrate to Canada. As mentioned before, there is the IEC Program but it quickly reaches its cap, preventing further applicants from applying. If you have a job offer, you can apply for a work permit to come to Canada. If you meet the area of skills needed across Canada in the Trades, then the Federal Skilled Trades Program may be a good fit. There are other Federal Programs and Provincial Programs which also may be considered such as the Canadian Experience Class Program, the Provincial Nominee Programs, as well as special projects (Pilot Projects). Before applying, consider talking to either a trusted advisor or an immigration expert that can advise you on the best program for you. It is vital to do your research into Canadian culture, to look at foreign credential recognition as the first order of business, and to consider the expense of immigrating to a new country as a temporary worker. For skilled workers already in Canada, you will want to ensure that you have started additional applications working towards permanent residency status should you wish to stay in Canada.

Some final considerations

As the Federal Government continues to develop strategies to attract temporary foreign workers and to meet the economic demands of Canadian industry, it is abundantly clear that good sources of workers are coming from Ireland and the UK due to their adaptability and skills. As the IEC Program has reached its quota since launching in March 2014, many Canadian employers may not successfully recruit their temporary workers this year. Demand is high and is only expected to grow. But again, there are other options available to these employers and workers, should they wish to avail of other immigration programs on offer in either of the Federal or Provincial programs. And CICS Immigration can certainly help in assessing your eligibility in looking at other immigration avenues to pursue. 

Canada to Encourage Irish Immigration at Jobs Expo Dublin and Jobs Expo Cork

A street in Dublin, Ireland. Thousands of Irish job seekers are expected at the job expos being held in Dublin and Cork on September 6, 7 and 10 (Jean Housen)

At least seven Canadian companies will have a presence at this year’s Jobs Expo Dublin and Jobs Expo Cork, where they will promote the country as an ideal destination for Ireland’s skilled workers to find work and to settle.

The job expo, which is scheduled for Friday September 6th and Saturday 7th in Dublin, and Tuesday September 10th in Cork, will attract thousands from across Ireland seeking to assess the employment opportunities being offered. Dozens of companies from around the world will be manning booths at the event.

With Ireland now back in recession, immigration to Canada is becoming an increasingly attractive option for the country’s workers, whose skills, including English fluency and many with skilled trades qualifications, are well matched for Canada’s economy.

Among Canadian firms present at the expo will be CICS Immigration Consulting, which will be holding seminars on immigration to Canada in Dublin on Friday September 6th from 3pm – 3.45pm and in Cork on Tuesday September 10th from 5pm – 5.45pm.

Canadian immigration consultant and CICS principal Alex Khadempour will detail the main routes through which Irish workers can obtain work permits and permanent residency in Canada and provide a layout of the Canadian labour market and what immigrants might expect to encounter when they arrive in the country.

The job expo will run from 11am to 4pm in the Croke Park Conference Centre in Dublin and from 12pm to 6pm in the Silver Springs Moran Hotel in Cork.

Changes Made to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program

HRSDC Minister Diane Finley speaking in the House of Commons last September. New rules and increased fees for work permit applications were announced by Finley and Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney on Monday (Government of Canada)

Amid controversy and criticism over a series of incidents involving temporary foreign workers (TFWs) in recent months, including a story that emerged last month of Canadian workers losing their jobs to foreign workers at the Royal Canadian Bank, the federal government has announced several immediate and upcoming changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).

These changes are:

  • An employer is required to guarantee to pay a TFW prevailing wages for that foreign worker to be eligible for a work permit, effective immediately. The rule allowing companies to pay TFWs 15 percent less than prevailing wages for high-skilled positions, and 5 percent less for low skilled ones has been repealed.
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  • The Accelerated Labour Market Opinion (ALMO) has been suspended, effective immediately.
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  • The federal government is seeking the authority to suspend a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) if new information emerges showing that it negatively affects the Canadian economy and Canadian workers, and revoke work permits that were authorized by that LMO.
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  • Fees employers pay for work permit and LMO applications will increase so that a portion of the cost of processing them will no longer have to be paid out of general taxes.
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  • Job requirements for positions that use TFWs can only have English or French as required languages, unless an employer receives a special exemption after having shown Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) why the foreign language is necessary for the position.

The new rules attempt to close some of the major loopholes that critics have identified in the program that they say allow Canadian companies to use foreign workers instead of available Canadian workers.

The changes were jointly announced by HRSDC Minister Diane Finley and Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney on Monday.

Canadian Immigration Application Fees to Increase

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced the federal government’s proposed budget on Thursday, which calls for increased fees on citizenship and temporary resident visa applications and increased spending on application processing (Maria Azzurra Mugnai)

Immigration processing fees are going to increase, according to a proposed federal budget released on Thursday.

The cause of the coming fee hikes, according to Alexis Pavlich, a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, is Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) processing costs for citizenship applications that have increased over the last two decades, without any increases in fees over that time.

Fees currently paid by individuals applying for citizenship only cover 20 percent of the processing cost, and the rest is paid out of taxes levied on the general population. CIC plans on doubling the processing fee for citizenship applications to $400, to reduce the portion paid out of general revenues to 60 percent.

As of September 2012, there were 319,517 citizenship applications awaiting processing, and only enough funding for CIC to process 160,000 of them. The proposed budget allocates $44 million in additional funding over two years to speed up the processing of the remaining citizenship applications, and gives CIC the authority to increase fees to pay for the spending.

Fees for temporary resident permits are also likely to increase. Canada has seen the number of visitor visas issued per year increase to over one million in 2012, and the federal government plans to spend $42 million over two years to process them more quickly. To fund the extra spending, the government is planning to allow CIC to raise application fees for visitor visa applications.

Fees for temporary resident visas haven’t increased for 15 years, according to Pavlich.

Another area where federal officials hope to collect more money is in work permit applications. Currently, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) handles the labour market assessments required for work permit applications at no cost to the employer who is seeking to hire the foreign national.

The federal government plans to begin charging companies a fee for the labour market assessments.

Changes to Arranged Employment Stream of Federal Skilled Worker Program

The Services Canada centre in Ottawa Centre. Applicants under the arranged employment stream of the Federal Skilled Worker Program need to include a positive Labour Market Opinion from Services Canada (HRSDC) with their application beginning May 4, 2013 (GOOGLE MAPS)

Changes will be coming to application requirements under the arranged employment stream of the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) on May 4, 2013, according to an announcement by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) this week.

Individuals with arranged employment in Canada and those enrolled in or who have graduated from a PhD program at a Canadian educational institution are the only groups of people who are currently eligible for the FSWP, as the program is suspended in preparation for the launch of new selection rules for the general application stream on May 4th.

In order for applicants outside of Canada to qualify for the FSW arranged employment stream, they are required to submit an Arranged Employment Opinion (AEO) issued by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) for a skilled job (NOC skill level A or B), along with their application.

Applicants that are in Canada with a work permit at the time of their application are not required to submit an AEO.

According to this week’s notice, starting May 4th, CIC will require applicants outside of Canada to submit a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) instead of an AOE along with their application.

A LMO is typically issued by HRSDC to employers seeking a work permit for a foreign national they are interested in employing in Canada, and shows that the employment of the foreign national in Canada would likely not negatively affect Canadian jobs in the opinion of HRSDC.

Changing to requiring LMOs is expected to simplify government processes and save on procedural costs.