• Posted 14-Apr-2022

LMIA new Changes written by Manpreet Joshi

Labour shortage is a fact in Canada. Lmia is one of the best ways to address it in my opinion, mainly in remote areas. Making this program more accessible , easier and simpler for employers is surely going to address this labour issue on short term and long term basis.

1. New change in validity  will give employers more time to recruit correct candidate due to longer validity period of 18 months. Moreover, with 6-9 months validity time sometimes Lmia gets wasted in case foreign nationals will face rejection of work permit overseas as work permit processing are higher than 6 or even 9 months in many countries like India , UAE etc. Now longer validity will give employers to identify new worker in case of rejection.
2. Increase in cap from 10% to 20% for all and even 30% to sectors with critical labour shortage like accommodation and food service will allow employers to hire more TFW in low wage positions which is another much needed change as most of mid and low skilled positions are always low wage as they get salary lower than provincial median wage. This was a big hurdle for employers in hiring foreign workers ever since low wage cap was introduced.
3. Thirdly ending refuse to process policy for certain semi skilled occupations in specific sectors like tourism hospitality and retail etc, in regions having 6% or higher unemployment rate , is going to be big relief as employers can now recruit TFW  for basic positions as well.

Other changes include increasing lmia duration for seasonal workers to 270 days and global talent to 3 years will surely save time, money and effort for employers who are looking to hire foreign workers in these sectors.

I feel that Lmia has better impact in addressing labour shortages than any other permanent residency program and reason behind that is that when someone comes to Canada as permanent resident they always prefer to settle in Metropolitan cities like Toronto & GTA  and vancouver mainland. Hence, labour shortage is small towns always remains the same. But on the other hand LMIAs always come with an obligation to a foreign  worker to work for specific employer and location hence employer can fill positions in areas where its critical to find skilled labour and once they work in any  remote town  for couple of years chances of that particular worker settling in there even after PR are higher than any other new immigrant.