inszoom immigration conference 2017 – o canada! impact of the new temporary foreign worker program

Day 2 : Global Immigration Conference

O Canada! Impact of the new temporary foreign worker program

Canada Immigration

Temporary Foreign Worker Compliance

• Lobbied for by high-tech companies

• Announced June 12, 2017 by Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship Canada(IRCC) and went into effect immediately

• Goal: To provide a fast- track process for Canadian employers to recruithighly skilled foreign talent.

• The strategy focuses on a two-week processing standard for certain LMIA-exempt WP applications and 2 brand new work permit exemptions

NEW CANADIAN GLOBAL SKILLS STRATEGY

FIGHT FOR TECH TALENT: CANADA

TWO WEEK WP PROCESSING STANDARD

PURPOSE Provide two week work permit processing to high-skilled* workers under the International

Mobility program

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA E-application submitted on June 12, 2017 or later; Application submitted outside of Canada; Foreign national has an employer-specific job offer in a NOC 0 or A position; or, Is applying from outside of Canada and has been identified within ESDC’s Global Talent

Stream.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES Improved speed and responsiveness; Greater predictability for both employer and prospective recruits; Canadian employers gain an edge in recruitment; Canadian workers benefit from knowledge transfer and new economic opportunities.


• The Global Talent Stream, a two year pilot project, creates two newcategories of work permits for highly skilled foreign nationals and providesa simplified Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process.

• Through the GTS, the government claims that eligible applications will beprocessed within 10 business days.

• To be eligible, a company must fall within one of the following twocategories: Category A and B.

GLOBAL TALENT STREAM (GTS)


To qualify, employer must be referred to the GTS by one of ESDC’s 14 designated partners AND plan to hire unique and specialized talent.

Advanced Knowledge

Advanced Degree of

Specialization

At least 5 years of

experience

Annual Minimum Salary of $80,000

GLOBAL TALENT STREAM – CATEGORY A


Category A – List of ESDC Designated Partners as of June 12, 2017 *

*Several partners have been identified for potential inclusion following the June 12, 2017 launch.

Federal (including Crown

corporations)

Regional Development

Agencies

Provincial/

Territorial

Private Sector

National Research Council -

Industrial Research Assistance

Program (NRC-IRAP)

Federal Economic

Development Agency for

Southern Ontario (FedDev)

Ontario Ministry

of Citizenship

and Immigration

Communitech

Innovation, Science and

Economic Development (ISED)

– Accelerated Growth Service

(AGS)

Atlantic Canada

Opportunities Agency

(ACOA)

Ontario Ministry

of Economic

Development

and Growth

Council of Canadian

Innovators (CCI)

Business Development Bank of

Canada (BDC)

BC Tech

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) –

Trade Commissioner Service

MaRS Discovery District

VENN Innovation

ICT Manitoba (ICTAM)


Global Talent Stream – Category B

Firms in Canada that need to hire highly-skilled foreign workers for occupations found on ESDC’s Global Talent Occupations List which have been determined to be in-demand and for which there is an insufficient domestic labour supply. The following ten high-skilled occupations in NOC skills levels O, A and B in the ICT field were identified:

GLOBAL TALENT OCCUPATIONS LIST

National

Occupations

Classification

(NOC) code

Occupation

Minimum wage

requirement

(annual salary)

Minimum

wage

requirement

(hourly rate)

0213 Computer and information systems managers Prevailing wage (PV)

2147 Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) PV

2171 Information systems analysts and consultants PV

2172 Database analysts and data administrators PV

2173 Software engineers and designers PV

2174 Computer programmers and interactive media developers PV

2175 Web designers and developers PV

2241 Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians$81,000 or

higher PV$38.94 or higher PV

2283 Information systems testing technicians$78,000 or


Sub-set of 5241**

Digital Media Designers

**position requires a minimum of five years of industry experience, and skills requirements including:

3D modeling, virtual and augmented reality; animation, level editing, editor and pipeline software and

tools in applicable industry; other specialized knowledge of software framework in applicable industry

(for example, Unreal 3.0); and/or, Experience in planning and managing a project.

$80,000 or



• The LMBP will enable employers to demonstrate their commitment to creating lasting positive benefits for the Canadian labor market.

• Highlights of the LMBP development process include:

Employer-focused and not position or occupation specific: Employers will complete a full LMBP as part of their LMIA the first time they enter the GT Stream;

Measurable benefits developed with support from ESDC’s Global Talent LMBP Review Unit: Dedicated resources at ESDC assist employers to identify appropriate benefits and activities for their LMBPs during the application process. Employers will need to set targets and timelines for achieving their chosen LMBP benefits and activities. The selected activities could takemore than two years to complete but some results will need to be demonstrated by employers during the 24-month period of the Pilot;

Monitored at regular intervals: ESDC’s Global Talent LMBP Review Unit will conduct an employer check-in at 6 month intervals, or as needed, after the LMIA is issued and seek aggregate data on employees, including by gender. In addition, periodic monitoring measures may be developed – to be applied across all employers at a particular time (e.g. year 1.5 of the Pilot); and,

A no “one-size fits all” approach: The LMBP will consider factors such as company size, revenue, sector, growth-stage and the number of foreign nationals per employer, including for global talent workers.

LABOR MARKET BENEFITS PLAN (LMBP) DEFINED


Compliance: Requirements Continue to Grow Stricter

Compliance: Employer Obligations

PANELIST DISCUSSION

Thank You