The federal government has removed one of the incentives that fueled abuse of the Canadian Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) program.
As part of efforts to prevent and reduce fraud, Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced just before Christmas that Express Entry candidates would no longer get extra points if they had a job offer.
Truck drivers benefiting from reserved employment receive 50 points from the global ranking system as part of their application for admission to permanent residence in the country.
“This temporary measure will reduce fraud by removing the incentive to illegally buy or sell LMIAs in order to improve an applicant’s chances of being selected to come to Canada as a permanent resident. This change will come into force in spring 2025,” indicates a government press release.
When they come into effect, these changes will impact applicants for permanent residence through the Express Entry system, including those currently working in Canada on a temporary basis, the release said.
However, these changes will not affect applicants who have already been invited to apply or whose application is in progress. Once the change is introduced, it will apply to all candidates with job offers in the pool as well as new candidates entering the worker pool.
Dangerous and toxic working conditions
In September, our sister publication TruckNews.com exposed the potentially deadly, dangerous and toxic working conditions endured by truckers, which unscrupulous trucking company owners allegedly exploited through the use of LMIA agreements.
When an employer in Canada is unable to find an employee, whether Canadian or a permanent resident, with a certain skill set for their business, they can file an LMIA application with Employment and Development social Canada in order to hire a foreign worker. Workers should not have to pay for the LMIA.
Trucking association leaders say this key component of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program is being abused, with some foreign workers having to pay tens of thousands of dollars for the opportunity to live and work in the Canada.
Slowdown in LMIA sales
Responding to the Minister of Labor’s latest announcement, an immigration consultant told TruckNews.com that the sale of LMIAs will slow down, but will not stop.
Manan Gupta, president of Skylake Immigration, said there are mainly two groups of people who buy LMIAs from greedy employers.
In the first group are people looking to increase their overall ranking points with the aim of being invited to reside permanently in the country. This route will be closed in the spring.
“For example, a person with a postgraduate work permit has 474 points. With the additional 50 points from an LMIA, his score increases to 524, which increases his chances of immigration,” explained Mr. Gupta.
“But this is a closed work permit, and the employee is tied to the LMIA provider for their employment. Some employers exploit the situation by asking the foreign worker to pay a sum of money in advance or a fixed monthly amount which is deducted from their salary.
Second, there are other people whose work permits are expiring and who want to continue working legally in Canada. Some of them will continue to purchase LMIAs, Gupta notes.
Reduce fraud
“We are taking important steps to reduce fraud while continuing to attract the skilled talent our economy needs. Immigration has always been a cornerstone of Canada’s success, and we remain committed to welcoming the best and brightest to Canada so that everyone has access to the quality jobs, housing and supports they need to succeed. flourish,” Mr. Miller emphasized in the press release.
Express Entry is Canada’s flagship immigration application management system for individuals seeking to immigrate permanently through the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, Canadian Experience Class and part of the Provincial Nominee Program.
