Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

Employment and Social Development Canada announces further changes to the LMO process

August 14, 2013 Henry J. Chang, Dentons LLP Corporate Immigration, HR Policies and Procedures, HRMS, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring

On April 29, 2013, the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development (“HRSDC”) and the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism announced that they would be introducing numerous changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Employment and Social Development Canada, formerly known as HRSDC, has now announced changes to the Labour Market Opinion application process, which are effective as of July 31, 2013.

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Is driving a bus unsafe? It depends who you ask….

July 31, 2013 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Union Relations

A recent investigation and ruling by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (“HRSDC”) has found that OC Transpo, the public transit operator in Canada’s capital city, is not doing enough to protect its bus drivers from workplace violence as required under the CLC.

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Citizenship and Immigration Canada proposes regulatory changes to the temporary foreign worker program

June 19, 2013 Henry J. Chang, Dentons LLP Corporate Immigration, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring

In early April 2013, it was reported that 45 Royal Bank of Canada employees would be losing their jobs because the company had outsourced several technology services to a California-based firm that specializes in sending jobs offshore. RBC faced a severe public backlash over the incident and Citizenship and Immigration Canada subsequently published proposed regulatory amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations…

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CIC provides guidance on filing work permit extensions without an approved LMO or CAQ

February 16, 2012 Henry J. Chang, Dentons LLP Corporate Immigration, Human Resources

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has been providing guidance to foreign nationals seeking extensions of their work permits through CPC Vegreville, while waiting for an LMO or CAQ to be approved. According to CIC, if a foreign national is ready to submit a work permit application to CPC Vegreville, but is waiting for an LMO or CAQ, the application may still be submitted, but only within two weeks of the expiry date of his or her existing work permit. In addition, proof that the LMO/CAQ request was made must also be included with the application.

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National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2011 now available

January 31, 2012 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, HR Analytics, HRMS, Human Resources, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring, Wages and Compensation

The National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2011 is the current departmental standard and was approved on November 21, 2011. The NOC was jointly released for free by Statistics Canada and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) today and includes…

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National Occupational Classification, 2011

August 11, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor HR Analytics, HRMS, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development, Union Relations

The structure of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2011 has changed and is replacing Statistics Canada’s National Occupational Classification for Statistics (NOC-S) 2006 and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada’s NOC 2006, eliminating the differences that have existed between these two classifications. The NOC is being adapted to reflect the significant structural changes in the Canadian labour market since 2001.

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Slaw: Federal government launches workplace mental health standards initiative

June 23, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights

Since the economic burden of mental disorders in Canada has been estimated at $51-billion per year, with almost $20-billion of that coming from workplace losses, the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) has launched a collaborative project with the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ) and the standards division of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA Standards) to create a voluntary national standard for mentally healthy workplaces. The standard aims to…

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Opportunities Ontario provides guidance on the requirement of recruitment efforts

June 16, 2011 Henry J. Chang, Dentons LLP Corporate Immigration, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring

The Ontario Bar Association Citizenship and Immigration Section recently met with representatives of Opportunities Ontario, the province’s Provincial Nominee Program (“PNP”). During this meeting, they provided insight into the level of recruitment activities that would be expected from an employer who files a PNP application on behalf of a prospective employee.

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CIC issues operational bulletin on temporary foreign worker program amendments

April 21, 2011 Henry J. Chang, Dentons LLP Corporate Immigration, Human Resources

On August 4, 2010, the governor-general-in-council published amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, which were expected to adversely affect many temporary foreign workers; these regulatory amendments became effective on April 1, 2011. On April 1, 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) issued Operational Bulletin 275-C, which provides operational instructions to both CIC and the Canada Border Services Agency in relation to these recent regulatory amendments.

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HRSDC announces changes to LMO application procedures effective April 1, 2011

April 21, 2011 Henry J. Chang, Dentons LLP Corporate Immigration, Human Resources

Last year, the governor-general-in-council published amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, which would affect the Temporary Foreign Worker Program; these amendments became effective on April 1, 2011. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada has now announced new procedures that implement these amendments.

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Canadian government amends temporary foreign worker regulations

August 19, 2010 Henry J. Chang, Dentons LLP Corporate Immigration, Human Resources

On August 4, 2010, the governor-general-in-council published amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, which will adversely affect many temporary foreign workers. Although the amendments do not come into force until April 1, 2011, the changes are significant.

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CIC ends processing of work permit extensions filed concurrently with pending LMO applications

July 28, 2010 Henry J. Chang, Dentons LLP Corporate Immigration, Human Resources

Until recently, a work permit extension application (for a NOC 0, A, or B occupation), which required an approved Labour Market Opinion (“LMO”), could be filed concurrently with a pending LMO application. However, in July 2010, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) posted a notice on its website indicating that concurrent filing would no longer be permitted.

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