On December 27, 2013, Ministerial Instructions were released respecting Labour Market Opinions and Temporary Work Permits. The Ministry of Employment and Social Development Canada together with Citizenship and Immigration Canada will have the power to revoke the positive Labor Market Opinion and the granted work permit in order to address immediately the changes and demands of the Labor Market. This will certainly put the Canadian employers at risk of losing their workers without notice.
MINISTRY OF EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL SERVICES CANADA
The Labour Market Opinion may be revoked if:
(a) new information becomes available after the opinion is provided indicating that the employment of the foreign national under the work permit is having or will have a significant negative effect on the labour market in Canada;
(b) the employer or group of employers provided false, misleading or inaccurate information in the context of the request for that opinion; and
(c) the employer’s name has been added to the list referred to in subsection 209.91(3) of the Regulations.
The Labour Market Opinion may be suspended if:
(a) new information becomes available after the time that the opinion is provided that, if known at that time, would have led to a different opinion;
(b) there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the employer or group of employers provided false, misleading or inaccurate information in the context of the request for that opinion;
(c) there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the employer is not complying with the conditions set out in subsection 209.3 or 209.4 of the Regulations in respect of that work permit or any other work permit and the failure to do so may not be justified under one or the other of those sections, as applicable; and
(d) the employer’s name has been added to the list referred to in subsection 209.91(3) of the Regulations.
The Minister of Employment and Social Development Canada may refuse to process an application for a Labor Market Opinion if:
(a) there is information to indicate that the employment of the foreign national under the work permit in any portion, sector, region or occupational group of the labour market in Canada may or will have a significant negative effect on that labour market; and
(b) the request for an opinion relates to an application for a work permit the processing of which would be refused under the terms of instructions given by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration under subsection 87.3(3) of the Act.
These Instructions take effect on December 31, 2013.
DEPARTMENT OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
CHRIS ALEXANDER
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Notice is hereby given that the Department of Citizenship and Immigration (CIC) has established, under paragraph 87.3(3)(a.1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), the following Ministerial Instructions that, in the opinion of the Minister, will best support the attainment of the immigration goals established by the Government of Canada.
These Instructions take effect on December 31, 2013, and will remain in place until further notice.
These Instructions apply to work permit applications received by CIC on or after December 31, 2013. These Instructions, in accordance with subsection 87.3(3.1) of IRPA, shall also apply to all applications received by CIC offices prior to December 31, 2013, but not yet processed or still pending.
Work permit applications for temporary foreign workers
Officers are instructed to suspend the processing of applications for work permits made by foreign nationals under subparagraph 200(1)(c)(iii) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations where the relevant opinion has been suspended by ESDC for public policy considerations specified by the Minister of Employment and Social Development pursuant to subsection 30(1.43) of IRPA.
Applicants for work permits affected by these Instructions shall be informed that the processing of their application will not continue until such a time as the opinion suspension is no longer in effect.
A work permit may be revoked if:
(a) the opinion that was provided by the Department of Employment and Social Development and on the basis of which the work permit was issued was subsequently revoked;
(b) in the case of a work permit that was issued to a foreign national referred to in any of subparagraphs 200(1)(c)(i) to (ii.1) of the Regulations with respect to a specified employer, new information becomes available indicating that the employment of the foreign national under the work permit is having or will have a significantly greater negative effect than benefit with respect to the development of a strong Canadian economy, unless the revocation of that work permit would be inconsistent with any trade obligation of the Government of Canada under an international agreement;
(c) the employer or group of employers provided false, misleading or inaccurate information in the context of the application for the work permit;
(d) the employer’s name has been added to the list referred to in subsection 209.91(3) of the Regulations; and
(e) the work permit was issued to a foreign national on the basis of their relationship to another foreign national and the work permit of that other foreign national has since been or is currently being revoked.
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