I put together a general guide about LMOs for people with limited knowledge. Hopefully this can serve as a resource for people new to the forum. Here is a link to the guide in a nicely formatted PDF for anyone interested: http://goo.gl/jJBkN
Labour Market Opinions:
A Guide for Canadian Workers and Employers
This guide will briefly explain the fundamental basics of Labour Market Opinions, also known as LMOs. We will cover 6 topics:
1) Overview what a Labour Market Opinion is.
2) The process of obtaining a positive Labour Market Opinion
3) What must be demonstrated in a Labour Market Opinion application in order to receive a positive result.
4) The concept of recruitment efforts and how these are factored into the assessment of a Labour Market Opinion application
5) The questions asked by Service Canada when considering an LMO application.
6) Overview the common mistakes made in rejected LMO applications and how to avoid making these same mistakes.
A Labour Market Opinion is a document produced by Service Canada, also known as Human Resources and Skills Development Canada which confirms whether or not the hiring of a foreign worker will be beneficial to the Canadian economy. A positive Labour Market Opinion will confirm that there are not a significant amount of suitable Canadian applicants for a particular job and that the hiring of foreign workers will be necessary in order to fill that job.
In order for a work permit to be issued to the foreign worker, a copy of the positive Labour Market Opinion must be included with their application. Therefore, a positive LMO is a requirement for Temporary Foreign Work Permits. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule but we will not be covering them in this guide.
The application process for a Labour Market Opinion is as follows:
First, the employer must attempt to recruit Canadian workers for the position they are trying to fill. They can do this through a number of different avenues. The extent to which they advertise and recruit will play a significant factor in the assessment of their application. Most common recruitment efforts are through newspapers, online job boards, the Canadian job bank, Craigslist, trade journals and local community notice boards.
Second, the employer must undergo screening and interviewing of all applications they receive. They must keep records of whom they interviewed and also keep their resumes on file.
Third, the employer or an authorized third-party must complete and submit a Labour Market Opinion application to Service Canada.
Fourth, Service Canada will review the application and either give a positive determination or will reject the file. It is necessary to know that Service Canada is not an investigative agency. They will either approve or reject the application. They will not give written reasons for why the application was refused or approved.
Fifth, with a positive Labour Market Opinion in hand, the employer is then eligible to recruit foreign workers.
And Lastly, the foreign worker in question is given a copy of the positive Labour Market Opinion which is a necessary requirement for their work permit application.
When applying for an LMO, the applicant must demonstrate:
A) The efforts made to recruit and/or train willing and available Canadians
B) The wages offered are consistent with the prevailing wage rate paid to Canadians in the same occupation in the region. We will have more on this topic in the next section.
C) The working conditions for the occupation meet the current provincial labour market standards
D) Any potential benefits that hiring a foreign worker might bring to the Canadian labour market, such as the creation of new jobs or the transfer of skills and knowledge.
Service Canada wants to ensure that employers seeking to hire foreign workers have completed sufficient efforts to train or recruit Canadians. They do this by imposing minimum advertising efforts. They are different for each skill-level.
All jobs in Canada are classified according to the National Occupation Classification (NOC). There are 5 categories: 0, A, B, C, D. The first three skill levels, O, A and B are considered skilled occupations. The C skill level is considered semi-skilled and the D skill level is considered low-skilled. If you are unsure about this concept or want to seek further clarity, please consult: http://www.threesquareimmigration.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/National_Occupation_Classification_PDF.pdf
For Skill Level 0 and A Occupations, you will have conducted the minimum advertising efforts required if you:
A) Advertised on the national Job Bank for a minimum of 14 calendar days in the 3 months prior to applying for the LMO
OR
B) Have conducted recruitment activities which are consistent with the practice within the occupation such as advertising in newspapers, trade journals or private online job banks such as Workoplis.ca or Monster.ca.
For Skill Level B Occupations, you will have conducted the minimum recruitment efforts required if you have:
A) Advertise don the national Job Bank for a minimum of 14 calendar days in the 3 months prior to applying for the LMO
AND
B) Have conducted recruitment activities which are consistent with the practice within the occupation such as advertising in newspapers, trade journals or private online job banks such as Workoplis.ca or Monster.ca for a minimum of 14 calendar days
Lastly, for Skill Levels C and D Occupations, which includes seasonal agricultural workers, you will have conducted the minimum advertising efforts required if you:
A) Advertised on the national Job Bank for a minimum of 14 calendar days in the 3 months prior to applying for the LMO
AND
B) Have conducted recruitment activities which are consistent with the practice within the occupation such as advertising in newspapers, trade journals or private online job banks such as Workoplis.ca or Monster.ca for a minimum of 14 calendar days, by choosing one of the following:
1) advertise in weekly or periodic newspapers, journals, newsletters, national/regional newspapers, ethnic newspapers/newsletters or free local newspapers;
2) advertise in the community, e.g., posting ads for two to three weeks in local stores, community resource centres, churches, or local regional employment centres;
3) advertise on Internet sites e.g., posting during 14 calendar days/two weeks on recognized Internet job sites
All advertising must include the following information:
1) The company operating name;
2) Job duties (for each position, if advertising for more than one vacancy);
3) Wage range (i.e. an accurate range of wages being offered to Canadians and permanent residents). The wage range must always include the prevailing wage for the position
4) The location of work (such as the local area, city, or town); and
5) The nature of the position. Whether or not it is project based or a permanent position).
One important aspect of these requirements to note is the Wage Range and this is one of the most common errors made in rejected applications:
For all jobs with Skill Level B, C and D, the wage range identified in the advertisement must represent an accurate range of wages being offered to Canadians and permanent residents, working in the same occupation and geographical area. The wage range must always include the prevailing wage for the position. The prevailing wage is identified as the median hourly wage for the requested occupation in the specified geographical area. To find a prevailing wage, consult the Wages and Outlook Report on the Working in Canada Web site. For a unionized position, the wage rate must be consistent with the wage rate established under the collective bargaining agreement.
When evaluating your application for a Labour Market Opinion. Service Canada will ask the following seven questions. If your application does not answer these questions correctly, your application will be rejected.
These questions are:
1) Is this job offer genuine?
Service Canada is trying to filter out and eliminate bogus job offers. It has been found that some Canadian employers are creating fake jobs in order to abuse the Canadian immigration system. For example, an uncle owns a restaurant in a small prairie town. He has great staff and the restaurant is running smoothly. However, he has a family-friend who wants to immigrate to Canada, but cannot qualify under any of the categories. He then applies for an LMO, stating that he does not have enough staff, creates bogus advertising and attempts to bring the family-friend over as a foreign worker. These illegal practices are what Service Canada is trying to stop and will conduct due diligence when it believes a job offer is fake.
2) Are the wages and working conditions comparable to those offered to Canadians working in the occupation?
Service Canada wants to ensure that foreign workers are not being used to drive down the wages of the Canadian workforce. If carpenters in a particular region are being paid $25/hr, Service Canada wants to make sure that foreign workers coming in to fill those positions are not being paid $10.25/hr. Similarly, Service Canada wants to ensure that foreign workers are being provided with the same working conditions as Canadians. There have been reports in the media where foreign workers have been brought in, forced to work extraordinary long hours, refused breaks, denied access to certain workplace amenities and not been paid when the job was completed. Service Canada wants to ensure that foreign workers are not being hired as slaves.
3) Did the employer conduct reasonable efforts to hire or train Canadians for the job?
This was covered in our section on recruitment efforts. Service Canada assesses whether or not there were reasonable efforts to recruit Canadians. As we will cover in the last segment of this video, employers often feel that because they have completed the minimum recruitment efforts, that they will automatically receive a positive LMO. This is wrong. Service Canada has other criteria in which they evaluate recruitment and want to see evidence of genuine and substantial efforts having taken place.
4) Is the foreign worker filling a labour shortage?
This question is quite self-explanatory. Service Canada wants to ensure that the hiring of foreign workers will fill a Canadian labour shortage which will have a positive effect on the labour market and economy.
5) Will the employment of the foreign worker directly create new job opportunities or help retain jobs for Canadians?
Service Canada wants to see that the hiring of foreign workers will have a long-term benefit to Canada rather than using them as a short-term band-aid approach.
6) Will the foreign worker transfer new skills and knowledge to Canadians?
This question is more relevant for higher skill-level positions 0, A and B. For example, if a group of software engineers have been brought to Canada from Bangladesh for a 9 month contract, Service Canada wants to see in the application, evidence of how the hiring of these workers will help transfer knowledge and skills to the Canadians working in the organization. This relates back to question 5. Will the hiring of these workers help us build a sustainable, knowledgeable, skillful workforce or is Canada going to be continually reliant upon the hiring of foreign workers for these positions.
7) Will the hiring of the foreign worker affect labour disputes or the employment of any Canadian workers involved in such a dispute
Canada has very strong labour laws. Service Canada wants to ensure that companies currently involved in labour disputes are not hiring foreign workers in order to subvert an ongoing strike or collective bargaining. If you can demonstrate to Service Canada in your application the correct answers to these questions, your application will be on right-track for approval.
We have many clients coming in to our office with rejected Labour Market Opinions. After reviewing their applications, these are three most common mistakes that we see.
Firstly, insufficient recruitment efforts. Again, employers believe that by conducting the minimum recruitment efforts as outlined in slide 5, that they will automatically receive a positive LMO. This is very, very wrong. Service Canada needs to see GENUINE and SUBSTANTIAL recruitment efforts. The hiring of foreign workers should be a last resort in their opinion. Depending on the positions being applied for, Service Canada sometimes requires up to 10 weeks of newspaper advertising in top national newspapers such as the Vancouver Sun or Calgary Herald. A 2 week posting on the job bank, an ad in the local free newspaper and an ad on Craigslist, by definition exceed the minimum advertising efforts but do not satisfy in the mind of Service Canada, reasonable recruitment efforts given the nature of the position. Often times, employers come to us asking, "Well, what is Service Canada wanting to see." Every position is unique and requires a different mix of recruitment efforts.
Secondly, employers error when applying for Labour Market Opinions by not offering the prevailing as wage as detailed in the Wages and Outlook Report. This is quite simple to do, but some employers are under the false impression that they can offer the minimum wage to any and all foreign workers. This is false.
Lastly, and most overlooked is the demonstration of how the hiring of foreign workers will provide benefit to the Canadian economy. This is also the most difficult part of the application. Either employers do not do this at all or they do this with very little effort, although this is primarily what Service Canada is trying to evaluate. They are trying to give an opinion on the labour market, hence the name, Labour Market Opinion. They are simply providing their opinion on whether or not the hiring of foreign labour will bring benefit to the Canadian economy. Demonstrating this, however, is not always so straightforward. Sometimes it is more art than science. This is usually done in writing and in full explanation. Service Canada should not be responsible for having to read between the lines our your application.
Labour Market Opinions:
A Guide for Canadian Workers and Employers
This guide will briefly explain the fundamental basics of Labour Market Opinions, also known as LMOs. We will cover 6 topics:
1) Overview what a Labour Market Opinion is.
2) The process of obtaining a positive Labour Market Opinion
3) What must be demonstrated in a Labour Market Opinion application in order to receive a positive result.
4) The concept of recruitment efforts and how these are factored into the assessment of a Labour Market Opinion application
5) The questions asked by Service Canada when considering an LMO application.
6) Overview the common mistakes made in rejected LMO applications and how to avoid making these same mistakes.
A Labour Market Opinion is a document produced by Service Canada, also known as Human Resources and Skills Development Canada which confirms whether or not the hiring of a foreign worker will be beneficial to the Canadian economy. A positive Labour Market Opinion will confirm that there are not a significant amount of suitable Canadian applicants for a particular job and that the hiring of foreign workers will be necessary in order to fill that job.
In order for a work permit to be issued to the foreign worker, a copy of the positive Labour Market Opinion must be included with their application. Therefore, a positive LMO is a requirement for Temporary Foreign Work Permits. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule but we will not be covering them in this guide.
The application process for a Labour Market Opinion is as follows:
First, the employer must attempt to recruit Canadian workers for the position they are trying to fill. They can do this through a number of different avenues. The extent to which they advertise and recruit will play a significant factor in the assessment of their application. Most common recruitment efforts are through newspapers, online job boards, the Canadian job bank, Craigslist, trade journals and local community notice boards.
Second, the employer must undergo screening and interviewing of all applications they receive. They must keep records of whom they interviewed and also keep their resumes on file.
Third, the employer or an authorized third-party must complete and submit a Labour Market Opinion application to Service Canada.
Fourth, Service Canada will review the application and either give a positive determination or will reject the file. It is necessary to know that Service Canada is not an investigative agency. They will either approve or reject the application. They will not give written reasons for why the application was refused or approved.
Fifth, with a positive Labour Market Opinion in hand, the employer is then eligible to recruit foreign workers.
And Lastly, the foreign worker in question is given a copy of the positive Labour Market Opinion which is a necessary requirement for their work permit application.
When applying for an LMO, the applicant must demonstrate:
A) The efforts made to recruit and/or train willing and available Canadians
B) The wages offered are consistent with the prevailing wage rate paid to Canadians in the same occupation in the region. We will have more on this topic in the next section.
C) The working conditions for the occupation meet the current provincial labour market standards
D) Any potential benefits that hiring a foreign worker might bring to the Canadian labour market, such as the creation of new jobs or the transfer of skills and knowledge.
Service Canada wants to ensure that employers seeking to hire foreign workers have completed sufficient efforts to train or recruit Canadians. They do this by imposing minimum advertising efforts. They are different for each skill-level.
All jobs in Canada are classified according to the National Occupation Classification (NOC). There are 5 categories: 0, A, B, C, D. The first three skill levels, O, A and B are considered skilled occupations. The C skill level is considered semi-skilled and the D skill level is considered low-skilled. If you are unsure about this concept or want to seek further clarity, please consult: http://www.threesquareimmigration.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/National_Occupation_Classification_PDF.pdf
For Skill Level 0 and A Occupations, you will have conducted the minimum advertising efforts required if you:
A) Advertised on the national Job Bank for a minimum of 14 calendar days in the 3 months prior to applying for the LMO
OR
B) Have conducted recruitment activities which are consistent with the practice within the occupation such as advertising in newspapers, trade journals or private online job banks such as Workoplis.ca or Monster.ca.
For Skill Level B Occupations, you will have conducted the minimum recruitment efforts required if you have:
A) Advertise don the national Job Bank for a minimum of 14 calendar days in the 3 months prior to applying for the LMO
AND
B) Have conducted recruitment activities which are consistent with the practice within the occupation such as advertising in newspapers, trade journals or private online job banks such as Workoplis.ca or Monster.ca for a minimum of 14 calendar days
Lastly, for Skill Levels C and D Occupations, which includes seasonal agricultural workers, you will have conducted the minimum advertising efforts required if you:
A) Advertised on the national Job Bank for a minimum of 14 calendar days in the 3 months prior to applying for the LMO
AND
B) Have conducted recruitment activities which are consistent with the practice within the occupation such as advertising in newspapers, trade journals or private online job banks such as Workoplis.ca or Monster.ca for a minimum of 14 calendar days, by choosing one of the following:
1) advertise in weekly or periodic newspapers, journals, newsletters, national/regional newspapers, ethnic newspapers/newsletters or free local newspapers;
2) advertise in the community, e.g., posting ads for two to three weeks in local stores, community resource centres, churches, or local regional employment centres;
3) advertise on Internet sites e.g., posting during 14 calendar days/two weeks on recognized Internet job sites
All advertising must include the following information:
1) The company operating name;
2) Job duties (for each position, if advertising for more than one vacancy);
3) Wage range (i.e. an accurate range of wages being offered to Canadians and permanent residents). The wage range must always include the prevailing wage for the position
4) The location of work (such as the local area, city, or town); and
5) The nature of the position. Whether or not it is project based or a permanent position).
One important aspect of these requirements to note is the Wage Range and this is one of the most common errors made in rejected applications:
For all jobs with Skill Level B, C and D, the wage range identified in the advertisement must represent an accurate range of wages being offered to Canadians and permanent residents, working in the same occupation and geographical area. The wage range must always include the prevailing wage for the position. The prevailing wage is identified as the median hourly wage for the requested occupation in the specified geographical area. To find a prevailing wage, consult the Wages and Outlook Report on the Working in Canada Web site. For a unionized position, the wage rate must be consistent with the wage rate established under the collective bargaining agreement.
When evaluating your application for a Labour Market Opinion. Service Canada will ask the following seven questions. If your application does not answer these questions correctly, your application will be rejected.
These questions are:
1) Is this job offer genuine?
Service Canada is trying to filter out and eliminate bogus job offers. It has been found that some Canadian employers are creating fake jobs in order to abuse the Canadian immigration system. For example, an uncle owns a restaurant in a small prairie town. He has great staff and the restaurant is running smoothly. However, he has a family-friend who wants to immigrate to Canada, but cannot qualify under any of the categories. He then applies for an LMO, stating that he does not have enough staff, creates bogus advertising and attempts to bring the family-friend over as a foreign worker. These illegal practices are what Service Canada is trying to stop and will conduct due diligence when it believes a job offer is fake.
2) Are the wages and working conditions comparable to those offered to Canadians working in the occupation?
Service Canada wants to ensure that foreign workers are not being used to drive down the wages of the Canadian workforce. If carpenters in a particular region are being paid $25/hr, Service Canada wants to make sure that foreign workers coming in to fill those positions are not being paid $10.25/hr. Similarly, Service Canada wants to ensure that foreign workers are being provided with the same working conditions as Canadians. There have been reports in the media where foreign workers have been brought in, forced to work extraordinary long hours, refused breaks, denied access to certain workplace amenities and not been paid when the job was completed. Service Canada wants to ensure that foreign workers are not being hired as slaves.
3) Did the employer conduct reasonable efforts to hire or train Canadians for the job?
This was covered in our section on recruitment efforts. Service Canada assesses whether or not there were reasonable efforts to recruit Canadians. As we will cover in the last segment of this video, employers often feel that because they have completed the minimum recruitment efforts, that they will automatically receive a positive LMO. This is wrong. Service Canada has other criteria in which they evaluate recruitment and want to see evidence of genuine and substantial efforts having taken place.
4) Is the foreign worker filling a labour shortage?
This question is quite self-explanatory. Service Canada wants to ensure that the hiring of foreign workers will fill a Canadian labour shortage which will have a positive effect on the labour market and economy.
5) Will the employment of the foreign worker directly create new job opportunities or help retain jobs for Canadians?
Service Canada wants to see that the hiring of foreign workers will have a long-term benefit to Canada rather than using them as a short-term band-aid approach.
6) Will the foreign worker transfer new skills and knowledge to Canadians?
This question is more relevant for higher skill-level positions 0, A and B. For example, if a group of software engineers have been brought to Canada from Bangladesh for a 9 month contract, Service Canada wants to see in the application, evidence of how the hiring of these workers will help transfer knowledge and skills to the Canadians working in the organization. This relates back to question 5. Will the hiring of these workers help us build a sustainable, knowledgeable, skillful workforce or is Canada going to be continually reliant upon the hiring of foreign workers for these positions.
7) Will the hiring of the foreign worker affect labour disputes or the employment of any Canadian workers involved in such a dispute
Canada has very strong labour laws. Service Canada wants to ensure that companies currently involved in labour disputes are not hiring foreign workers in order to subvert an ongoing strike or collective bargaining. If you can demonstrate to Service Canada in your application the correct answers to these questions, your application will be on right-track for approval.
We have many clients coming in to our office with rejected Labour Market Opinions. After reviewing their applications, these are three most common mistakes that we see.
Firstly, insufficient recruitment efforts. Again, employers believe that by conducting the minimum recruitment efforts as outlined in slide 5, that they will automatically receive a positive LMO. This is very, very wrong. Service Canada needs to see GENUINE and SUBSTANTIAL recruitment efforts. The hiring of foreign workers should be a last resort in their opinion. Depending on the positions being applied for, Service Canada sometimes requires up to 10 weeks of newspaper advertising in top national newspapers such as the Vancouver Sun or Calgary Herald. A 2 week posting on the job bank, an ad in the local free newspaper and an ad on Craigslist, by definition exceed the minimum advertising efforts but do not satisfy in the mind of Service Canada, reasonable recruitment efforts given the nature of the position. Often times, employers come to us asking, "Well, what is Service Canada wanting to see." Every position is unique and requires a different mix of recruitment efforts.
Secondly, employers error when applying for Labour Market Opinions by not offering the prevailing as wage as detailed in the Wages and Outlook Report. This is quite simple to do, but some employers are under the false impression that they can offer the minimum wage to any and all foreign workers. This is false.
Lastly, and most overlooked is the demonstration of how the hiring of foreign workers will provide benefit to the Canadian economy. This is also the most difficult part of the application. Either employers do not do this at all or they do this with very little effort, although this is primarily what Service Canada is trying to evaluate. They are trying to give an opinion on the labour market, hence the name, Labour Market Opinion. They are simply providing their opinion on whether or not the hiring of foreign labour will bring benefit to the Canadian economy. Demonstrating this, however, is not always so straightforward. Sometimes it is more art than science. This is usually done in writing and in full explanation. Service Canada should not be responsible for having to read between the lines our your application.