CANADA APPROVES NEW RECOGNIZED EMPLOYER PILOT PROGRAM(REP).

The Canadian government has announced that the Recognized Employer Pilot will begin in September to assist in addressing labour shortages.

The Recognized Employer Pilot will operate under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and will strive to lessen the administrative burden for repeat businesses who have demonstrated compliance with the TFWP's regulations in the past.

Under the REP, qualifying employers will have access to Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) that are valid for up to 36 months, as well as a streamlined LMIA application process.

An LMIA is a labour market assessment that Canadian firms must perform in order to hire foreign workers under the TFWP. The LMIA's goal is to demonstrate that there are no workers available in Canada to do the job for which the business immigration is seeking.

According to the Canadian government, these initiatives will assist eligible firms in better planning their labour needs and reducing the number of LMIA applications they must submit over the next three years. Recognized employers will also benefit from a Job Bank certification, which will demonstrate to prospective employees their recognised status.

Employers must have a minimum of three positive LMIAs in the last five years for the same occupation from a list of occupations deemed in-shortage based on Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS) data in order to participate in the REP. Such employers would be subjected to a more stringent upfront evaluation procedure based on their TFWP history, ensuring that the REP only targets firms with the finest recruitment practises.

The REP will be implemented in two stages. Primary agriculture employers will be able to apply beginning in September 2023.

In January 2024, all other employers will be able to apply.