July 11, 2014 – Recent reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program mean that some outstanding Labour Market Opinion (LMO) applications will need to be resubmitted according to the new program rules. Under the new rules, occupations are categorized as either "high-wage" or "low-wage" based on the median wage in any given province or territory. If you have an outstanding LMO application submitted prior to June 20, 2014 for a job that qualifies as "low-wage" under the new rules, your application will be returned and your fee will be refunded. You will need to complete a new Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and pay the new, increased fee of $1000 in order to proceed. Per new program rules, no LMIA applications for low-wage jobs will be processed for the Food Services, Retail Trade or Accommodation sectors in regions with an unemployment rate at-or-above 6%. In addition, there is a cap on the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers that may be employed at any one workplace.
Please be advised that previously submitted LMOs for "high-wage" occupations, and LMOs for "low-wage" occupations in Quebec are not affected.
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