Lawyer Help Bringing Workers to Canada
What Are Labour Market Opinion Letters?
Labour market opinion letters are a part of the process when a Canadian Company wants to hire foreign workers. In Canada, employers may need to complete a Labour Market Impact Assessment and provide a letter to Service Canada before they can hire a foreign worker. Some types of jobs may be exempt from the need to complete this type of letter, but most today do require one. The foreign workers who hope to work in Canada will need to have a valid work permit for Canada, but before they can get this, the employer needs to complete the assessment. The labour market opinion letter is a legal opinion of the assessment outcome. The Calgary based lawyers at Kahane Law Office can help with your immigration needs across Canada.
What is does the Labour Market Assessment Mean?
The Canadian government wants to support Canadians. Therefore, Canada wants Canadian businesses to hire Canadian workers for jobs at every opportunity they can. This is preferable to the Canadian government than having job go to people from other countries who simply arrive to take the job of a Canadian. The assessment is a review of the job market and determination of if there are available Canadian workers to fill that specific position. The labour Market opinion letter reflects those results. These opinion letters need to show that no Canadian worker is able to do the specific job (they do not have the skill required) or those workers who could do the job are not available for it.
What Needs to be Reviewed in A Labour Market Opinion Letter.
Before confirming, Service Canada, the authority in charge of authorizing foreign workers, will need to determine a number of things.
- First, they have to make sure that the job offer is genuine and that it is not simply a method of getting around the normal immigration laws in the country.
- Second, they will determine that the working conditions and the wages offered to the employee are the same, or similar, to those offered to Canadians who could do the job. For example, they do not want companies to offer ridiculously low wages to Canadians who will then turn down the job simply so they can bring in foreign workers and pay them more.
- Third, they will need to confirm that the employer actually did look for Canadians who could do the job, or that they looked into training Canadians for the work before they started trying to hire from outside the country. If there is the possibility of having a Canadian do the work instead, there is a very good chance that they will reject the immigration and work status of the foreign worker.
Some of the other things they will consider are whether the job is due to a labour shortage, whether the foreign worker will create new job opportunities for Canadian workers, whether they will help to retain jobs for Canadians, and whether the foreign worker will be able to bring in new skills and knowledge to transfer to Canadian workers.
If the employer is able to show that they and the employee meet the requirements, then they will likely approve the job offer and create the Labour market opinion letter.
Exemptions for Labour Market Opinion Letters?
In some cases, the employer will be exempted from needing a labour market opinion letter or assessment. The employers that are hiring foreign workers through the IMP, or International Mobility Program, will not need a labour market opinion letter. However, they will still need to have a work permit for Canada. Some of the workers that may be covered in these agreements can include traders, business visitors, investors, professionals, youth or teacher exchange programs, and spouses. Of course, this can be difficult to discern on your own, so having professional help can be a big advantage.
Getting the Opinion Letter Legal Help you Need from Lawyers
Employers may find that getting a Labour Market Opinion letter that approves hiring a foreign worker and providing immigration status can actually be quite difficult. In the best of times, they can be a very complex matter. Whenever questions arise, the case quickly becomes even more muddled. It is a good idea to speak with an attorney, or lawyer, who has experience with labour market opinion letters and who can help the employers make sure that everything goes according to plan with the foreign workers they want to hire. Call Kahane Law today locally at 403-225-8810 or toll free at 1-877-225-8817 or email us directly here.