Atlantic Employers’ Counsel – Fall 2013
CHANGES, CHANGES AND MORE CHANGES: KEEPING UP WITH THE TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKER PROGRAM
These days, Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (“TFWP”) is more top of mind than ever for Canadian employers. This is in part because of the many changes made by the Government of Canada to transform the TFWP over the last couple of years. It is also the result of two recent examples of employers bringing foreign workers to Canada that garnered significant media attention and got people talking and thinking about the role of Canada’s TFWP in an unprecedented manner.
10 THINGS EMPLOYERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EMPLOYING TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKERS
What will happen at your workplace if a serious incident or fatality occurs? Will your managers know how to respond?
1. Local Labour and Employment Laws apply to all workers
All the local employment laws that apply to Canadian employees also apply to temporary foreign workers. This includes laws relating to overtime pay, holiday pay, vacations, job protection during statutory leaves (including maternity and parental leave), human rights, workers’ compensation and occupational health and safety.
WHO CAN EMPLOYEES BRING WITH THEM?
The willingness of foreign workers to accept employment in Canada is often influenced by the opportunities available for their family members. Knowing who employees can bring with them and whether their family members will be able to work or study upon arrival can improve foreign worker recruitment, integration and retention strategies. With a few exceptions, employees coming to Canada to work temporarily or permanently can bring their spouse and dependent children.
LABOUR MARKET OPINION EXEMPT WORK PERMITS: WHAT YOUR ORGANIZATION NEEDS TO KNOW
Normally, in order to hire a foreign worker, an employer must apply to Service Canada for positive Labour Market Opinion (“LMO”) confirmation before the worker is eligible to apply for a Canadian work permit. This can be a burdensome task, especially given recent changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (“TFWP”) including the introduction of LMO processing fees and the increased advertising requirements. In addition, increased processing times across Canada mean that it can take upwards of four months to have an LMO processed.
Archive
By Kevin Landry and Colton Smith The Retail Payment Activities Regulations have been released in the Canada Gazette Part 1 for comment. Interested persons may make representations concerning the proposed regulations for a period of 45…
Read MoreBy Andrew Burke, Colleen Keyes, Gavin Stuttard and David Slipp With proxy season once again approaching, many public companies are in the midst of preparing their annual disclosure documents and shareholder materials for their annual…
Read MoreBy Brittany Trafford and Sean Corscadden In response to the nationwide labour shortage, the Federal government is allowing select family members of foreign workers to apply for open work permits. This temporary policy came into…
Read MoreMark Tector and Ben Currie Effective January 1, 2023, amendments to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) took effect, excluding “business consultants” and “information technology consultants” from the application of the ESA. This is a…
Read MoreBy Perlene Morrison, K.C. and Curtis Doyle Once again, the time has come to review the year that was and to chart the course for the year ahead. For municipalities and planning professionals in Prince…
Read MoreBy Grant Machum ICD.D, Sean Kelly & Ben Currie As the window for “Happy New Year” wishes winds down, our Labour and Employment Group has compiled an overview of emerging trends and issues in workplace…
Read MoreWednesday’s Thought Leadership piece from our Immigration Group detailed the impacts of recent Federal legislation limiting housing purchases by non-Canadians on Foreign Nationals, international students and temporary and permanent residents. Today, lawyers from our Real…
Read MoreBy Brendan Sheridan Residential housing prices in Canada have been a major area of concern for many Canadians who have been looking to purchase a home in recent years. While the market for residential homes…
Read MoreBy Levi Parsche As 2022 winds to a close, it’s a good time to review some of the legislative changes that have impacted Atlantic Canada in the last year — and consider what’s ahead for…
Read MoreBy Kevin Landry and Colton Smith The Bank of Canada (“BoC”) has announced the supervisory framework (the “Framework”) it will use to oversee payment service providers under the Retail Payments Activities Act. The Retail Payments Activities…
Read More