Fast-track approval for hiring temporary foreign workers in Canada

It was welcoming news for Canadian businesses wrecked by delays and denials in recruiting temporary foreign workers into Canada.

Canadian businesses welcome new rules—The best thing about new Canada immigration rules announced for hiring temporary foreign workers is that businesses will not only be able to bring in high-skilled temporary foreign workers faster but also pay them lesser.

However, businesses need to have a minimum of two-year unblemished history of hiring temporary foreign workers, stated Diane Finley, Canada Human Resources and Skills Development Minister while announcing new rules.

As a general rules, employers need to make application for LMO(Labor Market Opinion) before proceeding towards hiring any foreign worker or getting pre-approval for hiring several workers.

New rules will make sure to respond to requests for high-skilled foreign workers within a short span of 10 days rather than the earlier waiting period of 12 to 14 weeks for getting an LMO.

For this, all businesses need to provide evidence that sufficient efforts were made by them to find and hire workers within the nation.

In case, the company or the business is unable to find workers with requisite skills, they need to make application for getting permission from Service Canada for hiring foreign workers for a period of two years from outside Canada.

Employers have been complaining that backlogs in processing of LMOs have been delaying the process of hiring workers with required skills to work in Canada.

Changes aim to address worker shortage in Canada--New Canada immigration rules announced by Finley aim to address the continuing shortages of workers in the nation. This year, the federal government aims to process nearly 150,000 applications of temporary foreign workers from across Canada, Finley informed.

Several firms in booming Canadian regions including Alberta have been alleging several shortage of skilled workers and this is a major threat to Canada’s development.

Last year, a total of 25,500 temporary foreign workers immigrated to Alberta out of 190,000 entering Canada.

As per new Canada immigration rules for temporary foreign workers, employers will be admissible to pay nearly 15 percent lower than average wages paid to Canadian workers.

Earlier rules made it mandatory for employers to pay average wage as paid to Canadian workers.