Success: LMIA (low wage)
We love helping small businesses in Manitoba. We know how difficult it can be for small businesses to find and retain workers. We regularly get calls from small business owners who are frustrated that they cannot find workers. Canada is currently in crisis. Minister Miller has announced that IRCC has a plan to significantly reduce the number of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) and international students. Despite these plans, we know the importance of these workers for businesses in Manitoba.
Congratulations to our client for their positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) (low wage) to help their business. They can now hire a worker with the necessary skills and experience so they can build their business and, in turn, help the economy in Manitoba.
Business Immigration Lawyers in Manitoba
This is a niche area. Many LMIA applications are refused. We see many business owners after they have retained an immigration consultant who has not done a good job. They are frustrated with a refusal from Service Canada. As an expert who has presented on this topic to students at BCIT – School of Business in Vancouver, Alastair Clarke takes pleasure as a business immigration lawyer in Manitoba to assist clients at CIL.
This is a common situation, unfortunately, and it is an area of law with a high rate of corruption and shady practices.
These are applications that are not processed by IRCC. They used to be within the realm of IRCC (then known as CIC) but, based on the high number of questionable applications, the power to process these applications was transferred to Service Canada.
Regulation 203(3)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (the “IRPR“) states:
(3) An assessment provided by the Department of Employment and Social Development with respect to the matters referred to in paragraph (1)(b) shall, unless the employment of the foreign national is unlikely to have a positive or neutral effect on the labour market in Canada as a result of the application of subsection (1.01), be based on the following factors:
(a) whether the employment of the foreign national will or is likely to result in direct job creation or job retention for Canadian citizens or permanent residents
ESDC has published significant information online to describe the process on how to hire a temporary foreign worker. According to internal manuals at ESDC, Officers will consider the following questions:
- How will the staffing of this position lead to direct job creation or retention?
- How many jobs will be created/retained?
- What are the job titles?
- When will the positions be filled?
- Are the positions full-time or part-time?
- What is the duration of the positions?
- Will the positions be staffed with Canadians / permanent residents?
- If the LMIA is for a high-wage position does the Transition Plan reflect an activity which supports job creation or retention?
- Will the employment of the foreign national lead to job losses, now or in the foreseeable future, for Canadians or permanent residents?
ESDC Processing Timeline
Service Canada Officers work quickly to process LMIA applications. Unlikely IRCC, ESDC applications are processed quickly and Officers may be extremely hands-on. As we have published before, we have included the fast processing of LMIA application for our clients.
In the above case, our client was interviewed by the Service Canada Officer who confirmed the details of the application. We made sure our client was prepared for the interview. All the details were confirmed and our client got a positive result.
