Operational Bulletin 574 – May 21, 2014

Summary

This Operational Bulletin (OB) provides work permit processing officers with a number of operational instructions. These operational instructions concern the suspensions that came into effect on April 30, 2014.

The government had suspended some of the positions associated with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) Labour Market Opinions (LMOs). These LMOs related to the Food Services Sector. As a result, the ESDC suspended the unused positions. These unused positions denoted those work permit positions that the ESDC had not approved at that point.

These unused positions were unapproved work permit applications, for which the ESDC had issued LMOs to employers, who:

• Had their primary industry in the Food Services and Drinking Places subsector and,
• Were applying for positions in:
• Sales and service and,
• Sales and service management

Background

The Government amended the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) in 2013. The amendment authorised the Minister of ESDC to issue Ministerial Instructions (MIs). Thus, the amendment enabled the Minister of ESDC to specify the circumstances when the authorities could:

• Revoke an LMO or,
• Suspend an LMO

Accordingly, the Minister of ESDC announced an immediate moratorium on April 24, 2014. This moratorium suspended the Food Services Sector’s access to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. As a result, the ESDC stopped processing any new or previously outstanding LMO applications. However, this suspension only affected LMO applications related to the Food Services Sector.

Similarly, the Minister of ESDC also suspended the processing of unused positions. This concerned the unused positions of a previously approved LMO in the Food Services Sector. This came into effect on April 30, 2014. As a result, Citizenship and Immigration Canada also suspended the processing of affected work permit applications.

The Processing Instructions

A single LMO would only have one LMO number on it. However, it could have multiple positions listed on it. In these cases, each position represented an individual opinion. Therefore, the ESDC would need to identify all the positions that are subject to suspension. The ESDC would do this by examining all the positions listed on the LMO. This would be applicable for LMOs that have more than one position associated with a single LMO number.

Officers would need to continue processing applications from unaffected individuals as per usual practice. This is because the authorities authorised these individuals to enter Canada, as long as they met the normal admissibility requirements. This is especially so if officers of Citizenship and Immigration Canada approved the applications for these individuals. That too, before the suspension came into effect on April 30, 2014.

1. The Process for Cases where Citizenship and Immigration Canada Approved the Work Permit Application
2. The Process for Cases where Citizenship and Immigration Canada Received the Work Permit Application and where it has Declared or Entered the Final Decision
3. The Process for Cases where Citizenship and Immigration Canada Received the Work Permit Application After the ESDC Suspends an LMO
4. The Process for Cases where CBSA Received the Work Permit Application at the Port of Entry while the Suspension is in Effect

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)