On June 23, the employers and their foreign workers applying through the Labour Market Impact Analysis (LMIA) may have a chance of being protected. An interim order could to protect employers and foreign workers if this hearing takes place. This hearing for the case will likely occur in a year. The Federal Court of Appeal will this case a year later, and, if the matter goes to the Supreme Court of Canada, it will last another year.
This legal action challenges the rules Hon. Jason Kenney has imposed on employers of foreign workers and on the foreign workers themselves. Right now, litigants are limited to employers. However, Forefront Placement Ltd. could initiate litigation on behalf of specifically named foreign workers.
This legal action concerns employers, who, according to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), were unable to fill jobs with Canadian labour. In order for employers to be eligible to go through this process, the employer must have offered at least the average wage for the position(s) for which foreign workers. They must also have advertised nationally through two sources for one month for local workers before applying for a Labour Market Impact Analysis (LMIA).
These rules impact most seriously on the Philippines, where 10% of the GDP comes from remittances from Filipino overseas foreign workers (OFW’s). In fact, Canada ranks third, accounting for $2.0 billion annually, a mere $800,000 behind Saudi Arabia.
At a joint press conference between the Prime Minister and the Philippine President, Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, the CBC reported, the PM replied to a question about this issue saying, “[…W]e’re making sure that when people come to this country to work and to work long-term, they have the ability to move towards being permanent citizens of this country.”
Harper noted that Canada is not going to have a policy where there is a permanent underclass of so-called temporary residents who live here, but have no rights of citizenship and no rights of mobility.
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