August 10, 2017
CHANGES ON LMIA RECRUITMENT REQUIREMENTS
ESDC has announced changes which come into effect on August 28, 2017, affecting both the high-wage and low-wage streams of Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications. Specifically, clarifications have been made to their policy on recruitment efforts, and new requirements have been put into place. Applications submitted before August 28, 2017 will be considered ‘transitional’ and not be subject to these new requirements.
Specifically, advertising on the Job Bank and, if applicable, a provincial or territorial job board, is now mandatory for both the low and high-wage streams. If for some reason an employer chooses not to advertise on the Job Bank and the provincial/territorial job board, a written rationale and explanation must be provided. Acceptance of this written rationale is discretionary, and no additional guidance has been provided on what type of scenario would merit an exemption from this advertising method.
Also new to the requirements is the mandatory use of the job-matching function offered through the Job Bank. Employers will now be presented with a list of candidates who ‘match’ their job posting, and the candidates will be rated on a star system, where 5 out of 5 stars indicates that the candidate matches all listed requirements of the posting.
Employers are now obligated to invite every candidate scoring at least 4 out of 5 stars (for a high-wage position) or at least 2 out of 5 stars (for a low-wage position) in the job matching section to apply for the position within the first 30 days of your job advertisement.
It is not clear what is intended with respect to inviting a candidate to apply. Presumably it would be incumbent on the employer to reach out to the candidate to invite them to make a formal application and then to treat the candidate the same as all other applicants for the position and review the candidate’s credentials in accordance with the employer’s standard recruiting practices.
For the low-wage stream, employers have always been required to attempt to target underrepresented groups, such as youth, new immigrants, indigenous persons or persons with disabilities, with their advertising. Effective August 28, 2017, employers seeking low-wage LMIAs must now target at least two of these groups.
For more guidance on how these changes may affect your business and immigration strategies, please contact one of our qualified immigration professionals.