On June 20, 2014, the Government of Canada announced sweeping
changes to its Temporary Foreign Worker Program, many of which were
effective immediately. Pilots are one of very few specific
occupations that were singled out in the changes.
Under the former system, employers were required to obtain
authority to hire a foreign worker through a "Labour Market
Opinion". Employers must now apply for a Labour Market
Impact Assessment (LMIA), which is a more comprehensive and
rigorous process. The LMIA must include information about the
number of Canadians who have applied for the available job, the
number of Canadians interviewed, and an explanation of why those
Canadians were not hired. A new job matching service has been
introduced in an effort to allow Canadians to apply directly
through the Canadian Job Bank for jobs that match their skills and
experience. Employers applying for LMIAs must advertise on
the Job Bank. Employers are expected to back up
