Category Archives: Alberta Immigration

The Impact of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program on Alberta

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flickr photo by DCZwick

In August 2011 Teresa Woo-Paw, the Alberta Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Employment and Immigration released a report titled Impact of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program on the Labour Market in Alberta. The main thrust of the report was that Alberta’s workforce is projected to be 77,000 workers short between 2002 and 2012, with overall demand outpacing supply from 2015, and that Alberta should implement, and the Government of Canada should facilitate, Alberta implementing a program to attract labour through immigration to address the labour shortage.  The report contained numerous recommendations, some of which were accepted by the Alberta government.

The Political Back and Forth Between Jason Kenney and the Government of Alberta

In response to the report, Thomas Lukaszuk, Alberta’s Minister of Employment and Immigration, recently urged the federal government to remove the annual caps on the number of provincial nominees.

The Brooks Bulletin recently reported on Jason Kenney’s, the federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, response.  According to the Brooks Bulletin, he stated:

It would almost result in doubling national immigration levels to Canada when 80 per cent of Canadians are saying immigration levels are already high enough or are too high.

I think they are totally disconnected from reality on that.

To be honest with you there’s a tension between the need to keep this a Canada-first program and the need to facilitate filling positions in an efficient way.  We can’t just open up the rules willy-nilly. There has to be some reasonable rules in the program that ensures Canadians are getting the first crack [at jobs].

Although Jason Kenney is probably correct in noting that removing the provincial nomination quotas would result in a dramatic increase in immigration levels, the report contains a fact that should at least cause him to consider reallocating the quota.  The report noted that Alberta and Manitoba are allocated the same number of provincial nominees annually (2010 allocations were 5,000 for each province), despite Alberta receiving almost eight times the number of temporary foreign workers as Manitoba, and its economy being significantly greater.

Complaints About Labour Market Opinions

The report also noted the frustration of Alberta employers with the process for obtaining Labour Market Opinions, and pointed out the following interesting suggestions and criticisms.

  • Employers in the hospitality industry suggested that an employer who owns a number of hotels (for example) could apply for just one LMO to cover several properties.
  • Employers voiced concerns that the current calculation of the prevailing wage rate is problematic for those with employees under collective agreements. When the prevailing wage rate calculation includes unionized workplaces, the perception is that wages may be artificially inflated.
  • Employers expressed concerns that temporary foreign workers who have less experience receive the same wage as a Canadian worker. As a result, this can become a source of friction with Canadian workers, especially when the prevailing wage rates are printed in job ads in small communities and other employers in the same industry are not able to offer the same salary.

I would add to that last comment that the prevailing wage rate also presents difficulties for employers looking to retain people on post-graduate work permits, because they are required to dramatically increase salary from an entry-level wage to the prevailing wage rate, which is often simply out of whack with the employer’s pay scale system.

Changes to Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program Strategic Recruitment Stream

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Flickr photo by bulliver

On March 14, 2011, the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program expanded the Strategic Recruitment Stream to include both Compulsory and Designated Trades. Under the program, temporary foreign workers in Alberta can apply for permanent residency if:

  • They intend to and be able to live and work permanently in Alberta.
  • They have an Alberta Qualification Certificate in a compulsory or optional trade.
  • They have an AINP invitation letter from Alberta Industry Training.
  • They are residing in Alberta at the time of application and possess valid work permits from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) in the trade in which they are certified.
  • They are either currently working in their trade for an Alberta Employer or have previously worked in their trade with an Alberta Employer for a minimum of six months in the past two years.

A list of the compulsory and optional trades can be found on the Alberta government’s website here.

Significant Benefit Work Permits

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Photo by loop_oh on flickr

A Labour Market Opinion is generally needed before a work permit will be issued.  However, there are several exemptions to this requirement.  One of these exemptions is where the foreign worker would create or maintain significant social, cultural, or economic benefits or opportunities for Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

Significant benefit work permits are generally issued where an LMO is not available, there is no other exemption available, but the balance of practical considerations argues for the issuance of a work permit in a time frame shorter than would be possible to obtain a LMO (which is currently at least 5 weeks).

Significant benefits are not frequently issued.  They cannot be issued for convenience.  They cannot be issued as a way to circumvent the LMO process.  It is only to be issued where the benefits are so clear and compelling that the importance of a LMO can be overcome.

Examples include authorizing entry for persons of international renown, where a person’s presence in Canada is crucial to a high-profile event, where a foreign national is a recognized expert in his/her field, and where circumstances have created great urgency.

Factors that are considered in determining whether the admittance of a foreign national would result in a significant social or cultural benefit include:

  • An official academic record showing that the foreign national has a degree, diploma, certificate, or similar award from a college, university, school, or other institution of learning relating to the area of their ability;
  • Evidence from current or former employers showing that the foreign national has significant full time experience in the occupation for which he or she is sought; significant in this context can be taken to mean ten or more years experience;
  • Has been the recipient of national or international awards or patent;
  • Evidence of membership in organizations requiring excellence of its members;
  • Having been the judge of the work of others;
  • Evidence of recognition for achievements and significant contributions to the field by peers, governmental organizations, or professional or business associations;
  • Evidence of scientific or scholarly contributions to the field by the foreign national;
  • Publications authored by the foreign national in academic or industry publications; and
  • Leading role of the foreign national in an organization with a distinguished reputation.

Specific Types of Significant Benefit Work Permits

In addition to people who meet the factors above, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has recognized the following types of foreign workers as being encompassed by the significant benefit exemption:

  • Qualified entrepreneurs seeking to operate a business;
  • Intra-company transferees;
  • Emergency repair personnel; and
  • Jockeys destined for Western Canada who are licensed by a regulatory body in either British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, or Manitoba.

Alberta Suspends US Visa Holder and Family Stream Categories

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Effective August 23, 2010, the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program is no longer accepting applications under either the AINP U.S. Visa Holder Category or the Family Stream.  Any applications that were postmarked before August 23rd will continue to be accepted.

The US Visa Holder category was a unique program which was aimed at attracting temporary skilled workers in the United States that were working on an H-1B, H-1B1, H-1C, or E-3 visa.  Applicants were required to have been working in the U.S.A. for at least one year.

The Family Stream allowed family members of Alberta residents to immigrate to Canada.  The program was a broader one than its federal counterpart, and allowed parents to sponsor non-dependent children.

The two categories amounted to nearly 1,400 of the roughly 4,200 people accepted for permanent residency in Alberta under the provincial nominee program.

According to Thomas Lukaszuk, the Alberta Minister of Employment and Immigration, the reason for the suspension was to ensure that available jobs went to Albertans during the recession:

If there is any work to be had, it should go to Albertans first, the rest of Canadians second and then, if we can’t fill those positions, foreigners should be able to come and take those jobs.