Question Period Note: TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKER (TFW) PROGRAM: LMIA PROCESSING

The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program has placed a heightened focus on fraud detection. This has resulted in a notable rise in requests for labour market impact assessments (LMIAs) and longer wait times for employers.
The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program has experience increased demand for labour marker impact assessments (LMIAs). This increased demanded, combined with enhanced assessments to ensure that use of the program is limited to employers with a genuine need and to address potential fraudulent practices is resulting in longer wait times for employers.

• The Labour Market Impact Assessment LMIA process plays a crucial role in aligning the hiring of temporary foreign workers with the requirements of the Canadian labour market.
• It also assesses employer compliance with program conditions to protect temporary foreign workers and prevent misuse of the Program by bad actors.
• Because of enhanced LMIA assessments, the Program has recently experienced processing delays for non-priority applications and for high-risk employers.
• The enhanced measures are necessary to continue maintaining the integrity of the Program and to protect temporary foreign workers.
• The Program maintains its commitment to providing LMIA decisions promptly to employers, especially in essential priority sectors, while also conducting a more thorough evaluation for high-risk employers.

The TFW Program is designed to be responsive to the Canadian labour market by ensuring that Canadians and Permanent Residents are first considered for available jobs.
The LMIA process is the key labour market test that provides the government with assurances that hiring TFWs will not have a negative impact on the Canadian labour market. The LMIA also establishes program conditions that identify standards to ensure the protection of TFWs and prevent bad actors from accessing the Program.
The Program aims to strike a balance between protecting the Canadian Labour Market, informing employers of their obligations and protecting workers once they arrive.
Once a LMIA is issued, the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada processes individual work permits for temporary foreign workers.

“"The LMIA process is vital for aligning the hiring of temporary foreign workers with Canadian labour market needs, setting standards to protect workers and prevent exploitation. Given our economic goals, we must approve LMIAs only for employers with a clear need, causing necessary processing delays for non-priority and high-risk applications. Moving forward, we will swiftly issue LMIAs to essential sectors while rigorously evaluating high-risk employers, ensuring a balance between labour market demands and worker protection." – Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, Randy Boissonnault, August 26, 2024