Working Temporarily in Canada

In allowing the temporary entry of foreign workers into the country, the Government of Canada seeks to ensure that this activity is undertaken in a way that will encourage employers to participate in training initiatives and provide opportunities for Canadian workers and job-seekers. In almost all cases the worker cannot enter Canada without first obtaining an Employment Authorization (EA) from an immigration officer. The employer must work with federal officials from Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) so that the HRDC foreign worker officer can provide an informed opinion to the immigration officer as to whether the issuance of the EA will likely have a net benefit for Canada and Canadians.

The Employer's Role

The first step in this process occurs when the employer decides to offer limited-term employment to someone who is neither a Canadian citizen nor permanent resident. It is expected that the employer will have first given due consideration to the possibility of hiring a Canadian citizen/permanent resident for the job. After the employer has made the job offer to the foreign worker, the employer will contact the Human Resources Canada Centre (HRCC) closest to the location where the work will take place. (HRCCs are listed in the "Blue Pages" of the telephone directory under "Government of Canada"). The foreign worker counselor at the HRCC will work with the employer to examine the specifics of the job offer, ensure that the wages and working conditions offered are acceptable within the context of the Canadian labour market, and consider whether the job might easily be filled from within the domestic workforce. The job description must be "genuine", rather than being purposely designed to make the job inaccessible to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Once satisfied, the HRCC foreign worker counselor will communicate his or her opinion (called a "validation") to the CIC point of service where the worker is applying for the employment authorization.

N.B. If the worker is destined to work in the Province of Quebec, the employer must also work with the Quebec government to obtain a Certificat d'acceptation du Quebec (CAQ) before the employment authorization can be issued by CIC. Contact the Ministere des Relations avec les citoyens et de l'Immigration office nearest you.

There may be cases where an employer or an industrial sector has done human resource planning and has determined that it faces a significant short-term need for numerous workers with key skills that are in short supply. In these cases, firm-specific or sectoral agreements can be entered into to provide for the "validation" of a number of workers within a single set of negotiations. These agreements are described in further detail below:

Firm-Specific Agreements

There may be situations where an employer knows that it is going to require a substantial number of foreign workers (e.g. due to plans for expansion or the introduction of a new product line). There might also be situations where an HRDC counselor notices a significant number of validation requests coming from one employer. Rather than address each request for a foreign worker individually, the employer might choose to approach the HRDC, or the counselor might decide to contact the employer, to discuss these needs comprehensively in the context of the employer's business plan and the skills profile of the domestic labour market.

The HRDC foreign worker officer will consider the requests for foreign workers as they relate to opportunities that will be created for Canadian workers, for skills transfers and other training opportunities, and for the net economic benefit and growth that will result. The foreign worker officer can also consider whether the firm is relying on foreign workers unduly (e.g. demonstrating a long-term reliance on foreign workers as a primary source of new hires, or employing foreign workers at wages that are unacceptably low by Canadian standards). If the officer concludes that the firm's plans will result in a net economic benefit to Canada, he or she will validate, as a block, the job offers for which the employer intends to use foreign workers. This validation will be evidenced by a written agreement between HRDC and the employer. The written agreement will set out both the jobs validated and the employer's undertakings relating to training and career development for staff and Canadian job-seekers.

Examples of employers' undertakings would include:

• Training For Staff;
• Creation Of New Positions That Can Be Staffed By Canadians;
• Developing A New Training Course (Say, With A Community College) To Address
• The Skill Shortage That Necessitated The Hiring Of The Foreign Worker(S)
• Future Utilization By The Employer Of The Tfw Program Will Take Into Account
• Hrdc's Experience with the firm and its compliance with prior agreements.

Sectoral Agreements

There might be situations where there are a number of employers in an industrial sector, facing the same skills shortage due to growth in that sector, demographic factors, or the introduction of a new technology. In cases where there are a small number of large employers dominating a sector, this situation might best be addressed by a series of firm-specific agreements or a multi-firm agreement. There may, however, be other cases where the affected sector is dominated by many small firms, where due to the number of firms or the lack of administrative capacity within those firms, the process of putting in place firm-specific agreements would be impractical. In this case, the preferred response might be to make agreements with key employers and/or other suitable representatives who can speak on behalf of the entire sector.

Sectoral representatives will typically initiate the process by approaching foreign worker officers to seek consideration under an agreement. An agreement could address a sector on a national basis, but it could just as easily be limited to a specific geographic region where limited mobility within an occupational labour market makes such limitation appropriate.

Net Economic Benefit

Net economic benefit can take many forms. For example, when foreign workers are needed to oversee the creation in Canada of a new or expanded facility they are familiar with, the increase in Canadian-based productive capacity is a net economic benefit. When a foreign worker with unique, leading edge skills is able to pass on these skills to the Canadian staff he or she is working alongside of, the transfer of skills to the domestic labour force is a net economic benefit. Similarly, when a foreign worker with a sophisticated skill set not easily found in Canada is able to serve as the team leader of a project that will also include many jobs for Canadian workers, these spin-off jobs represent a net economic benefit. These are just a few examples of a net economic benefit to Canada.

An employment authorization will not be issued in circumstances where the employment of the foreign worker could affect the settlement of a labour dispute or affect the employment of any person involved in such a dispute.

Once the foreign employee is in place at work, it is the employer's responsibility to examine the Employment Authorization document and to ensure that the conditions of work are consistent with the terms and conditions set out in the document.

The Worker's Role

It is the worker who must apply for and receive the employment authorization that allows him or her to work while in Canada.
The temporary foreign worker must meet the usual requirements of a visitor to Canada, which vary with the country the worker is entering from. This includes medical and security concerns, and is set out under "Visiting Canada".

In addition, the applicant must satisfy the immigration officer of the following:

• That his or her intention is only to work in Canada temporarily, and not to try and stay in Canada indefinitely. The onus is on the applicant to satisfy the immigration officer that his or her intent is not to stay permanently; and
• That the applicant has the skills and qualifications required to do the job they are being hired to do. This might involve providing documentation to substantiate educational credentials, or providing evidence of necessary professional accreditation.

Along with completing the application form, the worker will have to provide a copy of the job offer with all of the necessary information (such as job description, wages, location etc.). Evidence of educational or professional accrediation, such as diplomas and certificates, might also be required. There is a non-refundable fee to process a request for an employment authorization.

Where a person can apply for an employment authorization varies with their status. Most foreign workers must get their employment authorizations before entering Canada, from a Mission Abroad. Residents of the United States, Greenland, or St. Pierre and Miquelon can apply for an EA at a Port of Entry, but they must produce their confirmation of their offer of employment (i.e. detailed job offer) and have other documentation needed by the immigration officer to make his or her decision when they arrive at the Port of Entry. Visitors to Canada cannot apply for employment authorizations while in Canada, with the exception of a husband or wife whose spouse has entered Canada with a valid EA and has accompanied that spouse into Canada.

Employment authorizations have specific terms and conditions listed on them, including the dates of the employment term, the location of the work, and a description of the job. If the worker does not abide by the terms and conditions set out in the EA, he or she could be asked to leave the country. The employment authorization is not a contract, and if the employer dismisses the foreign worker, he or she must return home. If some element of the worker's job is to change (e.g. extension of dates, change of duties, change of employer) the worker should apply for an amendment to the employment authorization.

Special Programs

There are some occupations where the use of foreign workers is particularly significant, and in some cases special provisions have been made to better meet these needs. In addition, the government's efforts in exploring ways to improve the functioning of the temporary foreign worker program have led us to test certain approaches in pilot projects. The special programs currently in effect include the Facilitated Processing for Information Technology Workers and the Spousal Employment Authorization Pilot Project.