00;00;10;05 - 00;00;36;27 Lindsay Hey, everyone. Welcome back to Life On The Prairies. And I am your host, Lindsay Rubeniuk. And today we are going to speak about how to actually use a labour market impact assessment to your best advantage. And I guess another way of saying it is how you can use an LMIA based job offer to your best advantage, or how you should really go about pursuing one.

00;00;36;29 - 00;01;04;14 Lindsay So the reason why I'm saying this is because there has been a lot of write ups recently on the most approved LMIA Their occupations in 2023, and it was it's really great information to know. However, I always thought there was something missing. And so one day I was thinking of that and they said, you know, this is really great information for temporary foreign workers to understand.

00;01;04;16 - 00;01;36;27 Lindsay However, just knowing what the most, occupations approved were in 2023 for labor market impact assessments, or as we call them, LMIA's right now isn't isn't really good enough because if you are paying attention to, the immigration scene in Canada, it has become extremely difficult. You know, it doesn't matter if you are someone that's coming here to study and you're thinking that maybe after your studies you'll apply for a postgraduate work permit and then maybe you will stay.

00;01;36;28 - 00;02;01;02 Lindsay Maybe that's not your intention, or maybe you are someone that's here on International Mobility program and you're here on a work experience and you really like it and you want to stay. It doesn't really matter what pathway you're looking at right now. I will just say it's really, really hard, to immigrate to Canada and maybe you'll find people out there that will say they didn't have a problem or it was pretty easy.

00;02;01;02 - 00;02;25;23 Lindsay But I would like to just state that they are in the minority right now. If you go on to LinkedIn or any, social professional platform like that, you will see that there's six such as myself and yes, my fellow colleagues, as well as lawyers and even newcomers themselves saying that it is currently really difficult to immigrate to Canada.

00;02;25;25 - 00;02;49;04 Lindsay So with this in mind, I really wanted to talk about the labor market impact assessment because this is something that is highly utilized and often thought of when temporary foreign workers come to Canada and they decide that they want to emigrate, they usually come here on a labor market impact assessment. Again, not all because there are different programs available, to different people.

00;02;49;04 - 00;03;14;02 Lindsay But there are lots of people who come to Canada based on LMI. Now, before we get started, I think it's really important if you're, new to the immigration scene in Canada and you don't understand what I'm talking about, you're like, what is a labor market impact assessment? And you've heard people talk about it. I'm just going to briefly go over, what it is and its purpose and who delivers it, and so on and so forth.

00;03;14;04 - 00;03;42;14 Lindsay At the end of the day, if an employer cannot find a Canadian or permanent resident to fill the position or positions that they need, and there's no other program available for them, then often they turn to what we call a labor market impact assessment. And this can be a very lengthy process for, employers and, any one of their representatives, if they choose to hire one, as it's very technical.

00;03;42;17 - 00;04;03;28 Lindsay So what happens is, is they have to go through this lengthy process and proves that there was no permanent resident or Canadian that was willing or capable of fulfilling the position or positions that they need felt. So after they apply to Employment Service Development Canada. So let's take note of that too. It's not Immigration Canada that is delivering this program.

00;04;03;28 - 00;04;31;25 Lindsay It's Employment Service Development Canada. So it's a totally different department. And that's the number one thing that people don't realize. So the employer applies to employment service Development Canada, which we call SDC. And they put their application in and they follow all these rules and they have to meet a certain criteria. And if they get a positive response from SDC, then that will allow them to hire a temporary foreign worker.

00;04;31;25 - 00;04;50;29 Lindsay Because you see, in Canada, we just can't go out and bring people over. There has to either be a program like a pathway, and there has to be something in place like, I guess you just to say a pathway in place for, employers to use. You just can't, call up someone overseas and say, hey, you know, will you come work in Canada?

00;04;50;29 - 00;05;13;28 Lindsay Because that just doesn't work. So the employer gets a positive confirmation from SDC, and that is the first part. So this can take anywhere from a couple weeks if you're in the egg sector, our global technology sector. Or it could actually take a couple of months if you are in a low wage or high wage, stream. So the timing really depends.

00;05;13;28 - 00;05;42;09 Lindsay So that's the first step. Then the second step is for that person or that employer to find a temporary foreign worker to fill that position. And sometimes people have already identified a temporary foreign worker to, fill that position. And oftentimes they have not identified someone. When they do, however, identify someone, they give that confirmation letter, the positive confirmation letter to the prospective temporary foreign worker.

00;05;42;12 - 00;06;08;00 Lindsay Then that person applies to immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada. And of course, they include this letter. They include a number of things, you know, such as ties to home country, their travel history. Anyways, there's a whole list that is available on Immigration and Refugee and Citizenship Canada. So we call IRC website. and so the foreign worker applies for the work permit.

00;06;08;00 - 00;06;39;09 Lindsay And this again can take a number of months. And, and nobody really knows the time frame. And it could be positive. It could be negative. So just because SDC gave the employer a positive confirmation on the position, it doesn't guarantee that the potential temporary foreign worker that they selected, that they'll automatically get this work permit. But however, if the person does get the work permit, then that allows them to enter Canada and obviously work for the employer.

00;06;39;11 - 00;06;58;07 Lindsay I should also say if you come from a visa free country, the person could actually the temporary foreign worker could show up to the border as long as they had all the paperwork and everything you needed and present that to the CBSA officer. And then they would decide if you're eligible to come in or not. Right. So there's the other way, too.

00;06;58;07 - 00;07;13;19 Lindsay I just thought I mentioned that before. I get an email, from someone stating that while there is the, visa free way to. But again, you have to be from a visa free country, and you had to be willing to take that risk to get on the plane or drive to the border and wait for the officers decision there.

00;07;13;21 - 00;07;38;01 Lindsay Okay. So that is the way how and in a very short, brief, high level overview, how an Alameda works, it's a two step process with first, the employer gain approval from Employment Service Development Canada and then the other federal department looks over the work permit. And that is applied by the temporary foreign worker. So it does take a bit of time.

00;07;38;04 - 00;08;02;15 Lindsay So having said all that, as I mentioned at the very beginning, I wanted to take the concept of Gain and LMI a one step further, a little bit more strategic and provide an overview of how important this can be. Now, before we get started with my examples, because I'm going to give you examples of how you can look for an LMI, a job offer.

00;08;02;18 - 00;08;23;04 Lindsay before we get into that, I'm going to I'm going to give examples of how you can do that and how you can research it. But I kind of just want to really quickly review what were the top ten most occupations approved? that through LMI A's in 2023. And so the first one was General Farm workers with 8239 approvals.

00;08;23;06 - 00;09;10;23 Lindsay Six were number two. And it was followed by 5187 food service supervisors was 3739, food counter attendants was 2576. Administrative assistance. They were at 1619 approvals and retail supervisors. They were at 1358. Information system analysts were 1168 computer programmers. They received 1133 LMI approvals. Truck and transport drivers were 1131 approvals, construction trades helpers were 994, and the last 10th place was administration officers, which had 990 LMI approval.

00;09;10;23 - 00;09;32;25 Lindsay So those were the top ten occupations that were approved in 2023. So as I said, what I wanted to do a bit differently was look at a couple of these occupations I just mentioned and see if or how they could potentially lead to an immigration strategy. And so there's kind of two thoughts I want to say before we begin this.

00;09;32;25 - 00;10;13;11 Lindsay And the first thing is that an LMI, a when it is provide it, to a worker, the worker receives a temporary work permit. So an LMI, a is not meant to be an immigration pathway, right. It's delivered by Employment Services Development Canada to help the employer overcome short term employment issues and obtaining an LMI and thinking that is going to get you an immigration ticket into Canada is not really, something that you should be thinking it is a possibility.

00;10;13;11 - 00;10;33;01 Lindsay What I do like about LMI A's is that they allow the person to come here and work. And, you know, if you think that Canada is a good fit for you and if you have a family, you want to bring them over, then yeah, you should look at investigating immigrating here. But I think when you are looking at an LMI that perhaps you should look at it as a temporary basis.

00;10;33;01 - 00;10;54;11 Lindsay But if you are thinking that you probably would like to live in Canada, then, probably doing what I'm about to say would help you a lot. And secondly, that this is, not legal advice and it should not be construed in any way as legal advice. These are just my thoughts of me talking out loud and just an idea I have.

00;10;54;13 - 00;11;21;26 Lindsay And I really have to reiterate that if you want to take my advice, this is totally on your own doing. And, you have to do the research and you have to do what's best for you. There are lots of great representatives, so I strongly recommend that you hire RCI, see a regulated Canadian immigration consultant or a lawyer that specializes in immigration, and make sure that you go to the CIC website.

00;11;21;26 - 00;11;45;18 Lindsay And I believe that my show notes below. And make sure that you hire someone that is regulated or a Canadian lawyer, do not hire someone that is in your country that has really no connection with Canada. They need to either be a Canadian lawyer or are CIC and you should ask them for references and so on and so forth.

00;11;45;18 - 00;12;05;06 Lindsay I think I'm going to give you some thoughts about that too. when I close my, show as well. But anyways, I will you will get on with it. So those are just my two things I want to say before we start it. So let's say you are a food supervisor and you have training in that field, and you want to look at getting a job in Canada.

00;12;05;07 - 00;12;27;12 Lindsay So what you should do instead of saying, hey, I know this person that lives here, you know, I'm just going to fly there and move to the city and hope for the best and hope I can find an LMI based job. Right? Or you know, I know these people that live in this province. So, that's that's the only place I'm going to focus because that's where these people live.

00;12;27;14 - 00;12;48;29 Lindsay I really would like for you to take a step back and look at all of Canada. Now, I practice in the prairie provinces because that's where my heart is. That's where I feel the best opportunity is. So my examples today are going to be in the prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. However, you should always look at every province and see what best suits you.

00;12;49;04 - 00;13;13;09 Lindsay Okay, so you are a food supervisor and you have found that there is opportunity in a couple of provinces for a food supervisor. And so what you should do is you should look at every provinces nomination stream, their immigration strategy, what they have. Right. And of course, you should also look at the express entry opportunity, that pathway as well.

00;13;13;12 - 00;13;32;02 Lindsay You know, because they have the federal skilled worker, they have the federal trades. And we also have the Canadian experience. And so you could, create a profile and set yourself up with that. But if you're someone that you know, you'll probably need, provincial nomination because your score is lower and we all know it's very competitive right now.

00;13;32;05 - 00;14;09;05 Lindsay Express entry. Then you really want to look at the province and what their immigration pathways are. So if we are to look at a food supervisor, which was mentioned in the top ten when I read them over, and that's tier 65200, I would actually recommend strongly looking at the province of Alberta. And I say this because they actually have a specific stream and it's the tourism and hospitality stream, and it allows people under this tier to apply for immigration with their employer supporting them.

00;14;09;05 - 00;14;42;27 Lindsay And so what would happen is the person would, you know, accept the Almeria based position and then they would work with their employers to seek nomination from the province. Now that sounds simple, right? But there's a lot more to it. So I think that you should hop on Alberta's if you are someone that's that's interested in the tourism hospitality stream and you have experience in that, then you should really log on to the tourism hospitality stream in Alberta and really check out the details, because there is a lot of details in it.

00;14;42;27 - 00;15;05;13 Lindsay It's not as easy as what I just said, but let's say, okay, so you accept, a food super supervisor position or you are thinking of accepting a food supervisor position in Alberta. The one thing that you will want to do, because not everybody is going to be eligible for this stream. Just because you are a food supervisor.

00;15;05;15 - 00;15;41;28 Lindsay There are some eligibility requirements, and so I'll quickly go over those. Just to give you an example of how important it is to research. So at the time of your application. So if you have been there for a while and you want to apply, there are certain things that you are going to have to meet. And so we are taking a job as a food supervisor with an employer in the problems of a bird up, you got to make sure that you are living and working in Alberta in an eligible occupation, that is with an approved tourism and hospitality employer.

00;15;41;29 - 00;16;03;01 Lindsay Okay, so that's really that's important too, right? So the employer also has to meet certain requirements as well as it has to. Your work permit has to be based on a positive LMI for the eligible occupation. So what they're saying is that maintain status is not considered a substitute for a work permit. And other types of work permit.

00;16;03;01 - 00;16;30;13 Lindsay So such as a post-secondary work permit would not be eligible. So all they're looking for is somebody that is there working for the employer for six months or more, or 780 hours or more, and that employer is a member. But that employee, the temporary foreign worker, actually has a work permit that's based on Almeria. And as I just mentioned, they're going to ask about the work experience.

00;16;30;13 - 00;16;58;04 Lindsay So you have to have a minimum of six consecutive months or some 180 hours at the time you apply. And it's critical to also know is that at the time you apply, at the time they're assessing you, you have to be in that position. You can't just have, you know, six months consecutive work and then not be working for them at the time they assess because they definitely will be in contact with your employer and they'll ask the employer, like, has this person been paid?

00;16;58;05 - 00;17;20;03 Lindsay Have they worked for you for six months? Right. So there's all these details that I can go into. But my point being that nowadays it's really hard to just get an LMI based job offer and then think, okay, so I got a job offer. I'm, you know, going to work in this province for six months to a year.

00;17;20;03 - 00;17;48;20 Lindsay And I'm just getting get nominated. that's not the way how it works anymore. And so you really have to be looking at the provinces even before you arrive and, and just do certain things like that. So it also just going back to the hospitality and tourism stream, they actually also have examples of who's not eligible. So you got to make sure that when you are accepting these positions that, you know, it even says, right.

00;17;48;20 - 00;18;11;20 Lindsay And then when you aren't eligible, it says if you're a seasonal employee. So a lot of people might take a job and LMI based job and it's seasonal, not realizing that seasonal based employment, even though it was 30 hours a week and I could have been in a 12 month period, but if if they market as seasonal, then automatically that's not valid.

00;18;11;23 - 00;18;50;01 Lindsay So those are the little intricacies that you should be aware of. And this is why I think, going back to hiring someone that is really good in their field, they will know that they will be your advocate. They will, you know, they are going to tell you, no, you shouldn't take it. That's really not what they're therefore what our, what we are here for as RCI, CS and and, and lawyers and anyone that's going to help you, they're here to make sure you understand that when you're accepting these positions that here and if you are interested in immigration, that here are the possible immigration pathways.

00;18;50;04 - 00;19;13;00 Lindsay And if it's, like I said, seasonal, that you won't be eligible for the stream that you think you might have been. Right. So it's really important to hire someone that has a really strong understanding and has your a vested interest at heart. Okay. So then the other one I want to also look at is truck and transport are long haul drivers.

00;19;13;00 - 00;19;36;26 Lindsay And I picked this one because in the prairies we are in so desperate need of long haul truck drivers. And so if I was someone that had, truck and transport driving experience, I would definitely be looking again at the Prairie provinces because there is a high demand for it. And our cost of living is just, you know, our quality of life, I should say, is second to none.

00;19;36;26 - 00;19;56;27 Lindsay And our cost of living is is so good, right? Like, you know, you can buy a house and Moose Jaw for a quarter of the price of what you could in Toronto. So and your commute and so on and so forth. There's so much less, you know, and the quality of life is so much better because you aren't sitting on the, highway.

00;19;57;02 - 00;20;23;13 Lindsay The 401, for a like four hours of traffic. whereas if you're in a prairie city or community, you are spending 30 minutes driving somewhere with no traffic at all. So anyways, that's my little plug for the prairie. So if I was a truck and transport driver, I would be looking at the prairies. Then I think what would narrow it down is after you have reviewed what let's say Alberta has, you look at what my job has.

00;20;23;15 - 00;20;58;09 Lindsay Well, then you look at Saskatchewan and you would see that they actually have their own stream for long haul truck drivers. Now that is very, very exciting news, right. So truck and transport drivers as I mentioned was in the top ten. So putting yourself in that position where you are actually going to be obtaining a job where it's high demand, it has received the, you know, one of the most approvals last year in all of Canada.

00;20;58;12 - 00;21;27;06 Lindsay And then you're strategically placing yourself in a province where they have their own stream for provincial nomination. it just really doesn't get much better than that. And so you can hop on to the province of Saskatchewan, the SNP, and that's the immigration department. And you can look at the subcategory that allows trucking firms to bring long haul truck drivers into Saskatchewan.

00;21;27;09 - 00;21;50;07 Lindsay you know, and it's going to tell you, you must so you I being the foreign worker, you must begin working for an approved trucking company on a temporary foreign work permit, which would be an LMI based work permit. And if the approved trucking firm offers a permanent employment, then you would be able to apply to the SNP in conjunction with your employer.

00;21;50;07 - 00;22;23;29 Lindsay Because Saskatchewan does require the employer to go through a couple steps. So you need to be you need to ensure that your employer is willing to do this. You just can't assume that you know, even because there is there's a stream that you're automatically going to be supported by your employer. You need to speak with your employer and ensure that after you work six months, 780 hours of full time, 30 plus hours a week, that you know they're going strongly, consider providing you a job approval letter that is supported by an LMI.

00;22;23;29 - 00;22;48;07 Lindsay A and they're going to be in support of this, right? You also must be sure that you have a Saskatchewan class one, a driver's license. And you again, you have that full time permit job offer. And as well as you know, these are these are the little things that people overlook. You should have it where it says you must have a Canadian language benchmark of four.

00;22;48;07 - 00;23;10;05 Lindsay Right. So these are all the little things that when you are looking for a job in Canada, through an alum Olympia, that you got a you just got to spend some time doing immigration is up to you in the most part of everything. It is up to you to leave it. Someone else is not being very responsible, you know?

00;23;10;05 - 00;23;33;14 Lindsay Yes. As I keep saying, you should hire, you know, a well respected, a good RCC or a lawyer. you know, you should have those people in your, you know, backing you up and supporting you and guiding you through these streams. However, it is up to you to make sure that you understand. It is up to you to make sure that you meet their language requirements, that you have their proper licensing.

00;23;33;14 - 00;23;56;16 Lindsay Like we cannot do that for you. So those are the things that you really need to do your homework on. And if you do your homework and you identify the position that you're eligible for, you're successful in that position and you research their province and the nomination streams. You know, when you go to apply for immigration, it's just going to be that much easier on you.

00;23;56;16 - 00;24;15;21 Lindsay And if you have a family and your costs won't be as high, you know, it's just going to be an all around win win situation because everybody knows that immigration can be very stressful. So if you want to know more about the long haul, category, then please hop on to the simp and you'll you'll find it. They'll be right there on their website.

00;24;15;21 - 00;24;41;08 Lindsay I did want to look at Manitoba. I'm. But I'm going to actually use them in a different light. So I'm going to tell you what happens. And where things go wrong. if you choose one province before another, let's say that you receive a job offer as a computer and information systems manager, which was in the top ten most approved LMI A's in Canada in 2023.

00;24;41;08 - 00;25;10;11 Lindsay So that's tier 20012. Now let's say you have accepted it and you are in the province of Ontario. And you realize that you are not going to get nominated. It's just, you know, too competitive and so on and so forth. And you actually have people that are living in Manitoba, you know, people. So they tell you to come on to Manitoba and they line up a job and it's an LMI based job.

00;25;10;11 - 00;25;29;24 Lindsay And they say, okay, so I got a friend who actually has an approved LMI, a and they're willing to give it to you and you come to Manitoba. So this is my home province. Well, here's going to be the problem right now. The province of Match Hobbit is dry and skilled worker imaginable around 840 points. So you will come here.

00;25;29;26 - 00;25;55;12 Lindsay And as a computer information systems manager, you will probably have a degree. You will probably have really good work experience. You will have probably great communication, either English or French. Right. So you're going to check all those boxes and you're probably going to have a really high mark in. You're probably going to be competitive to get a nomination that is, you know, between 800 and 850, which we're currently drawing on.

00;25;55;13 - 00;26;30;03 Lindsay Now here is the thing. So Manitoba actually deducts points. If you and or your spouse has worked or studied in another province. So when you come from Ontario or wherever you've been, because you realize you are not going to get a nomination, and you come to the province of Manitoba and you have a score of, let's say, 837, there will automatically be 100 points deducted from you, so your points will actually be 737.

00;26;30;11 - 00;26;54;18 Lindsay So this does not make you competitive currently for the skilled worker in Manitoba. Moral of this story is, is that you? If you are looking at a province like Manitoba where I have to say our housing is very affordable, great outdoor lifestyle, lots of recreation. You know, this should probably be your first stop if you are considering Manitoba or if you have a job offer here.

00;26;54;21 - 00;27;32;12 Lindsay And let's say, you know, you have two job offers and one's in British Columbia and one's in Manitoba. I have had a lot of clients from British Columbia wanting to move to Manitoba because unfortunately, the cost of living is very high. specifically in the Lower Mainland region where where my clients are all from. And so though I have to explain to them, because oftentimes they've come over here with, another representative, and that representative has convinced them to live and work and study in, in that province, in that in the high populated region.

00;27;32;12 - 00;28;04;11 Lindsay And they want to move because they cannot make it there. However, you know, since they've studied and work there, they automatically get 200 points deducted when they come to Manitoba. So we then have to look at is it worth it? Will there actually be even opportunity in terms of a nomination for them to come? Right. So that's my moral of this story for the province of Manitoba, not specifically the province of Manitoba, but it's really important to recognize that there might be penalties from other provinces.

00;28;04;13 - 00;28;24;10 Lindsay If you have lived in another province. That's just because they want to understand, and they want to know that you are committed to living and working in their province, because every province wants you to stay and work there, because of course, when you work there, you pay taxes, you buy houses. So when a province nominates two, it's to their benefit that you stay there.

00;28;24;11 - 00;28;40;19 Lindsay And if you come from another province, then they do have the right to question your commitment, and your loyalty to that province. So that's just a warning for those people who are just, you know, saying, okay, well, I'll get a LMI based job in this province. And then if this doesn't work out, I'm going to go here.

00;28;40;19 - 00;28;58;24 Lindsay And if this doesn't work out, I'm going to go here. Or if you get a seasonal based LMI, a is it something that's really going to help you with the immigration at the end of the day? So these are so many things you have to consider when you are looking for an LMI based, job opportunity. There's just a ton.

00;28;58;26 - 00;29;22;19 Lindsay Just please do your research and understand that obtaining an LMI, a job opportunity, accepting it is not a guarantee of an immigration pathway. However, you can help yourself by doing the research before you accept that job and even before arriving in Canada, just so you have the best options and save yourself a lot of money, time and heartache.

00;29;22;26 - 00;29;45;28 Lindsay I've just. Before I go, I want to touch on LMI, A's and employers responsibilities, and there's a lot of responsibilities with an employer, and it really depends on the stream that you come under. But, you know, I want everybody to know that it is highly illegal and an ethical for any employer to charge you any amount of money to get a job.

00;29;46;02 - 00;30;17;29 Lindsay So if somebody has charged you amount of money to get a job, you know, it'd be $1000 or $50,000. And they're telling you that if you don't stay with them or if they're threatening you in any way, if they're threatening you, saying, well, we will send you back to, whatever country, do not listen to them. You have rights, and you need to, log on to SDC and IRC, and there's some helpful information that will guide you.

00;30;17;29 - 00;30;37;24 Lindsay And I'll also put that in my show notes. And you are not obligated to stay with a representative that may be charging you outrageous fees. So let's say that you have paid, Representative, a lawyer or CIC, a lot of money, and they're telling you that, you know, I got you here and you have to stay with me now.

00;30;37;25 - 00;31;09;29 Lindsay You cannot. You cannot break this contract. Yes, you can. You can break that contract. You are a client. You are not obligated to pay that amount. You can go ahead and go on the CIC website or find a new representative. You can represent yourself. Although I do don't really recommend that. But, you can do that. But find yourself somebody that's that's loyal, that's, respected and that's very trustworthy as well.

00;31;10;01 - 00;31;33;17 Lindsay know that nobody can send you back to your country. The only people that can the only department that can is immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada. So your employer cannot send you back. If there is a problem, though, with employer employee based relationship and they do let you go and your work permit is restricted, you may be out of options.

00;31;33;17 - 00;32;13;02 Lindsay There may be other options to get another LMI based position, but you don't have to. They don't govern what you can do. It's immigration, refugee and Citizenship Canada. So I strongly encourage you to read all about your rights as a foreign worker. Okay. So, having said all of that, I really want to thank you all so much for listening to this podcast and taking time to learn more about the importance of LMI jobs, the location of where your job may be, and what, if any, provincial strategy would actually or could assist you to, attain your permanent residency if that is really what you are looking for.

00;32;13;05 - 00;32;28;05 Lindsay If you have any more questions, you can always feel free to reach out to me. Lindsay. you know, at immigration at 100meridian.ca. WhatsApp, and I'll also have that in my show notes. So until next time, I hope everyone lives rural, live well.