Labour Market Impact Assessment LMIA

What Is Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)?

Note: LMIA formally known as Labor Market Opinion (LMO)

A Labour Market Impact Assessment, LMIA, is a legal document issued by the government of Canada to the employer. LMIA will allow the applicant, a skilled worker, to get a work permit to work in Canada.

The government will issue either a negative or positive LMIA to the employer after applying. The employee can use the LMIA to get a work permit to work in Canadian.

What Are Some Disadvantages of Labour Market Impact Assessment?

• It can be difficult in meeting all requirements and to convince the government that there are no other Canadian citizens to do the job.
• Remember that a Labour Market Impact Assessment is issued based on the present LMIA needs. For example, if you want to provide a job with a profession that has high unemployment rates, then you cannot get Labour Market Impact Assessment easily.
• The employer should advertise the job position even if there is an employee fixed for that position. This is to prove to Service Canada, the Federal Government that proper attempts were made to find a Canadian citizen for the job. By advertising, you may get many Canadians who apply for the position.

Apply For A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)

Service Canada provides Labour Market Impact Assessments to the employer and Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The LMIA is an assessment of the likely impact that the hiring of the foreign worker may have on the Canadian labour market.

Not every single position requires a Labour Market Impact Assessment. Contact us to see if you will need one.

If The Job Offer Requires An LMO

You will be required to complete an Application for a Labour Market Impact Assessment and submit it to the appropriate Service Canada Centre serving your region. Service Canada considers the following factors in an LMO application:

• The occupation in which the foreign worker will be employed
• The wages and working conditions offered to the foreign worker
• The employer's advertisement and recruitment efforts to hire Canadians permanent residents
• The associated labour market benefits that may occur from hiring the foreign worker (e.g., transfer of new skills, knowledge, creation, retention of jobs, etc.)
• Consultations with organized labour if the position the foreign worker will fill is part of a bargaining unit
• Determination if the entry of the foreign worker is likely to affect the settlement of an ongoing labour dispute

Please note that for certain occupations you (the employer) may also be required to submit an employment contract which will be considered as part of the Labour Market Impact Assessment.

Following Are The Changes Made To The LMIA Program:

• The new Labour Market Impact Assessment is more comprehensive and rigorous than the previous Labour Market Opinion process. Employers will specifically be required to provide substantially more documentation, including the details regarding the number of Canadians that applied for the job in question and the number that were interviewed, as well as an explanation as to why they were not hired.
• The fee for employers requesting approval for a foreign worker to work in Canada will increase from $275.00 to $1000.00
• Employment and Social Development Canada will refuse to process Labour Market Impact Assessment applications in Accommodation, Food Services and Retail Trade sectors in regions where the unemployment rate is 6% or above.
• A cap exists on the number of low-wage Temporary Foreign Workers that any one employer may have at a time as a percentage of their overall workforce.
• Lower wage positions will no longer be determined by the National Occupation Categories. Instead it will be based on the provincial median hourly wage.
• The duration of any given work permit will be reduced from two years to one year, forcing employees to reapply for a work permit.
• There will be a reduced maximum number of years available to low skilled foreign workers.
• A new fast-track option will be available high demand occupations, highest paid occupations and short term work for jobs with "above average" pay.
• Employers seeking to hire high-wage temporary foreign workers will be required to submit transition plans to demonstrate how they will increase efforts to hire Canadians, including through higher wages, investments in training and active recruitment efforts in the Canadian labour market.
• The On-Farm Primary Agriculture stream will be exempt from the cap, reduced timelines and higher fees.
• The Live-in Caregiver Program, which facilitates the entry of nannies to Canada, is subject to the new $1,000 fee but is not subject to the overall cap or the reduced timelines, although other reforms to this specific program are forthcoming.

Though all these changes are not yet all enforced, they are certainly up and coming. This new process is certainly a more complex one, leaving many employers and applicants scratching their heads as to where to even begin. Contact us to find out how we can help you. Akrami & Associates is always up to date with current Regulation and knows how to get the job done right the first time. We would be happy to assist you achieve your goals.