I am a USA citizen currently working and residing in BC on a multi-year temporary work permit. The permit is LMO-exempt pursuant to NAFTA applicable to professionals (T-23).
The reason for my move to Canada was personal - I wanted to remain with my Canadian citizen partner (we're not married), as their job transferred from the USA to BC. My employer is based in the USA but has an operational presence in Canada. When I said I wanted to move with my partner to Canada, my employer essentially submitted a LMO-exempt work permit application to the TFWU saying that my unique skills were necessary to fulfill a role that was open in Canada. It was effectively transferring my job/role from the USA to Canada and then re-hiring me into the role I was previously performing.
I'm currently ~8 months into my employment in Canada. Unfortunately, things are not going well on the personal front. My relationship has hit the rocks and I'm failing to find adequate and timely health care for a chronic condition. Moving back to the USA seems like it solves a lot of problems.
I figured that since I'm a USA citizen, I could just coordinate with my employer and move back to the USA - essentially undoing my move, except this time without the complicated paperwork. However, my employer is nervous about having me back to the USA. They are concerned that if my employment in Canada ends prematurely (before the multi-year period stated on my work permit), that this won't be well-received by Canada and it will jeopardize the ability for my employer to have positive employment outcomes in Canada going forward. The concern is something along the lines of "we told Canada we needed your role in Canada for a few years: we can't just change our minds and have you suddenly performing that role back in the USA [like before]."
I'm trying to ascertain how real my employer's concern is. Is their fear legitimate or is this just lawyers being paranoid? Do I have an out here? Could I somehow use my health concerns plus lack of (in my opinion) viability treatment options in BC as a means to justify leaving early without potentially risking my employer's relationship with Canada?
I know this is a complicated situation. Hopefully someone on this forum has seen this situation before and can offer some insight.
The reason for my move to Canada was personal - I wanted to remain with my Canadian citizen partner (we're not married), as their job transferred from the USA to BC. My employer is based in the USA but has an operational presence in Canada. When I said I wanted to move with my partner to Canada, my employer essentially submitted a LMO-exempt work permit application to the TFWU saying that my unique skills were necessary to fulfill a role that was open in Canada. It was effectively transferring my job/role from the USA to Canada and then re-hiring me into the role I was previously performing.
I'm currently ~8 months into my employment in Canada. Unfortunately, things are not going well on the personal front. My relationship has hit the rocks and I'm failing to find adequate and timely health care for a chronic condition. Moving back to the USA seems like it solves a lot of problems.
I figured that since I'm a USA citizen, I could just coordinate with my employer and move back to the USA - essentially undoing my move, except this time without the complicated paperwork. However, my employer is nervous about having me back to the USA. They are concerned that if my employment in Canada ends prematurely (before the multi-year period stated on my work permit), that this won't be well-received by Canada and it will jeopardize the ability for my employer to have positive employment outcomes in Canada going forward. The concern is something along the lines of "we told Canada we needed your role in Canada for a few years: we can't just change our minds and have you suddenly performing that role back in the USA [like before]."
I'm trying to ascertain how real my employer's concern is. Is their fear legitimate or is this just lawyers being paranoid? Do I have an out here? Could I somehow use my health concerns plus lack of (in my opinion) viability treatment options in BC as a means to justify leaving early without potentially risking my employer's relationship with Canada?
I know this is a complicated situation. Hopefully someone on this forum has seen this situation before and can offer some insight.