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CANADIAN
AGRICULTURE & AGRI-FOOD
LABOUR TASK FORCE
SUMMARY NOTES January to March 2018
LABOUR TASK FORCE ENGAGEMENTS
WITH
SERVICE CANADA, INTEGRITY,
EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CANADA &
IMMIGRATION, REFUGEES, AND CITIZENSHIP CANADA
Notes Prepared By
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Summary Notes – Labour Task Force Engagements with Service Canada, Integrity, ESDC & IRCC January to March 2018 (9 meetings)
Summary Notes Table of Contents Meeting 1: Service Canada service delivery and other issues (In person)……………………………………………………….………………..3 2018-01-18 – Government Briefings with ESDC Minister’s office and TFWP DG Philippe Masse; SC Katie Alexander; SC Integrity, Donna Blois & Andrea Knight; CFA & CAHRC Contact Info: Philippe Massé, Director General Temporary Foreign Worker Program (819-654-3771; [email protected] ) Meeting 2: Farm Audits (In person)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………6 2018-02-08 – Government Briefing: SC Integrity branch, Andrea Knight and team; CFA & CAHRC supporting Contact Info: Andrea Knight – Director, Service Canada Integrity Operations + 2 members of her team ([email protected] / 819-654-4698;www.servicecanada.gc.ca) Meeting 3: LMIA benchmarks, critical issues with LMIAs & Work Permits 2018 (Telecon)………………………………………….……7 2018-02-09 – Government Briefing: SC, Katie Alexander; Telecon CFA & CAHRC supporting Contact Info: Katie Alexander, Executive Director, Temporary Foreign Worker Program Operations (819-654-2625; [email protected]) Meeting 4: Critical Worker Permit issues in Mexico City Canadian Embassy and Service Canada LMIA service delivery issues (In person)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….9 2018-02-14 – Government Briefing: Prime Minister’s Office re critical LMIA & Work Permit issues; CFA Ron Bonnett, Scott Ross; CAHRC Mary Robinson, Portia MacDonald-Dewhirst, Janet Krayden Contact Info: Max Dea ([email protected]) Meeting 5: What is triggering risk based audits? When & why does Service Canada hold LMIAs? (Telecon)…………….….10 2018-02-20 – Government Briefing SC Katie Alexander & SC Integrity rep; Telecon CFA & CAHRC Contact Info: Katie Alexander, Executive Director, Temporary Foreign Worker Program Operations (819-654-2625; [email protected]) Meeting 6: Ag Stream & Meat Processing LMIA renewals & Ag Stream NCL Wage Rate LMIA refusals (Telecon)………….12 2018-02-22 – Government Briefing CAHRC hosted Telecon with SC Katie Alexander & TFWP DG Philippe Masse; industry reps listed in notes Contact Info: Philippe Massé, Director General Temporary Foreign Worker Program (819-654-3771; [email protected] ) Meeting 7: New farm inspection regime including unannounced inspections & non-compliance (In person & Telecon)……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………..16 2018-02-23 – Government Briefing SC Integrity Worker Protection branch, Donna Blois; industry reps, CAHRC (62+) Contact Info: Donna Blois, ESDC Access to Information and Privacy; 819-654-3243; [email protected] Meeting 8: Status update on critical Worker Permit issues in Mexico City at the Canadian Embassy (Telecon)……………..21 2018-02-27 – IRCC TFWP, Worker Permit issues; Telecon CHC, CFA, CAHRC Contact Info: Lead: Government Jacques.Olivier ([email protected]) Others: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] David Cashaback did not participate Meeting 9: Status update on critical Worker Permit issues in Mexico City at the Canadian Embassy Processing Centre or Elsewhere…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….23 2018-03-07 – Government Briefing IRCC TFWP, Worker Permit issues Contact Info: Lara Oldford, Director, Operational Management Coordination, Temporary Resident Program Delivery ([email protected]); Kyle Nicholson, Policy Minister Hussen’s office & Mathew Conley ([email protected], tel – 613-954-1064)
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Meeting 1: Service Canada service delivery and other issues (In person) 2018-01-18 – Government Briefings with ESDC Minister’s office and TFWP DG Philippe Masse; SC Katie Alexander; SC Integrity, Donna Blois & Andrea Knight; CFA & CAHRC Contact Info: Philippe Massé, Director General Temporary Foreign Worker Program (819-654-3771; [email protected] )
Participating in the meeting: Philippe Massé – Director General, ESDC TFWP Directorate; Steven Pageau – Manager, ESDC TFWP Directorate; Andrea Knight – Director, Service Canada Integrity Operations; Katie Alexander – Director, ESDC Programs Operations Branch; Stephen Johnson – Director General, ESDC Workplace Partnerships Directorate; Donna Blois – Director, ESDC Access to Information and Privacy; Paul Spooner –Acting Director, AAFC Policy, Planning and Integration Directorate Attendance: LTF members and CAHRC participants included Scott Ross – Director of BRM and Farm Policy, Canadian Federation of Agriculture; Portia MacDonald-Dewhirst – Executive Director, Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC); Janet Krayden – Stakeholder Engagement Specialist, Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) Scott Ross from CFA provided an overview of the objectives for the discussion, the rationale behind the proposed Ministerial roundtable, and an overview of the core administrative issues faced by agri-food employers within the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). Throughout this presentation, Janet Krayden and Portia MacDonald-Dewhirst presented new evidence from recent research conducted by CAHRC with regard to each of the specific issues. This evidence drew on a number of research reports conducted by CAHRC in partnership with agri-food industry associations, specifically:
Nov. 2017, A Review of the Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program
Oct. 2017, Multiplying Mushroom Sector Opportunities with Rural Canadian Growth
May 2017, Labour Shortages in Rural Abattoirs: Solutions & Opportunities for Canadian Rural Immigration
2016, Agriculture 2025: How the Sector’s Labour Challenges Will Shape Its Future
Ongoing Labour Task Force Research Reports submitted to the TFWP Primary Agriculture Call for Information
An overview of specific challenges and associated impacts were raised relating to six core administrative issues, including:
1. Labour Market Impact Assessment Refusals and Renewals; 2. Timelines and service delivery standards for processing of LMIAs; 3. Replacement & Transfer of TFWs; 4. Farm Audits and the holding of LMIAs 5. Ongoing communication challenges regarding changes to the TFWP; 6. Challenges associated with the Government of Canada Job Ban
Discussion on Core Issues: Following the evidence and recommendations raised by CFA and CAHRC, discussions were held on each of the proposed topics to develop a common understanding of the concerns raised and to explore immediate next steps. A summary of each discussion and the next steps identified are included below.
1. LMIA Refusals & Renewals
Discussion Summary: In addition to those points highlighted in the attached presentation, the following points and questions of clarification were raised by CFA and CAHRC representatives:
a. LMIA Refusals
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SAWP – an LMIA refusal rate of 4% according to over 500 farmers, 40% of SAWP users in ON and Quebec (SAWP Report)
Ag Stream – an LMIA refusal rate of 33% according to survey with mushroom growers
Refusals were commonly associated with changing forms & advertising requirements, ongoing audits, interpretation issues associated with advertising; changing forms and other things.
b. LMIA Renewals
Elimination of the 48-month cumulative duration was noted as a positive, but due to a lack of corresponding immigration opportunities for permanent residency, a large number of TFW renewals were anticipated for 2018
o There are approximately 730 Ag Stream Workers on mushroom farms and over 700 in rural meat processing plants alone. There are many other farm and food workers in Agricultural Stream and the Low Wage streams for Agriculture and Agri-Food that will also need to be renewed this year.
Form Changes & LMIA Refusals ESDC officials noted that changes in TFWP forms should not be resulting in refusals of LMIAs, if the appropriate forms were originally submitted at the outset of the LMIA application process. A transition period was acknowledged as an existing practice, to ensure that such changes due not create undue delays in processing. CFA and CAHRC highlighted that a list-serve that provided push notifications on form changes and other program developments would help address ongoing communication challenges. LMIA Refusal Rates ESDC officials also noted that the statistics drawn from program user surveys do not correspond to the statistics collected on LMIA refusal rates in the agricultural sector. LMIA Renewals Concerns regarding impending renewals were noted, with ESDC officials observing limitations on this front, in that pathways to permanent residency fall within the mandate of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. NOTE: A Pathway to Permanent Residency is in the Ministerial mandate letter of the both the Minister of ESDC and IRCC.
ESDC: http://pm.gc.ca/eng/minister-employment-workforce-development-and-labour-mandate-letter
IRCC: http://pm.gc.ca/eng/minister-immigration-refugees-and-citizenship-mandate-letter
Prioritization of all Agriculture & Agri-food Applications ESDC officials also noted that prioritization of urgent cases already takes place. However, they claimed that there are limitations on the extent to which all agri-food applications could be prioritized, particularly in light of the large volume of applications under SAWP and other agricultural streams.
2. LMIA Timelines
Discussion Summary: In addition to those points highlighted in the attached presentation, the following points and questions of clarification were raised by CFA and CAHRC representatives:
In the past, SAWP LMIA approvals took on average 4.6 weeks.
In 2017, SAWP processing times increased, on average, to 6.6 weeks, with some taking over 20 weeks or more.
Agricultural stream users noted that the processing of paperwork to fill vacancies for year-round positions required upwards of 6 months altogether.
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Differing Definitions of Processing Timelines ESDC officials noted that their statistics on processing timelines for SAWP and Agricultural Stream LMIAs did not correspond with the timelines identified by program users. Officials reported that SAWP LMIA processing timelines were understood to be approximately 14 days, with Agricultural stream timelines longer. In a survey of 540 producers, users of the SAWP indicated service delivery was provided within 4.6 weeks on average, but last year the timelines had increased to 6.6 weeks. Within the Service Canada timelines, more than one attempt and the time it takes with back and forth and follow up from Service Canada is not counted. Only the final application attempt that may be potentially approved is counted. Service Delivery Standards & Processing Timelines Service delivery standards for processing were also discussed, with CFA recommending that standards be developed, benchmarked and clearly communicated to end users on a regular basis. CAHRC noted that an infographic shared in an earlier webinar by ESDC and IRCC, included in CFA’s submission to the TFWP review, outlined a 6-month or longer end to end process beginning with LMIAs and finishing with Work Permits. ESDC officials noted that there were existing pathways through which employers could flag urgent processing requirements, but that service delivery standards only existed for a subset of high-skilled applications, such as through the Global Talent stream for IT and Trades and other sectors. CFA and CAHRC noted that urgent application processes and these other sector’s streamlined processes weren’t well understood by employers. Liaison an officer for the TFWP, similar to IRCC has for other economic streams, would be a valuable resource to help address current communication challenges. In addition, CFA noted that prioritization of agricultural applications, similar to what is available for certain high-skilled positions through the Global Talent stream, should be considered in light of the acute labour needs backed up by CAHRC’s labour shortage and job vacancy numbers. Agriculture is a high demand and high growth sector. ESDC officials noted that the volume of agri-food applications posed a challenge for any prospective prioritization of the sector’s applications.
Replacement & Transfer of TFWs
Discussion Summary: ESDC officials from the TFWP Directorate suggested that there was work underway on this file and that a separate discussion on this topic would be more appropriate. Next Steps: Meetings with each branch of ESDC, Service Canada to further discuss each issue that is occurring within the TFWP for agricultural users of the TFWP and find ways to implement solutions to these issues. (Completed)
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Meeting 2: Farm Audits (In person) 2018-02-08 – Government Briefing: SC Integrity branch, Andrea Knight and team; CFA & CAHRC supporting Contact Info: Andrea Knight – Director, Service Canada Integrity Operations + 2 members of her team ([email protected] / 819-654-4698;www.servicecanada.gc.ca) Attendance: LTF members and CAHRC partners participating included Scott Ross, CFA & Janet Krayden, CAHRC in person. Murray Porteous, Canadian Horticulture Council, Ken Forth FARMS by Telecon. Key Findings and Discussion included:
There are different kinds of audits associated with the agricultural employers’ usage of the TFWP including random audit and the risk-based audit.
Producers report that the risk-based audit is holding LMIAs so producers cannot get their applications through for workers for the next season. In a recent survey that was done before Christmas producers using the Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program report (540 = n) that there are 11% of LMIAs held due to audits at this point in time.
Industry representatives on the phone said that they would like the Service Canada audit process to be like any other audit, however, there is significant fear of these Service Canada Integrity far audits from all producers about these audits.
Can LMIAs continue to be processed while audits are ongoing and only final approval held due to risk based audit. Government officials said this is not up to Integrity this is a decision by Service Canada operations?
Can there be a clear notification when a farm is on a risk based audit and the LMIA is being held and a clear notification when the farm is not on risk-based audit and the LMIA has been released?
ACTION: Have audit standards been developed, a 1 page summary that could be distributed to farmers to help increase compliance? Government official said this would be prepared and sent to CFA and CHARC.
Service Canada officials also explained they have 2,500 active complaints. At the meeting, industry representative asked how many of these are for agriculture? The officials clarified this is for the entire TFWP, not for agriculture only.
ACTION: The following statistics were requested from Andrea Knight, Integrity Operations: How many complaints for agricultural users are there within the TFWP? Primary Agriculture Streams
Agricultural Stream – how many active complaints? And can we have this broken down per province?
Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program – how many active complaints? And can we have this broken down per province?
Other streams that agriculture & agri-food use?
Next Steps: Follow up and request Action Items regarding data and communications summary that the Integrity branch has committed to.
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Meeting 3: LMIA benchmarks, critical issues with LMIAs & Work Permits 2018 (Telecon) 2018-02-09 – Government Briefing: SC, Katie Alexander; Telecon CFA & CAHRC supporting Contact Info: Katie Alexander, Executive Director, Temporary Foreign Worker Program Operations (819-654-2625; [email protected]) Attendance: LTF members and CAHRC partners participating included Scott Ross, CFA & Janet Krayden, CAHRC in person. Murray Porteous, Canadian Horticulture Council by Telecon. Key Findings and Discussion included: Service Canada reports refusal rates, to date: for SAWP at 2% and for Agricultural Stream at 5%. Top reasons for refusals include:
1. Insufficient efforts to hire Canadians/advertise the correct job – Evidence of advertising is often an issue, as is ensuring wages are at the right wage for the right time period (Service Canada reports this is the rationale behind 90% of LMIA refusals).
Note: any intent to potentially provide bonuses must be stated in job ads. 2. Didn’t demonstrate need to hire TFWs – The employer’s request didn’t reflect a real need based on
evidence, or particular skill requirements. 3. Wage rates didn’t align with what Canadians are paid in the occupation or on the farm.
Note: Question for the future, does this mean the prevailing wage rate is being used to assess the Primary Agricultural stream LMIAs not the National Commodity List wage rates that are mandated on the TFWP website?
4. Insufficient documentation to demonstrate it was a real business or appropriate venue for TFWs. 5. Inability to cover appropriate costs – Didn’t demonstrate that resources were available to pay and
support workers, which isn’t defined very clearly in the guidelines. Questions included:
Can LMIAs continue to be processed while audits are ongoing and only final approval held due to risk based audit. Government officials said this is not up to Integrity this is a decision by Service Canada operations?
Can there be a clear notification from Service Canada when a farm is on a risk based audit and the LMIA is being held and a clear notification when the farm is not on risk-based audit and the LMIA has been released?
No outcomes, but these questions are being reviewed.
ACTION: A summary process regarding when LMIAs are held due to audits and when they are released that could be distributed to farmers to help increase understanding of the LMIA and audit processes.
Instructions for LMIAs and Work Permits info distributed to CAHRC Partners & LTF after this meeting
SERVICE CANADA: National Employer Contact Centre which manages Temporary Foreign Worker Program enquiry questions for the department is 1-800-367-5693 (toll-free) and 1-866-840-0222 (toll-free in Quebec) https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/processing-centres.html
Critical Cases regarding LMIAs & Work Permits Causing “Undue Hardship”: Service Canada and IRCC top officials are helping to prioritize urgent cases.
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URGENT CASES LMIAs: o For urgent cases, if you share with your association or CAHRC we can also pass on to the
officials. o Or send directly to Katie Alexander, Executive Director, Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Operations, Program Operations Branch 819-654-2625; [email protected]
Please include: A. Company name of your farm B. LMIA numbers C. Other pertinent information regarding the timeline workers were expected and other details
including names of the workers when available.
URGENT CASES WORK PERMITS: Associations can flag any urgent cases to IRCC Canadian Embassy in
Mexico so that they may be prioritized accordingly at [email protected]
ACTION: The following statistics for Agriculture and Agri-Food were requested from Katie Alexander from Service Canada Operations: LMIA Processing Times for: Primary Agriculture Streams
Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program – 18 days
Agricultural Stream – how many days is the standard for Ag Stream LMIA processed? Agri-Food (Low Wage)
Meat Processing – how many days is the standard LMIA processed?
Seafood Processing – how many days is the standard LMIA processed?
Next Step, Telecon to further discuss NCL Wage Rates and advertising requirements related to Agricultural Stream and also LMIA renewals upcoming for Agricultural Stream and meat processing.(Completed Feb. 22, 2018) and follow up on data regarding LMIA timelines for Agriculture and Agri-Food usage. Note:
January 18 meeting it was reported by Service Canada that SAWP LMIA timeline was 14 days.
At this meeting on February 9 it was reported by Service Canada that SAWP LMIA timeline is now 18
days.
According to users the Service Canada SAWP LMIA timeline prior to 2017 was 4.6 weeks.
In 2017 users reported the Service Canada SAWP LMIA timeline was 6.6 weeks.
So according to both Service Canada and users the timeline of the SAWP LMIAs is increasing.
There was no agreement or offer by Service Canada as to outcomes to bring back the timeline back to 14
days or less SAWP.
No report as to timelines of the other agricultural and agri-food streams has been received to date.
(March 13, 2018)
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Meeting 4: Critical Worker Permit issues in Mexico City Canadian Embassy and Service Canada LMIA service delivery issues (In person) 2018-02-14 – Government Briefing: Prime Minister’s Office re critical LMIA & Work Permit issues; Contact Info: Max Dea ([email protected]) Attendance: LTF members and CAHRC participants included CFA Ron Bonnett, Scott Ross; CAHRC Mary Robinson, Portia MacDonald-Dewhirst, Janet Krayden
Dialogue included: 1. LMIAs & Audits: Critical administrative issues affecting LMIAs including:
o LMIAs held due to farm audits (farm employers using SAWP reporting 11%);
o LMIAs timelines increasing (farm employers using SAWP reporting 4.6 weeks to 6.6 weeks);
o LMIA refusals and the back and forth increasing (Agricultural Stream mushroom farms have a 33% refusal
rate).
The A Review of Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program capturing the most critical issues in a survey with producers before Christmas was delivered to the PMO representative: https://cahrc-ccrha.ca/sites/default/files/Emerging-Issues-Research/A%20Review%20of%20Canada%27s%20SAWP-Final.pdf
2. Work Permits in Mexico: Correspondence between the Province of BC and the Mexican Labour Department was shared with the CFA indicating urgent Work Permit issues data as of February 9th. These were the numbers registered by the Ministry Labour (Mexico) and presented to Canadian Embassy in Mexico. They have been calculated according to the number of application submitted from the Ministry to CVAC (Canadian Visa Application Centre) and are being revised by the Embassy of Canada. These numbers and the urgency of the work permits were shared with the PMO.
29-jan 01-feb
REQUESTED WORKERS 12,033 12,490
PROCESSED PERMITS 5,905 6,060
AUTHORIZED 3,539 3,720
IN PROCESS AT CVAC 2,366 2,340
MORE THAN 12 DAYS 534 1,025
BETWEEN 3 & 11 DAYS 1,578 1,079
BEING CORRECTED 214 209
NEW PROCESS 40 27
PENDING OF BEING PROCESSED 6,128 6,430
Reasons for the back log provided at this time included: 1) New process: the Canadian Embassy in Mexico has outsourced the processing of work permits to CVAC in Mexico City; 2) LMIA approval: In the case of BC, one third of the LMIAs that have been received are out-dated because the employers are also receiving them late. The workers’ employment date in the application submitted by the Ministry is a date that has already passed. Regardless of this they are still being processed. In our Informative Sessions employers have confirmed that the authorization of their LMIA is taking at least 2 or 3 weeks more than usual; 3) Exchange Rate: The exchange rate has changed twice and therefore CVAC has modified the price of the work permit creating an additional backlog of applications paid with a different amount, making workers submit an additional payment; 4) Earthquake at Mexican Ministry of Labour this year or last.
Other issues discussed with the PMO included: Primary Agriculture national vacancy at 7% and labour shortage data was reviewed. For those that use SAWP, the current issues developing is affect over 180,000 horticulture Canadian jobs across Canada for those that have occupations in sectors such as trucking, marketing, retail. These issues are putting those jobs in jeopardy this season.
CFA Recommendation: Coordination and support from the PMO on these issues was requested by the CFA. Other practicable recommendations for the short and longer term issues were also provided.
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Meeting 5: What is triggering risk based audits? When & why does Service Canada hold LMIAs? (Telecon) 2018-02-20 – SC Katie Alexander & SC Integrity rep; Contact Info: Katie Alexander, Executive Director, Temporary Foreign Worker Program Operations (819-654-2625; [email protected]) Attendance: LTF members and CAHRC participants included: Scott Ross, CFA; Janet Krayden, CAHRC. Discussion included: CFA repeated that the farm audits are causing a sense of fear with producers and if LMIAs are held it can lead to a loss of a whole season if approval cannot continue. Scott asked again why LMIA administration process cannot continue and just be held at the approval stage for audits? Service Canada feels they want to manage employers’ expectations as to approvals so they have not taken this approach. Key Findings:
Internal meetings are ongoing at Service Canada. A meeting regarding these issues is to be held internally February 23.
Currently there is no clear notification to the farm employer by email or a phone call, when a farm has been placed on a risk based audit or when the farm is taken off the risk based audit and their LMIA can proceed. Producers do receive a hard copy letter but have been reporting that they are finding out before they receive the letter due to their LMIAs being held.
Producers can “Ask to Escalate” Farm Audit in process if they disagree with the auditor assigned to their case: An important point found out on this conference call is that if a producer has an issue with the investigating officer for their farm audit they can “ask to escalate” the farm audit and this signals Service Canada for the auditor’s supervisor to contact the producer. There is no means to appeal farm audits at this point in time.
Risk based audits that are holding LMIAs are more than just cases of “worker abuse” or protection issues: CAHRC asked if there are standards for the farm audits and for the on-farm inspections? Can Service Canada prepare a summary document with the standards that are currently being used for the farm audits and will be used for the on-farm inspections that could be broadly disseminated?
ACTION: Service Canada agreed to provide a summary document for communications purposes to agricultural producers capturing the issues that are triggering risk-based audits.
According to the Service Canada officials on the call, the Temporary Foreign Worker Compliance section of the website is where there are 21 conditions triggering risk based audits which are used to then hold LMIAs; this is under “employer compliance” on the website.
See next page for the list of 21 conditions that can trigger a risk-based audit that holds the progress of a producers’ LMIA for the next season and also can hold LMIA renewals for Agricultural Stream, according to information provided on this Conference Call.
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Factors reviewed during a farm audit or inspection From the TFWP website, these are the “conditions” listed under “factors reviewed during an inspection” include information below: “During an inspection, ESDC/Service Canada investigators will verify whether employers have upheld the conditions set out in the offer of employment, as well as the positive LMIA letter and annexes. These conditions include:
1. Have employers provided each foreign worker with employment in the same occupation as stated in the offer of employment.
2. Have employers provided each foreign worker with wages that are substantially the same as those in the offer of employment.
3. Have employers provided each foreign worker with working conditions that are substantially the same as those in the offer of employment.
4. Have employers provided accurate information in the context of an LMIA application. 5. Are foreign workers actively engaged in the business for which the offer of employment was made,
unless the offer was made for employment as a live-in caregiver. 6. Are employers in compliance with federal and provincial/territorial laws that regulate employment
and recruitment in the province/territory in which the foreign worker is employed. 7. Have employers met any specific agreed-to commitments, as set out on the positive LMIA, made at
the time the LMIA was issued in relation to job creation for Canadians and permanent residents. 8. Have employers met any specific agreed-to commitments, as set out on the positive LMIA, made at the
time the LMIA was issued in relation to job retention for Canadians and permanent residents. 9. Have employers met any specific agreed-to commitments, as set out on the positive LMIA, made at the
time the LMIA was issued in relation to hiring Canadians and permanent residents. 10. Have employers met any specific agreed-to commitments, as set out on the positive LMIA, made at the
time the LMIA was issued in relation to training Canadians and permanent residents. 11. Have employers met any specific agreed-to commitments, as set out on the positive LMIA, made at the
time the LMIA was issued in relation to development of skills and knowledge for the benefit of Canadians or permanent residents.
12. Have employers met any specific agreed-to commitments, as set out on the positive LMIA, made at the time the LMIA was issued in relation to transfer of skills and knowledge for the benefit of Canadians or permanent residents.
13. Have employers made reasonable efforts to provide a workplace that is free of abuse 14. Have employers retained any document that relates to compliance with these conditions for a period
of six years, beginning on the first day of employment of the foreign national. 15. Have employers reported at any specified time and place to answer questions and provide documents. 16. Have employers provided any documents required as part of an inspection. 17. Have employers attended any inspection that is on premises. 18. Have employers given all reasonable assistance to the person conducting the inspection and provide
any document or information the person requires. 19. Have employers ensured the foreign worker resides in a private household and provides child care,
senior home support care or care of a disabled person in that household without supervision. 20. Have employers provided the foreign worker with adequate furnished and private accommodations in
the household. 21. Does the employer have sufficient financial resources to pay the foreign worker the wages offered.”
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/employer-compliance.html
Next Steps: Follow up and request Action Items regarding communications summary that the Integrity & Operations branch has committed to.
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Meeting 6: Ag Stream & Meat Processing LMIA renewals & Ag Stream NCL Wage Rate LMIA refusals (Telecon) 2018-02-22 – CAHRC hosted Telecon with SC Katie Alexander & TFWP DG Philippe Masse; industry reps Contact Info: Philippe Massé, Director General Temporary Foreign Worker Program (819-654-3771; [email protected] ) Attendance: The conference call was chaired by LTF Co-Chair, Mark Chambers. Also participating were:
TFWP: Philippe Masse, Steve West
Service Canada: Katie Alexander + SC rep
AAFC: Paul Spooner
CAHRC: Janet Krayden
LTF members and CAHRC partners participating included:
Canadian Pork Council
Hylife Meat Processing (MB) – Low Wage
Conestoga Meat Processing (ON) – Low Wage
Piccioni Mushrooms (ON) – Ag Stream
Highline Mushrooms (ON) – Ag Stream
Lincoln Mushrooms (ON) – Ag Stream
Hamiotta Cattle Feedlot (MB) – Ag Stream
For urgent cases involving Agricultural Stream and meat processing LMIA delays involving renewals and other critical issues where there is “undue hardship” for companies, you can contact the following Service Canada official: Katie Alexander Directrice exécutive/ Executive Director Operations du Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires /Temporary Foreign Worker Program Operations Program Operations Branch / Direction Générale des opérations de programmes 819-654-2625; [email protected]
Stemming out of other ongoing meetings, a conference call was offered by Service Canada to further discuss the following: Agenda: LMIA Renewals & LMIAs and Wage Rates 1. LMIA Upcoming Renewals for Agricultural Stream and Meat Processing
Many Agricultural Stream and Meat Processing Service Canada LMIA renewals are upcoming for workers already in Canada. Can the LMIA process for already trained TFWs on Canadian farms and in meat processing be streamlined? What is the plan to avoid Service Canada processes becoming further bogged down with these upcoming renewals?
2. NCL Wage Rate for Ag Stream Commodities and its relation to the LMIA process
Farmers using Agricultural Stream are being refused LMIAs for using the NCL Wage Rate as prescribed by the TFWP requirements within their advertisements, because the farm’s Canadian workers with many years of specialized skills and experience earn more than entry level TFWs. This means farmers are then required to pay more than the NCL wage rate to entry level TFWs as well as cover TFWs housing and other expenses.
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Issue 1: LMIA renewals for Agricultural Stream and Meat Processing Dialogue included: There are a lot of upcoming LMIA renewals due to 2 year contracts with Agricultural Stream and annual renewals for meat processing. There are 10,000 Agricultural Stream workers, many are working in year round, permanent occupations. Recent research by CAHRC indicates there are over 700 Agricultural Stream workers coming up for renewal on mushroom farms and over 700 meat processing workers that will likely be renewed in the next year. One mushroom farm explained they have 250 renewal LMIAs upcoming this year on the one farm operation alone. Industry representatives asked, how can we find ways to reduce the burden on Service Canada systems regarding LMIA renewals? How can we make this less stressful for the workers? Many farm and food workers do not have immigration access through PNPs or federal immigration. Even in provinces that do have immigration access such as Manitoba’s PNP, LMIA renewals are very challenging within the 1 year work permit cycle for meat processing. Industry representatives requested that a we create a streamlined renewal process and made more efficient for employees already in Canada. It would make sense to expedite these renewals as the workers in Canada working on farms and trained for these occupations that take a high amount of skill, industry requested that assessment be expedited. Officials indicated there could be positive changes upcoming to the Low Wage Stream and the Cap although no decisions are made at this time. Officials also indicated that from a planning perspective they can accept the LMIA renewals 3 months in advance. Service Canada explained that the genuiness and compliance aspects of the assessment rely on the old assessment and that the new employer has more of a process. A meat processor clarified that for the Low Wage, meat processing the time frame can take as long as 3 to 4 months for the LMIA alone, the time to get the Work Permit is on top of that. The way the system works on a 1 year work permit is that the meat processor has to apply for the next LMIA after workers arrive only for 3 months. Then the application asks what have you done to recruit Canadians and you haven’t had time to implement HR strategies. Integrity activities are impacting processes and holding up LMIAs, how does Service Canada plan to deal with these issues. Officials stated that they feel the TFWP is “temporary” and they are not authorized to change the perpetual application cycle of LMIAs, it is out of Service Canada’s control. Service Canada, however, has offered to help on a case by case basis, if an Agricultural Stream or meat processing LMIAs are delayed and causing “undue hardship” to employers who can contact Service Canada, Katie Alexander directly (contact info above). Industry explained that a pathway to permanent residency is what industry and workers are asking for but there is only a TFWP for agriculture and meat processing. Many meetings with so many different layers of Government have taken place over many years. Is there a move to have the meat processing work permits to 2 years again or not? Officials claimed that they are interested and open to ideas, waiting for ideas, and that these commitments are being looked at. Producers using Agricultural Stream explained they are having critical issues accessing the program. One farm was under audit for 2 years, holding up its LMIA. That was released in September so they reapplied again and it has taken 6 months for a reply. No problem was found in the audit after 2 years and they continue to answer all questions participating with due diligence but how long does it take to get an LMIA application approved in the Agricultural Stream?
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Another farm using Agricultural Stream commented that the scrutiny from Service Canada officials is extensive and they don’t understand the LMIA renewals. This one farm has to apply 2 to 3 times a year and have to send all the same paperwork again and again. Because of the LMIA timelines and refusals they had a situation in December where they lost the workers they had recruited. Officers need to be better informed about agriculture. Agricultural employers want to work with Government to improve the process. It is very cumbersome when they have to talk to a different Service Canada officer each time. This same farm is now going through a second farm audit. Is there a way to reduce the burden on the Service Canada system? And who is the person responsible for the decision regarding 1 or 2 year work permits for meat processing? Agricultural Stream has work permits for 2 years, but meat processing that uses the Low Wage Stream has it for 1 year. High Wage TFWP, however, has a 2 year work permit option. The program continues to use the parameters that were confirmed in the 2014 changes. The impacts that the TFWP is concerned about is how to protect the labour market and make sure the workers s are protected. Decisions are forthcoming in the near future. Meat processing and farms are trying to figure out what to do imminently with the LMIA renewals that are expiring May, June and forwards. Will these farmers have to leave Canada even though expansions have been supported by the federal and provincial governments? The official explained all measures will take 6 months or longer to implement. Industry asked if anything can be done in the interim to expedite the process, buy some time until hopefully positive changes are made. Service Canada, Katie Alexander, recommended for industry to contact her to work on a case by case basis for “urgent” LMIA renewals where there is “undue hardship” for companies (contact info on the top of notes). Industry continues to ask if there will be a chance for participation in feedback with changes. The official recommended industry should continue to engage at highest levels. Issue 2: Agricultural Stream Specific: NCL Wage Rates and LMIA refusals for using the ESDC mandated wage rate Dialogue included: There is confusion regarding the NCL Wage Rate because when farmers are following the guidelines they are having their LMIAs refused. There is a wage you pay an entry level new employee and then that worker progresses over time and they are then paid more. The official said that if the prevailing wage is higher or the wage of the Canadian workers’ wage is higher Service Canada is using in its assessment not the NCL Wage Rate mandated by the Govt. The Service Canada assumption these are experienced workers because they can be renewed, they do not think this is entry level. Industry agrees that renewing the TFWs, those workers are at a higher level. However, entry level new Agricultural Stream workers and Canadians are not the same as experienced worker. When advertising industry needs new workers that require a huge amount of on-the-job training. Employers using the Agricultural Stream are trying to meet the advertising requirements and do not understand why they are being refused when the advertise the mandated wage rate.
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The official explained they are very concerned about suppressing wage rates. Canadians paid a different wage under the same National Occupation Classification (NOC) code is not allowed. There are no exceptions. TFWs must be paid equally. Industry asks if it is better to advertise a wage range (for example, $14 to $17) for these jobs that are year round and permanent? The official agreed that expertise can vary, specifically where unable to validate wage ranges. Service Canada will evaluate on a case by case basis when agricultural employers apply to the program. Employers must pay the prevailing wage or what Canadians are being paid. If prevailing wage is higher than the NCL mandated wage rate, then must pay the prevailing wage. Industry asked if advertising the wage range is what Service Canada requires? For example entry level begins at $14 to X range. Canadians are paid this same range and the TFWs are also paid within this range. The official agreed that this is what they are looking for in advertising. Employers need to demonstrate the wage range and prove they will pay TFWs and Canadians the same amount. They need to advertise that and provide it to the Service Canada officers. NOTE: This is not on the TFWP website.
Helpful Advertising Wage Tip from a farm that is receiving Agricultural Stream LMIA approvals:
In advertisements provide the wage range you pay Canadians relevant to the NOC you are using for
the application
As back-up documentation, when making your LMIA application provide a wage grid or spread sheet
of the wages you are paying Canadians providing the range Canadians are receiving
Industry, however, is concerned that if they offer a wage range in the advertising, but then offer middle amount in the LMIA contract, will that also be questioned when audited? Final comments from industry participating on the conference call included a thank you for the TFWP DG and Service Canada’s participation on the call. Industry clarified to TFWP and Service Canada that Canadians don’t want the harvest and meat processing jobs, agriculture needs these workers, this is not going away. Employers are trying to protect Canadian jobs that employ a huge number of people in Canada. These are good jobs with high wages and benefits. Surely Service Canada has the robust data indicating this after all its data collection for all these years. Agriculture employers need a permanent solution. This is very taxing on agricultural organizations and companies. Industry continues to offer to work with ESDC, TFWP, Service Canada, and IRCC to achieve positive resolutions that will benefit the Canadian economy. Next Steps: Producers or associations that encounter LMIA renewal issues can follow up with Katie Alexander from Service Canada on a case by case basis.
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Meeting 7: New farm inspection regime including unannounced inspections & non-compliance (In person & Telecon) 2018-02-23 – SC Integrity Worker Protection branch, Donna Blois; industry reps, CAHRC (62+) Contact Info: Donna Blois, ESDC Access to Information and Privacy; 819-654-3243; [email protected] Attendance:
Participating in person were representatives from Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Canadian
Horticulture Council, Fermes, Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council.
Over 62 agricultural employers and associations from across Canada dialed into the Conference Call. Many
members of the LTF and CAHRC Partners dialed into the conference call as well as Canadian Horticulture
Council members. CAHRC Partners and LTF members participating included: David Tharle, Rod Scarlett,
Murray Porteous, Kenton Possberg, Baerbel Langner, Michael Delaney, Susan Yaeger, Brian Gilroy, Leslie
Sisson, Victor Santacruz, Brady Stadnicki, as well as many CAHRC partners.
From the Government there were representatives from Service Canada, Integrity, Employment and Social
Development Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
The meeting was led by Donna Blois, ESDC Access to Information and Privacy, who leads the Worker Protection initiatives of Service Canada Integrity. She reviewed the agenda with producers that included worker protection is a priority for the Government of Canada; new policy changes that include non-cooperative employer policy and unannounced inspections; regulatory changes to the IRPR, and a new migrant worker support network. Issues outlined by Donna Blois stem from findings of a series of worker protection meetings she led over the summer and fall with migrant worker groups and unions included the following:
TFWs are unaware of rights in spite of host country and employers best intentions
Literacy challenges are barrier
Lack of trust among TFWs
Housing and working conditions need improvement
TFWs fear being sent home
Migrant Worker Groups need support organizations
Donna explained:
They recognize that the majority of employers do not have issues of abuse, Donna said if they thought this
was the case they Government would shut the program down.
They are addressing this head on.
If farms are abusing the workers and the program they need to go.
Service Canada will recognize harvest season.
Producer Questions and Dialogue included:
There is a current lack of trust by farmers of Service Canada and producers are very concerned about
unintended consequences and negative economic impacts. Have economic impacts to producers who
have no issues been considered?
Have audit and on farm inspection timelines on the farm been established?
LMIAs are being held for reasons other than worker abuse, why is this?
Has there been any consideration of the Trusted Employer Integrity Audit process (HUMA
Recommendation 3)? – No, Service Canada feels they are moving forward with Worker Protections in
response to the Auditor General report and the HUMA report.
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What issues are the inspectors looking for? - Wages are high on the list, payment of cash and bonuses that
are not advertised.
What about when workers are asking to work more hours and the minimum sage changes mid-season and
the farmer makes a typo in the wages for 1 month?
Why has there been no consultation for this and why is this not a part of the TFWP Primary Agriculture
Consultation? – This authority was already in the legislation so Service Canada is not required to do a
consultation with the employers on this and does not have to go through the regulatory Gazette process.
Service Canada does not have the resources to participate in the TFWP consultation; however, they will
consult with agricultural groups individually.
Has agricultural training been provided to the Service Canada officers? - Yes.
Have biosecurity protocols been considered in the training of the Service Canada Officers. – No, that is
something they need to look into.
Have standards been established for the on-farm inspections, random and unannounced? – This
information is currently unavailable, will be publically available and online in May.
Key Findings:
The on farm inspections have already begun.
120 Service Canada officers will be conducting these unannounced inspections.
The February 14 email that is related to this meeting was sent to 30,000 employers using the TFWP (see
below).
Agriculture and Caregiver employers are the 2 sectors where unannounced inspections will take place and
being focussed on for the worker protection measures. Donna claimed that an algorithm has provided
them with these 2 choices of “vulnerable” sectors (Note data from this algorithm could be requested so
industry can review).
Random unannounced inspections will be conducted with Migrant Worker Group representatives who will
accompany the inspectors to help with translation.
There is no appeal process for the unannounced inspections although they are considering an “Escalation
Process”
Service Canada is moving to more transparency. By 2019 they will have all policies online. They are
moving their Integrity policies online first.
Service Canada and the TFWP are working with migrant worker group “network”, a group out of BC has
received funding before Christmas to develop materials communicating worker rights to TFWs and they
have 17 workshops with TFWs planned. The liaison services face to face training on worker rights is not
providing the information the workers need.
o Question: can technology be used to deliver Government of Canada approved materials through
an App for the workers? Most workers have iphones or smartphones, Facebook and other social
media could also be used to provide neutral delivery of information regarding worker rights.
ACTION: Donna Blois said she would distribute 2 links to those on the conference call and distribute her email address to everyone who has more questions:
Statistics for non-compliance
Open data statistics are available per stream
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Paying of Bonuses to TFWs Donna Blois explained that the paying of bonus is not permitted to be paid to TFWs unless it is advertised. Producers explained bonuses are paid to Canadians out of unpredictable fluctuating production. It was further explained by Donna that it must be advertised that the farmer “May Pay Bonus” or if a farmer gave a bonus to a TFW then this would be found out of compliance and would trigger a risk based audit. Producers explained that this bonus issue is causing risk-based farm audits where LMIAs are held for this reason. NOTE: This information is not currently available on the TFWP website but may be added to the TFWP website in the future.
Addendum 1: Service Canada Email sent February 14, 2018 to 30,000 TFWP Employers
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2018 2:01 PM Subject: Responsabilité des employeurs et les conditions applicables aux inspections sous le Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires. / Temporary Foreign Worker Program Inspection Requirements and Employer Responsibilities (Scroll down for French) *Please do not respond to this email as this inbox is not monitored. As an employer using the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, we would like to remind you of the requirements of the Program and your responsibilities associated with an employer compliance inspection. We are committed to ensuring the protection of the most vulnerable workers. We would also like to underline that we are devoted to ensuring a fair and efficient assessment of your activities and we will always do our best to mitigate, as much as possible, any potentially negative impacts inspections could have on your daily commercial activities. As an employer, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are complying with the conditions attached to your Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). Service Canada has the authority under the IRPR to conduct an inspection, with or without prior notice, in order to verify your compliance with the TFW Program. An inspection can occur if:
1. there is reason to suspect that you are not complying or have not complied with TFW Program requirements;
2. you have previously been found non-compliant with the TFW Program; or 3. you are chosen through random selection to verify your compliance with the Program.
During an inspection, Service Canada officers will:
verify how you are meeting all of the conditions and requirements of the TFW Program, as outlined in documents such as your LMIA application, and your LMIA decision letter and annexes;
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verify if you have kept all records associated with your LMIA application and any other documents that demonstrate your compliance with the program conditions as set out in your LMIA decision letter and annexes;
verify if you have informed Service Canada of any changes or errors relating to an approved LMIA or the temporary foreign worker; and
conduct interviews with temporary foreign workers and others.
Inspections can be conducted anytime within a six-year period beginning on the first day of employment of the foreign worker. If an inspection is being conducted because we have reason to suspect that you are not complying with TFW Program conditions, if applicable, your pending LMIA applications may be delayed until your compliance can be verified. During an inspection your obligations are to:
cooperate with requests by officers to conduct an onsite inspection;
provide all reasonable assistance to the officer(s);
provide any documents located on premises to officers for examination;
allow the officer(s): o to use copying equipment that is on the premises to make copies of documents, or, if it is not
possible to make copies on the premises, to allow officers to temporarily retain the documents in order to make copies off-site;
o to take photographs and/or video or make audio recordings; o to examine anything on the premises; o to use any computer or other electronic device on the premises to examine any relevant
document(s) stored on the device or available to it, such as in a cloud; o to be accompanied or assisted on the premises by any person required by the officer(s).
If you are found non-compliant as a result of an inspection, you could be subject to:
1. warnings; 2. administrative monetary penalties ranging from $500 to $100,000 per violation, up to a maximum of
$1 million over one year; 3. a ban of one, two, five or ten years, or permanent bans for the most serious violations; 4. the publication of your business name and address on a public website with details of the violation(s)
and/or consequence(s); http://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/employers-non-compliant.html and/or
5. the revocation of previously-issued LMIAs. It is strongly recommended that you regularly review the activities related to the employment of temporary foreign workers to ensure you are continuing to uphold TFW Program conditions. You must take action to rectify errors and/or non-compliance as soon as it is discovered, and contact Service Canada as soon as possible of any changes that occur. For example, if you realize that payroll did not correctly capture the overtime or the rate of pay of a temporary foreign worker, you should notify Service Canada right away to explain the situation and the steps you are taking to correct the situation. For further information about employer compliance please visit the TFW Program webpage: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/employer-compliance.html Thank you, Service Canada
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Addendum 2:
Funding in Budget 2018 for the measures outlined in the Service Canada email are as follows: “Protecting Temporary Foreign Workers: The Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the International Mobility Program are Canada's two programs that govern the entry of temporary foreign workers. Canada has an obligation to ensure these workers, who contribute to the labour market by providing the skills and expertise employers need when qualified Canadian workers are unavailable, are aware of their rights and are protected from abuse. The Government proposes to provide $194.1 million over five years, beginning in 2018–19, and $33.19 million per year ongoing, to ensure the rights of temporary foreign workers in Canada are protected and enforced through a robust compliance regime. Funding will support unannounced inspections under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the continued implementation of the International Mobility Program compliance regime, and the ongoing collection of labour market information related to open work permits. In addition, the Government proposes to invest $3.4 million over two years, beginning in 2018–19, from Employment and Social Development Canada's existing resources to establish, on a pilot basis, a network of support organizations for temporary foreign workers dealing with potential abuse by their employers. This network would support these workers in reporting wrongdoing and provide information on their rights to temporarily remain and work in Canada free from harassment and abuse.” Page 214 More: https://www.budget.gc.ca/2018/docs/plan/budget-2018-en.pdf [Note: International Experience Canada (IEC) is part of the International Mobility Program that is out of Immigration, Refugee, and citizenship Canada. IEC is used by international ag students working on grain & seed & other seasonal commodities in western Canada, this IRCC stream is also being reviewed for compliance and worker protections]
Next Steps: Follow up and request Action Items committed to on the call such as contact information, non-compliance statistics, links to information available online, and a communications summary. Find out if a biosecurity protocols is now being included as part of the on-farm inspection regime.
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Meeting 8: Status update on critical Worker Permit issues in Mexico City at the Canadian Embassy (Telecon) 2018-02-27 – IRCC TFWP, Worker Permit issues; Telecon Contact Info: Lead: Jacques.Olivier ([email protected]) Others: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] David Cashaback did not participate Attendance: LTF members and CAHRC partners participants included Rebecca Lee, Canadian Horticulture Council; Scott Ross, Canadian Federation of Agriculture; Janet Krayden, Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council Industry is trying to find out where exactly is the backlog for the Worker Permits in Mexico. Farmers are not having workers arrive on the planes and they are not hearing back when their workers will arrive. How many Worker Permits for Mexican farm workers coming to Canada went through last year and how many have gone through the Canadian embassy so far this year? As of Feb. 15, 2018: 11,300 last year, this is the amount of Worker Permits that were processed for Mexico 6,700 this year, this is the amount of Worker Permits that have been processed (As of Feb. 15, 2018) 4,600 still yet to come through the Canadian Embassy processing centre These Work Permits have not arrived at the Canadian Embassy processing centre as of yet. The Canadian officials said the paperwork is at the Mexican Labour Ministry. There was an earthquake in the fall in Mexico City, and there is a new form that the workers have to now fill out. Canada switched forms in 2011 but now everyone including farm workers in Mexico has to fill out this new form. In the past the Mexican Labour was able to pre-populate the 2011 form which saved a lot of time. Canadian officials are not sure what the problem is with the new form. However, the current form is potentially locked and can no longer be pre-populated in the future as it used to be. The Canadian officials say that they have enough staff and a plan to manage the incoming Worker Permit influx and will keep to the 7 day turnaround time. But they cannot control the administration of the forms by the Mexican Labour Ministry and the workers. The Canadian embassy is getting sometimes a few dozen a day, and other days not getting any sent over from the Mexican Labour Ministry
Urgent cases can be sent to: IRCC EMAIL FOR URGENT WORK PERMITS: Associations can flag any urgent cases to IRCC Mexico so that they may be prioritized accordingly at [email protected] Include:
A. Company names
B. LMIA numbers: Along with other pertinent information re the timeline workers were
expected and other details including names of the workers when available.
ACTIONS: The IRCC officials have agreed to:
Provide industry with regular updates on the backlog as it is cleared at the Canadian Embassy.
They will send the contact person at the Mexican Labour Ministry who has the lead on this file.
They have agreed to send the new form Mexican workers are being asked to fill out to industry for
analysis.
Next Steps: Follow up and request Action Items regarding the form that workers are filling out. (Completed)
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Producers or associations with members who are still encountering Work Permit issues can ask that their case be prioritized as urgent and use the Canadian Embassy email address for Worker Permits provided. They can also contact their worker to try to help them fill out the online form or tell them to get into the Mexican Labour Ministry for assistance. Contact information for the Mexican Labour Ministry and the copy of the form is provided below.
Contact Information Provided by IRCC:
Application For Work Permit Made Outside of Canada:
https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/pdf/kits/forms/imm1295e.pdf
Point of contact at Mexico Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS):
Karla Quintero (Karla speaks fluent English)
Phone number: 011-52-(55) 3000-2700 Ext. 34148
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Meeting 9: Status update on critical Worker Permit issues in Mexico City at the Canadian Embassy Processing Centre or Elsewhere 2018-03-07 – IRCC TFWP, Worker Permit issues Contact Info: Lara Oldford, Director, Operational Management Coordination, Temporary Resident Program Delivery ([email protected]); Kyle Nicholson, Policy Minister Hussen’s office & Mathew Conley ([email protected], tel – 613-954-1064) Attendance: LTF members and CAHRC participants included Scott Ross, CFA; Rebecca Lee, CHC Topics covered:
1. BC Worker Permit Delays in Mexico : IRCC assured they take 2-5 days to process, but advertise
performance standard of 7 days. They have been constructive in helping Mexican STPS with forms that
have come in with errors, instead outright rejecting them. Are optimistic that delays are due to new
form and that next year should be reduced. Recommend employers add on some time to expected
processing time just in case. Suggested that employers should see if they can help the workers fill out
the form, so as to lessen the time spent with Mexican Ministry of Labour.
2. Ministerial Round Table: Invited IRCC to attend; they have saved the date.
3. Other Meetings: Asked if they would be open to a meeting by CHC labour group at March 16 advocacy
day, and they accepted.
4. Changes to Immigration including Federal Express Entry (CFA issue): Are examining possible use of
TFW Agricultural Stream related to new pathway to permanent residency (not SAWP). Requested list
of NOC codes most in demand at managerial level (CFA will send to Kyle at IRCC).
Additional Notes from Associations and Others:
As of March 8th Ontario producers’ outstanding work permits in Mexico are down to below 50.
Helpful Tip from FARMS and IRCC re Work Permits outstanding in Mexico For outstanding work permits that have not been sent to the Canadian embassy yet include:
FARMS has been successful in advising employers to contact workers and tell them to get into the Mexican Labour Ministry immediately.
IRCC suggests, if the worker has online access, and the employer is able to contact them, the employer can see if they can help the worker fill out the form online while on the phone with them.