Temporary Foreign Worker Units to be Centralized

Effective July 1, 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will be making the Temporary Foreign Worker Units (TFWUs) in Toronto and Montreal the sole points of contact for employers and/or their representatives.

TFWUs are responsible for processing requests for Labour Market Opinions (LMOs) and Work Permit exemptions, both of which relate to temporary work in Canada. TFWUs do not assess a foreign worker’s admissibility to Canada, and the final decision to issue an LMO or Work Permit exemption rests with immigration officials at the Canadian border.

The Toronto TFWU will be responsible for providing services for Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. The Montreal TFWU will be responsible for Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

There will be a period of transition in preparation for the changes to take full effect. The TFWUs in Vancouver and Calgary will accept requests and respond to enquiries until June 15, 2012. They will then concentrate on finalizing work already in process. All requests or enquiries after June 15 should be submitted to either Toronto or Montreal depending on the location of the temporary work.