Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
In some cases, an employer may be required to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), previously called Labour Market Opinion (LMO), confirmation from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), also called Service Canada, before the prospective foreign employee can apply for a Canadian work permit to work in Canada.
ESDC/Service Canada considers many factors in the process of Labour Market Impact Assessment, including (but not limited to) the following:
- Foreign worker’s occupation;
- Foreign worker’s wages and working conditions offered by prospective employer;
- Employer’s advertisement and recruitment efforts;
- Labour market benefits associated with prospective foreign worker’s employment in Canada;
- Consultations, with the appropriate union, if applicable;
- Impact of foreign worker’s employment in Canada on any settlement of labour dispute in Canada.
Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) applications can be submitted for the following 2 types of positions:
- Temporary positions in Canada
- Permanent positions in Canada
LMIA process is divided into 2 streams:
- High-wage positions
- Low-wage positions
Through a series of government-driven changes, LMIA process has become quite complex, restrictive, expensive and time-consuming for employers seeking to hire foreign workers to work in Canada.
Some employers are subjected by the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to time-consuming and intrusive Employer Compliance Reviews (ECR) aimed at determining their compliance with the terms of previously issued LMIA(s). Methods of verifying employer compliance include the following:
- Employer Compliance Review (ECR)
- Inspection
- Review under ministerial instructions (LMIA suspension or revocation)
Employers that fail to demonstrate during ESDC’s Employer Compliance Review that they have met LMIA requirements and conditions may be found to be non-compliant and may be subjected to:
- Ban of two years (the employer name, address and period of ineligibility will be published on a public website)
- Negative LMIA being issued for any pending applications
- Revocation of previously-issued LMIAs
Despite the complexity of LMIA process, some employers may find LMIA to be the only way to fill some of their vacant temporary and/or permanent positions in Canada.
Some business people may also find it useful to apply for an LMIA in order to get a work permit to start a business in Canada.
InterJurisconsult law firm provides services related to assisting employers in obtaining Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) and in Employer Compliance Reviews (ECR) process in all Provinces and Territories of Canada (including in: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Yukon).
For advice and assistance, please contact our Canadian business immigration lawyer in Toronto, Ontario, Canada >