Visitors can continue applying for work permits inside Canada
Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Mar, 2023 11:50 AM
Toronto, March 2 (IANS) Foreign nationals who are in Canada as visitors and who receive a valid job offer will be able to apply for and receive a work permit without having to leave the country, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced.
The move, an extension of a Covid-era temporary public policy that was set to expire today, has now been extended by two years, until February 28, 2025.
Visitors applying under this public policy who held a work permit within the last 12 months will also continue to be able to request interim work authorization to begin working for their new employer more quickly.
Prior to this temporary policy change, those applying to work in Canada would typically need to apply for their initial work permit before they came to Canada.
If they were already in Canada with visitor status when they were approved for a work permit, they would need to leave the country to be issued their work permit.
With this policy in place, leaving Canada isn't necessary.
Those looking to benefit from this temporary public policy must have valid status in Canada as a visitor on the day they apply, and have a job offer that is supported by a labour market impact assessment (LMIA) or an LMIA-exempt offer of employment.
An LMIA is an application that an employer makes to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to evaluate if hiring foreign workers will have a positive, neutral or negative impact on the Canadian economy.
If ESDC deems the impact is negative, the employer will not be eligible to hire foreign nationals, according to CIC News.
Under the policy, applicants must also submit an application for an employer-specific work permit no later than February 28, 2025.
IRCC said that continuing this policy makes visitors an option for employers in Canada, many of whom are facing significant labour shortages during a period of economic expansion.
There was an overall decrease in the number of vacancies to 848,000 from over one million, according to Statistics Canada data from December 2022.
However, key sectors like healthcare, food and social assistance still need more employees to fill in-demand positions.
I have been an economist, working on Bay Street in Toronto, since the early 1980s. I now lead a team that provides analysis and forecasts on numerous economic and financial indicators, such as interest rates, economic growth, unemployment, housing, exchange rates, and, of course, inflation.
Some postal service employees doing tasks with a greater risk of catching COVID-19 — for example working in a pair to unload a van inside — are being given N95 masks, but a "fit test by a qualified professional" is required before they can be worn.
Crown prosecutor David Butcher told Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes that he learned of two new sets of documents relevant to the case during an interview Wednesday night with Hilary Woodward, executive financial officer at the legislature.
There are 29,556 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 284,832 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 977 COVID-positive individuals are in hospital and 141 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation
So when President Joe Biden gave Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a pair of gold-framed aviator sunglasses at the Three Amigos North American summit last November, his protocol team no doubt knew that Canada’s prime minister has a penchant for wearing shades.
The movement, which began in British Columbia days earlier, has been picking up participants across the country, with local truckers joining in at different points.
