I want to hire someone from Ja

Dear Miss Powell,

IAM trying to hire someone from Jamaica and I’m told that I need to get an LMIA report. What is that? How do I get approved? Is that all I need to do for the person to get a work permit to work in Canada?

– Y.Y.

Dear Y.Y.,

A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) report is a report that is given by the government of Canada via the department of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), which is responsible for conducting an assessment and verifying that the market conditions in Canada warrants the employment of a foreigner to fill a particular job.

The ESDC will review your application to determine if your offer of employment to the foreign worker will have a negative impact on the Canadian labour market. As the employer, you will be required to provide certain information to convince them that you have made every effort to find a local person to fill the role, and that your efforts to find such a person has been futile.

Employers will be required to provide a variety of information about the position for which they want to hire a foreign worker, including the number of Canadians who applied for the position, the number of Canadians who were interviewed, and detailed explanations for why the Canadian workers considered were not hired.

APPROVAL PROCESS

The ESDC will assess your application based on your ability to provide information to show that there is a genuine need for the foreign worker. Be prepared to provide detailed answers to the questions below.

1. Have you advertised the position in Canada?

2. What was the period during which the position was advertised?

3. Did anyone apply for the position?

4. What were the qualifications of the persons who applied?

5. How many persons did you interview?

6. What were the reasons that these persons were not hired?

7. Is there a known shortage of persons to fill that position in your area?

8. Does the position require unique skills?

9. What is the salary being offered?

10. Will the person be expected to work on a full-time basis at a specific wage?

11. Is the salary consistent with the Canadian market for that occupation?

12. What are the working conditions?

13. Will the foreign worker be able to train other workers?

14. Will hiring that worker create new jobs in Canada?

15. What are the details of the job offer/ contract of employment?

WORK PERMIT APPLICATION

The ESDC will review the application and after considering numerous labour market factors, if your application meets their standards, an LMIA report is issued to you, the employer, authorising you to hire a foreign worker.

The work permit application is a two-step process and I have detailed the application process in previous articles, so I will be very brief here. The application for the LMIA is the first step, which is done by you, the employer, and the application is made to the ESDC. Once the LMIA report has been granted, the foreign worker must then apply for either a work permit or apply for permanent residence to the department of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada. The LMIA report must be submitted in support of the application.

Feel free to schedule a telephone/Zoom meeting to discuss additional information about the LMIA application process and steps that employers and applicants can take to get approval.

Deidre S. Powell is a lawyer, mediator and notary public with office in Ottawa, Ontario. Submit your questions and comments to: Email: info@deidrepowell.com. Subject line: Immigration. Find her on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram ,or call 613.695.8777.