Canada expands occupations in high demand list for Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Canadian government has announced to expand the occupations in high demand list for Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program to make it faster and easier for employers in Alberta and British Columbia to meet their labor force needs. These occupations in high demand are classified in the pilot version of Expedited Labor Market Opinion (E-LMO) project, which has now been expanded up to 33 occupations after addition of 21 new occupations on January 14, 2008.

Started in September 2007, the E-LMO pilot project was implemented to facilitate the entry of foreign workers in Alberta and British Columbia by reducing foreign worker application process time from five months to three-to-five days for employers in twelve specific occupations in construction, hospitality and tourism sectors. However, to be eligible for expedite processing, Alberta and BC employers must meet certain conditions. These include making reasonable efforts to find qualified Canadians or permanent residents, not having any labor disputes in progress at the employer's workplace, and that working conditions, including pay, meet minimum standards.

In the recent expansion, 21 new occupations have been added to E-LMO pilot project, raising the total occupations in high demand to 33 and representing 50 per cent of the total volume of labor market opinion applications from employers in Alberta and BC. The expanded E-LMO list not only includes more occupations in the construction sector, but also covers occupations from manufacturing, engineering, maintenance, sales and services sectors.

The expanded E-LMO list now includes these occupations: Carpenters, Crane Operators, Construction Laborers, Steamfitters and Pipe fitters, Ironworkers, Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics, Machinists, Roofers, Industrial Electricians, Welders, Surveyor Helpers, Commercial Janitors and Caretakers, Specialized Cleaners, Mechanical Engineers, Civil Engineers, Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Petroleum Engineers, Mechanical Engineering Technologists, Hotel and Hospitality Room Attendants, Hotel Front Desk Clerks, Food and Beverage Servers, Food Counter Attendants, Food Service Supervisors, Industrial Meat Cutters, Courier Drivers, Residential Cleaning and Support Workers, Manufacturing and Processing Laborers, Tour and Travel Guides, Registered Nurses, Dental Technicians, Pharmacists, Snowboard and Ski Instructors, and Retail Sales Persons and Sales Clerks.

For the occupations in expanded E-LMO, it has been established that employers in Alberta and BC have not been able staff available positions with Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Therefore, extensive labor market assessment each time an employer wants to hire a foreign worker in one of the high demand occupations is no longer necessary. It will drastically reduce the overall recruitment time to hire a temporary foreign worker and for a greater number of occupations.

In Alberta and BC, this pilot project will run until September 2008.

The E-LMO pilot project is part of the $50.5 million that the 2007 federal budget set aside to improve the Temporary Foreign Worker Program over the next two years. The improvements include reducing processing delays and responding more effectively to regional labor and skill shortages, so employers could better meet their human resources needs.

In addition to this pilot project, the federal government and British Columbia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will strengthen protections for temporary foreign workers. A similar agreement with Alberta was announced in July 2007.