Written by the on

Employment and Social Development Minister Jason Kenney recently announced that some occupations in the food services industry would no longer be eligible for Labour Market Opinions (LMOs). Receiving an LMO is an important first step for securing many temporary work permit applications.

Today, an official list of ineligible occupations was announced. No new LMO applications will be received for occupations in this list. In addition, LMO applications that have yet to receive a decision will be cancelled. Employers will receive full refunds of processing fees.

Any unused positions on positive LMOs that have been issued to employers for these sectors will be suspended, and therefore will may no longer be used to obtain an additional work permit. Minister Kenney has not specifically stated if and when the moratorium will end, although he mentioned that the government was investigating abuses of the temporary foreign worker program in the food services sector.

Below is the list of ineligible occupations:

6641 Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Occupations
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers
6212 Food Service Supervisors
6453 Food and Beverage Servers
6611 Cashiers
6241 Chefs
6242 Cooks
6252 Bakers
0611 Sales, Marketing and Advertising Managers
0621 Retail Trade Manager
0632 Accommodation Service Managers
0651 Other Services Managers
6211 Retail Trade Supervisors
6213 Executive Housekeepers
6214 Dry Cleaning and Laundry Supervisors
6215 Cleaning Supervisors
6216 Other Service Supervisors
6221 Technical Sales Specialists - Wholesale Trade
6251 Butchers, Meat Cutters and Fishmongers - Retail and Wholesale
6411 Sales Representatives - Wholesale Trade (Non-Technical)
6421 Retail Salespersons and Sales Clerks
6451 Maîtres d'hôtel and Hosts/Hostesses
6452 Bartenders
6484 Other Personal Service Occupations
6622 Grocery Clerks and Store Shelf Stockers
6623 Other Elemental Sales Occupations
6651 Security Guards and Related Occupations
6661 Light Duty Cleaners
6662 Specialized Cleaners
6663 Janitors, Caretakers and Building Superintendents
6681 Dry Cleaning and Laundry Occupations
6682 Ironing, Pressing and Finishing Occupations
6683 Other Elemental Service Occupations