Important Changes To Canadian Temporary Foreign Worker Rules

The last few years has seen some major changes to the rules governing the ability of Canadian employers to bring temporary foreign workers into Canada. Recently the government introduced changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program which oversees and administers the issuance of opinions(previously called LMO's or Labour market Opinions) which form the legal basis for work permit eligibility for many temporary foreign workers.

The Labour Market Opinion has now been renamed the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and is overseen by Employment and Social Development Canada. One of the more significant changes to the system  is the reclassification of high-skilled and low-skilled workers.  A position that pays more than the average wage will be considered a high-skilled position and a position that pays less than the provincial average wage will be considered low-skilled. There is also further requirement that a transition plan be filled with applications for