Alberta Facing ‘Two Years of Tough Times,’ Conference Board of Canada Says

In January, the Conference Board of Canada warned that Alberta could slip into recession and today, opinion regarding the province’s economy remains unchanged.

Speaking to the board’s Western Business Outlook event on Tuesday in Edmonton, the conference board chief economist Glen Hodgson said, “My fear is that the forecast is still a little bit too optimistic”.

Given the downturn in Alberta’s energy sector, the previous four years of “phenomenal” growth will take “a significant hit” in 2015, the conference was told.

This will lead to reductions in energy companies’ capital spending plans, a shortfall in royalty revenues and a slowdown in people moving to Alberta from within and outside Canada. It will also mean that gains in Albertans’ primary household income will be reduced to one per cent in 2015. This has led to decreased consumer confidence while real estate sales, prices and housing starts are trending down.

In January, the conference board warned that Alberta could slip into recession in 2015 and would feel the largest drop in gross domestic product of any province. The board also warned that business investment in 2015 could be down by $12 billion.

In February, the organization forecast that while Canada’s GDP will grow 1.9 per cent this year, Alberta’s economy will shrink 1.5 per cent. Alberta’s ability to recover from the downturn will depend on oil prices increasing. West Texas Intermediate crude that traded at more than $100 US last summer is now around $50.

With stronger oil prices into 2016, Alberta should see “moderate” 1.5-per-cent growth compared to 2.3 per cent for Canada. “Alberta will re-emerge as a strong part of Canada’s economy,” Antunes said.

Brad Ferguson, president of the Edmonton Economic Development Corp., said Alberta’s story has sounded “unnecessarily negative” of late and he believes that Edmonton is well-positioned to deal with its share of Alberta’s economic challenges, Ferguson told the conference.

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Alberta Criticized for Using Secret List to Assess TFW Applicants(Audio)

Alberta’s nominee program has been criticized for its lack of transparency while choosing temporary foreign workers who would be allowed to stay in Canada permanently.

The province had used a confidential list of 34 occupations last year to determine which workers will stay on. According to Clarizze Truscott of the Temporary Foreign Workers Support Coalition, Alberta should have been transparent about its selection of immigrants, and that keeping this information confidential was highly unfair to employers and workers who had been hoping to get selected to stay on. “If there is no transparency, the question is, is the government deciding on the basis of who lobbied most?” asks Truscott, who believes that the government should disclose if they prefer only to keep skilled workers and their reasons behind choosing those particular occupations.

According to the Department of Jobs, Skills Training and Labor, the list “was merely a temporary internal guideline” to help them choose the final 1,200 spots in the provincial nominee program of 2014. The department said that the list had been drafted “to ensure more industries could benefit”, and confirmed that some occupations such as welders, transport truck drivers, machine operators, and construction managers had received more attention last fall.

The list was posted on the department’s website and discovered by some temporary foreign workers who had been seeking information on whether they stand any chance of being selected for permanent residency under the provincial nominee program that accepts 5,500 candidates every year.

Following changes to the temporary foreign worker program, the provincial government agreed to provide one-year extension to a select group of about 1,000 TFWs or more.

The Department of Jobs, Skills Training and Labor has said that for 2015 it will choose the 5,500 nominees on the basis of three categories: labor market information, evidence of high levels of job shortages and industry general averages in recent years. “We remain steadfast in our position that Canadians are hired first,” said a spokesperson of the department.

The internal list of 2014’s provincial nominee program included the following “priority” occupations: farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers, machine operators and laborers in food and beverage processing, industrial meat cutters, pipefitters, transport truck drivers, welders, plasterers and drywallers, steamfitters, sprinkler system installers, technicians and drafting technologists.

In addition, the list also included academic occupations like university professors and lecturers along with several civil, mechanical, petroleum and chemical engineering jobs. Nurse aides, orderlies, licensed practical nurses, and patient service associates made it under the health care category. Other occupations on the list were machine tool operators, construction estimators, sawmill machine operators, material handlers, and electrical power line and cable workers, along with automotive service technicians, light duty cleaners and hotel front desk clerks.

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Critics Demand More Transparency Around New Temporary Foreign Worker Measures(Audio)

Due to one-time bridging measures quietly rolled out this week, only a small fraction of temporary foreign workers in Alberta will qualify for an extended stay in Canada, the federal government says.

A lack of clarity is causing heightened anxiety among the thousands of vulnerable workers that want to find a solution before the looming April 1 deadline to leave the country. The new measures are the result of an agreement between the federal government and the province of Alberta. They are meant to help temporary foreign workers who are trying to transition to permanent residency but risk having their work permits expire before their applications are processed.

Under the terms of the agreement, temporary foreign workers who have a work permit set to expire in 2015 but are currently caught up in the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program’s queue applications may be eligible for a one-time, one-year bridging work permit.

The federal government will also provide a one-time exemption to these workers that will keep them from being counted under rules imposed last June requiring employers to ensure no more than 10 per cent of their workforce is made up of low-wage TFWs. However, even though the new measures have been praised by business groups, others are calling for more information about the number of permits that will be offered and what type of workers will receive them.

Neither the provincial government nor the federal government has made any kind of public announcement about the new measures,

More than 86,000 temporary foreign workers are working in Alberta and according to estimates “several thousand” will see their permits expire on April 1. This is when a four-year work duration limit put in place by the federal government in 2011 comes into effect.

Making matters worse is the fact the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program, a popular option for temporary foreign workers looking to transition to permanent residency, has seen a glut of applicants in recent months. Current processing times for applications now range between 1 to 2 years, meaning many workers could find themselves still in the queue by the time their permits expire.

The government estimates approximately 1,000 foreign workers could be eligible for a bridging permit under the terms of the new agreement, but that doesn’t mean 1,000 permits will be awarded.

A spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada said the federal government expects “only a small fraction” of the TFWs in Alberta will ultimately receive a bridging permit.

A worrying possibility is that the government may award the bulk of the permits to engineers, doctors, and other highly skilled individuals in the queue, leaving out lower-skilled food service and hotel industry workers.

Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said he believes the new measures are meant to placate business owners who have been complaining since June 2014, when the federal government imposed restrictions on the use of the temporary foreign worker program.

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Canada’s Job Market Battles Uncertainty

Canada’s job market is expected to see a flat growth rate, with oil companies shedding jobs as other sectors create new ones. The layoffs in the oil sector are going to significantly impact the unemployment rate in the province, say experts.

The Canadian economy has been nearing recession in Alberta due to collapsing prices of oil, pushing the employers into uncertainty about future job hires. As a result, self-employment and part-time jobs are on the rise, as people hold on to alternatives while waiting for full-time employment.

Economists at the Conference Board of Canada have said that job seekers might have to wait until 2016 for “solid employment opportunities”.

“This is only the beginning. As energy producers cut back on investment this year, there will be ripple effects throughout the entire economy, eventually hitting the construction sector and other services that depend heavily on the oil and gas sector for business,” said David Madani of Capital Economics.

The Conference Board also believes that hiring will be overtaken by layoffs in the coming months, and the unemployment rate may increase to 6.9% by mid-year.

However, Bank of Canada policymakers are optimistic that a depreciated dollar could provide some reprieve through increasing employment in Ontario and Central Canada, where the lower currency is expected to benefit exports. But this hasn’t convinced industry experts, who believe that Ontario will not be able to bounce back to industrial success by end of this year.

According to Rafael Gomez, economist at the University of Toronto, the job market can improve only if there is sufficient economic growth. “If you have a high-growth economy, we’re talking growth of not a meagre one percent or even two, but like four, then you might generate enough firms that are new and growing and would be hiring,” says Gomez. “That’s the only way we’re going to see a turnaround in employment numbers in that sector; is if growth basically tripled from its current rates. And it’s not going to.”

The Canadian economy is expected to grow at a rate of 1.9% this year, according to the Conference Board. “We’ve seen no pickup in investment yet. There hasn’t been any sign that it’s taking hold. Unless [Central Canada] starts attracting more investment, we’re not going to see a big pick up in the number of jobs,” says Matthew Stewart, Conference Board economist.

Another concern for the job market is the steadily declining rate of business profits, which is shown to have an adverse effect on employment levels. The commodity price index of the Bank of Canada has declined by an alarming 36% in the past few months, and this has caused a lot of worry among businesses whose profits have a strong correlation with the index.

Many energy and non-energy firms have been reporting a decline in profits, and even losses. Insurance firm Manulife has reported a 50% decline in earnings last week. “Unless oil prices rebound more substantially soon, that could reduce profits by as much as 30 per cent. On that basis, investment would decline sharply,” says Madani.

Madani believes that if investment declined by 10%, it will put the economy into recession. However, he is hopeful that certain positive factors might reduce this risk. “The improving US economy and lower Canadian dollar should aid exporters, supporting investment in certain sectors other than energy.”

While exports may be expected to benefit with the lower dollar, which may also improve Ontario’s declining share of investment, this will not help create more jobs. All it does is fund technological advancements, especially in the auto industry. “Every year we’ve been subsidizing the big auto manufacturers, they’ve been shedding jobs every year whether they’ve been making profits or not,” says Gomez.

The trouble in the job market is also going to affect Ottawa’s decision on whether or not to invest in public infrastructure, which has been neglected for several years. Finance Minister Joe Oliver had been urged to invest billions of dollars into public works in order to up the employment rate, but has been reluctant to do so for fear of losing federal surpluses beyond a point. “This is precisely the wrong time to launch a massive deficit program that would undermine investor confidence, erode our credit standing, weaken our ability to withstand further international shocks, add to our debt burden, reduce our ability to support social programs and burden our children with our expenditures,” the minister said.

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Alberta to Face Critical Labor Shortage Due to Changes in Temporary Foreign Workers Program

Experts have warned that Alberta, which accounts for 26% of the country’s employment growth, may face a shortage of up to 96,000 workers by 2023 due to the changes introduced in the Temporary Foreign Workers Program in June 2014.

Alberta’s unemployment rate stands at just 4.7% and it even has 100,000 workers from other provinces. With the new changes, the province stands to lose thousands of foreign-born prospective Canadians who have been working across various industries in the province. Alberta’s provincial minister of jobs, skills, training and labor, Ric McIver, has been advocating to increase the annual immigrant quota of the province, which reached its cap of 5,500 in November last year. Additionally, there is a backlog of 10,000 applications nominated by employers for permanent residency, leading to a pause on temporary workers being nominated by their employers.

Under the revised rules employers must cap their total foreign worker force at 10% of the company’s work force, with a $100,000 fine imposed on employers who fail to follow the new rules. This has shocked many of Alberta’s businesses that heavily relied on foreign workers and are now struggling to cope. About 15,000 foreign workers now face deportation despite abiding by the rules and having immaculate employment records. Most affected are low-skilled workers in the food service industry who would not stand much of a chance to qualify under the new federal Express Entry system.

The list of trades that will be severely affected by labor shortage in Alberta includes food service chefs along with crane operators and various engineering professionals. The fact that the food chefs will no longer be allowed to stay on may affect the food industry unduly hard.

It is estimated that the economic impact of the closing down of one restaurant business amounted to a loss of $336,000 to an Alberta rural community as a result of the loss of rent, sale of insurance, gas, and day-to-day amenities to the employees of the business. It is estimated that the total economic loss of denying immigration to 15,000 workers in Alberta may be up to $89 million.

Experts also warn that the new rules will impose a huge social-economic cost to Albertan economy, and both employers and workers are in dire need of a viable solution to the crisis they face. Even though the government has provided some reprieve in the form of a one-year bridging program for some temporary foreign workers, it is likely to only help professionals and not the lower skilled workers.  

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Alberta Job Vacancy Rate the Highest in Canada

Alberta had the highest rate of unfilled jobs in the country in the third quarter of this year, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. In a new report, the group said 66,700 positions in the private sector were unfilled in the quarter, for a job vacancy rate of 3.9 per cent. Saskatchewan’s vacancy rate was second highest in the country, at 3.7 per cent, while the national average was 2.7 per cent.

Nationally, an estimated 322,000 private sector jobs were awaiting qualified employees.

According to the CFIB, nationwide openings in full, part-time and temporary positions increased by 7,000 jobs compared with the second quarter, the largest quarterly increase measured by CFIB in the past two years.

“A tightening labour market means that employers have a harder time finding the qualified employees they need; especially small businesses,” said Ted Mallett, CFIB’s chief economist. “Generally, businesses with fewer than 20 employees are reporting vacancy rates more than double that of businesses employing 50 or more.”

The CFIB said that in the past five years, the vacancy rate has climbed from a low of 1.7 per cent in late 2009 and early 2010, rising to 2.6 per cent by 2012. It added that prior to the recession, the rate of private sector job vacancies reached a maximum of three per cent through late 2007 and early 2008.

Despite fewer vacancies in agriculture, wholesale trade, business services and hospitality, the CFIB said there were fractional increases in unfilled jobs in oil and gas, manufacturing, transportation and financial services. “Alberta’s private sector job vacancy rate remains the highest in the country and has been on a slow, steady climb. The new breakdown by census division also clearly confirms hiring difficulties have been severe for employers across most of the province for the past couple of years,” said Richard Truscott, the CFIB’s Alberta director.

Source: Calgary Herald

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Alberta Wants Ottawa to Lift Cap on Number of Immigrants Nominated for Permanent Jobs

Alberta wants the federal government to allow nomination of a greater number of economic immigrants for permanent residence so it can better meet its growing labour needs. According to Jobs Minister Ric McIver, the province has sent a letter to federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander.

“I would like the federal government to take the cap off of the maximum number of provincial nominees that we can appoint so that we can bring in the people that we need. We think we are going to be 96,000 workers short by 2023 and most of those are for skilled and good-paying jobs,” McIver said in an interview Monday.

McIver said the number of economic immigrants allowed into Alberta should be driven by labour market evidence and local information so the province can better react to its own circumstances.

The certificates allow skilled and semi-skilled immigrant workers, along with their spouse and dependent children, to be nominated by the province for permanent residence in Canada. Under the immigrant nominee program, Alberta has been given a quota of 5,500 certificates for 2014, all of which have been issued.

McIver said the federal quota is not high enough to meet Alberta’s existing job requirements. Some instances even require temporary foreign workers to fill permanent jobs, he said. Some companies are at risk of losing these employees because of changes Ottawa has made to the temporary program.

McIver said lifting the cap on the number of provincial nominees would help Alberta’s economy across the board, including the energy, beef and tourism industries.

Last week the Canadian Federation of Independent Business called on Ottawa to replace its controversial temporary foreign worker program with a visa that would provide a path to permanent residence for entry-level employees from abroad. According to the organization, such a visa would address labour shortages for small businesses.

Attorney Colin Singer Commentary:

Quebec with 24% of Canada’s population has authority from CIC to select 30,000 skilled workers each year.  The larger provinces will continue to pressure Ottawa for similar allocations.

Source: Huffington Post

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With Strongest Projected Growth, Alberta is Most Favorable for Small Businesses

According to a report by CIBC World Markets, Alberta has the strongest projected growth along with good demographics and immigration trends, making it the most favorable place in Canada for small businesses to flourish.

The Deputy Chief Economist at CIBC Benjamin Tal believes that these characteristics “offer a steady stream of future entrepreneurs and workers to drive operations in tomorrow’s small and medium enterprises.”

“The province does lack an advantage in export orientation, with a concentration in Alberta’s outbound flows in larger, energy-focused firms,” he added.

As per the report, small businesses in Canada have been growing since recession. The number of small firms with 20-49 employees has increased by 18%, those with 10-19 employees has gone up by 12.5%, while those with less than 10 employees is up by 10.3%.

CIBC had released its report early on Monday, identifying Alberta and British Columbia as the top two places in Canada that provide the maximum advantages to start-up businesses.

According to Tal, “Looking back at the recent history, we see that small business activity outperformed the broader economy in the earlier part of the recovery, but now at the more mature stage of the cycle, things are changing and small businesses are the ones lagging the economy as a whole. Exports have been on the upswing, helped along the way by a meaningful drop in the Canadian dollar below parity. Just as small and medium enterprises are less responsive to a rise in the value of the loonie, they are just as insensitive to Canadian dollar weakness.”

The report also established the importance of small businesses in the Canadian economy. According to it, they make up for nearly 40% of the GDP in the private sector.

“While economic conditions have deteriorated for them recently, small businesses have been contributing a greater-than-normal share of hiring recently. That’s partly because hiring in the rest of the economy has been muted, but small businesses have also been adding to their workforce at a greater rate than they have historically,” says Tal.

Another research report was released on Monday by the Business Development Bank of Canada. This report titled ‘The Five Dos and Five Don’ts of Successful Businesses’ provides tips on how Canadian businesses can be successful.

The report identifies the following five key rules to success: innovation; asking for outside advice; having a solid plan and measuring progress; building strong relationships with suppliers; and hiring the best people and keeping them engaged.

Source: Calgary Herald

 

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Clarifying the Responsibilities of Service Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency in regard to Assessing a Temporary Foreign Worker’s Eligibility to Work in Alberta in a Compulsory Certification Trade Position

Operational Bulletin 434 – July 09, 2012

Clarifying the Responsibilities of Service Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency in regard to Assessing a Temporary Foreign Worker’s Eligibility to Work in Alberta in a Compulsory Certification Trade Position

Summary

This Operational Bulletin (OB) provides information about the manner in which officers would need to:

  • Assess a Temporary Foreign Worker’s (TFW’s) eligibility to work in the province of Alberta, in
    • A designated compulsory certification trade for,
    • The purpose of issuing a Work Permit (WP) AND,
  • Reaffirm the sole responsibility of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) in this matter (with effect from August 01, 2012)

This OB provides information based on the operational practices followed by:

  • Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and,
  • Service Canada

Background

The industry of Alberta bears the responsibility for the training and certification standards of tradespersons working in Alberta. This is in accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT). The Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) evaluates and tests out-of-country tradespersons destined to work in the province for:

  • Maintaining the industry standards prevailing in Alberta and,
  • Promoting workplace safety

Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs), who want to work in a compulsory certification trade in Alberta, must be certified journeypersons holding one of the following:

  • A valid Alberta Qualification Certificate
  • A valid Canadian provincial or territorial trade certificate recognised by Alberta (refer to the notes beneath this section)
  • An authorisation letter from the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) that enables a requesting employer to recruit Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) in specified occupations for specialty work. This would usually be for shorter periods. The Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) would need to obtain this authorisation before coming to Canada.
  • An approved application obtained from the AAIT for the Alberta Qualification Certificate Program (QCP). Officers also refer to this as an AAIT QCP approval letter. TFWs would need to obtain this letter prior to coming to Canada. This is valid in situations where an authorisation letter from the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) does not apply.

All Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) with approved Qualification Certificate Program (QCP) applications are eligible for working in Alberta. However, they would need to have a certified journeyperson supervising them.

The Qualification Certificate Program (QCP) application approval letter is valid for a period of up to one year. Upon arriving in Canada, the TFW has up to 12 months for challenging the Qualification Certificate Program (QCP) exams. Once the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) meet all the industry trade requirements, they would receive an Alberta Qualification Certificate. The Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) would also need to clear all the required trade examinations, before receiving the Alberta Qualification Certificate.

Note:

  • Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) that have a Certificate of Qualification from any Canadian province or territory other than Alberta, would be eligible to work in Alberta
    • This is valid whether they have the Interprovincial Red Seal endorsement or not
    • They would not need to apply for and/or acquire an Alberta Qualification Certificate
    • The trade certificate must be recognised in the Province of Alberta
  • The Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) has agreed to accept the Certificate of Completion of Apprenticeship, issued by the USA International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers for tradespersons from the USA, who want to come to Alberta and work in the Ironworker trade, without these individuals having to complete:
      • An application and,
      • An assessment of their work experience in the trade
    • The trade names that might appear on these certificates includes:
      • Ironworker
      • Ironworker – Structural / Ornamental
      • Ironworker – Reinforcing
    • CIC would need to accept this certificate as an Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) approval that authorises these applicants to work in the Ironworker trade in Alberta and its craft areas

The Current Status

People refer to the erstwhile Human Resources and Skills Development Canada as Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) currently. Previously, ESDC and SC wanted every Alberta employer, desiring to hire a foreign skilled tradesperson, to include:

  • The applicable Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) document including:
    • The Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) short-term authorisation letter
    • A valid Alberta Qualification Certificate
    • A valid Canadian provincial or territorial trade certificate recognised by Alberta
    • An approved application obtained from the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) for the Alberta Qualification Certificate Program (QCP)

Up until now, applicants needed to include the appropriate documents listed above, with each Labour Market Opinion (LMO) request.

They did not use any positive named Labour Market Opinion (LMO) without the evidence of:

  • The Certificate
  • The Authorisation Letter or,
  • The Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) Approval Letter

Currently, CIC and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers issue work permits solely based on the Service Canada Labour Market Opinion (LMO). They do not consider the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) letters at all.

The Reaffirmation of the Sole Responsibility of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) in the Matter of Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Qualifications

The Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) reviewed the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). They also reviewed the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). They ruled that henceforth, the CIC and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers would need to hold the responsibility of assessing the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) qualifications or certifications. This was in accordance with IRPR 203.

The CIC and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers would now have the sole responsibility of:

  • Determining whether the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) have the ability to perform the work offered by the employers
  • Verifying that the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) has assessed the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs)
  • Verifying that the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) has issued the relevant letter and/or proper certification to the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs)  for entering Canada to work in a compulsory trade in Alberta

Therefore, the CIC and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) would need to begin operating under this guidance. Officers of the CIC and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) can refuse a work permit request. However, this would usually be in cases where the employers or the workers have not obtained the requisite approvals or certificates.

Officers of the CIC and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) would begin discharging their revised responsibilities with effect from August 01, 2012.

The Information to be Included in the Labour Market Opinion (LMO)

As of August 01, 2012, Services Canada (SC) will issue a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) without any reference to:

  • A trade certificate
  • An authorisation letter or,
  • An approval letter issued by the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT)

However, Services Canada (SC) directs the employer to the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) website for further information. It also describes the various types of documents the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) must possess, based on the Temporary Foreign Workers’ (TFWs’) circumstances.

Services Canada (SC) officers would need to include notes in:

  • The Human Resources and Skills Development Canada’s (HRSDC’s) Labour Market Opinion (LMO) letter and,
  • The Foreign Worker System (FWS)

This is to inform CIC and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers that the foreign national must have the appropriate trade certificate or document from Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT). This document would indicate (if required), that:

  • The Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) assessed the TFW’s qualifications and,
  • The Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) is satisfied that the foreign national has the work experience required under the Qualification Certificate Program to work in the trade even while preparing to challenge the journeyperson exams

The text listed in the Services Canada (SC) Labour Market Opinion (LMO) letter and the Foreign Worker System (FWS) note to CIC and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers would read:

“For skilled trade positions with compulsory certification in Alberta, the TFW must be in possession of an Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) letter indicating that he/she is:

(1) Permitted to work in the province for a specified period of time, or

(2) Qualified to work in the province for a specified period of time prior to taking the trade certification exam(s), or

(3) The TFW must be in possession of the relevant trade certificate.

If the TFW has not obtained either the relevant AAIT letter or a trade certificate, CIC/CBSA will not issue a WP. Otherwise, a WP will be issued with the duration based on the validity specified in the AAIT authorization letter (generally up to 90 days for any TFW) or QCP approval letter (12 months for TFWs who are uncertified at the time of arrival and 24 months for TFWs who are certified at the time of arrival).

ADDITIONAL NOTE FOR FWS: Generally speaking, SC will not be aware of the TFW’s certification status, and thus an LMO for a compulsory trade position may be issued with an employment duration of 24 months. However, when issuing the WP, the CIC/CBSA officer must do so with primary reference to whether the TFW is trade certified (therefore eligible to receive a 24 month WP), or possesses an AAIT letter (therefore eligible to receive a WP adhering to the AAIT letter’s validity period).

A new LMO will be required to support a WP extension application.”

Officers would continue to issue Labour Market Opinions (LMOs) with a 6-month expiry date. This is in accordance with the existing procedures. The 6-month expiry date refers to the date by which the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) would need to submit the work permit applications to the CIC or to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

The Instructions on Issuing Work Permits to Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)  

For issuing work permits to the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs), the officers of the CIC and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) would need the following documents:

  • A positive Labour Market Opinion (LMO) letter
  • A copy of the relevant trade certificate or,
  • A letter issued by the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) [for compulsory trades only]

The employee and the worker bear the responsibility for obtaining the relevant Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) letter or trade certificate. Once they obtain this, they need to include it with the work permit application.

Note:

  • Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) that have a Certificate of Qualification from any Canadian province or territory other than Alberta, would be eligible to work in Alberta
    • This is valid whether they have the Interprovincial Red Seal endorsement or not
    • They would not need to apply for and/or acquire an Alberta Qualification Certificate
    • The trade certificate must be recognised in the Province of Alberta
  • The Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) has agreed to accept the Certificate of Completion of Apprenticeship, issued by the USA International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers for tradespersons from the USA, who want to come to Alberta and work in the Ironworker trade, without these individuals having to complete:
      • An application and,
      • An assessment of their work experience in the trade
    • The trade names that might appear on these certificates includes:
      • Ironworker
      • Ironworker – Structural / Ornamental
      • Ironworker – Reinforcing
    • CIC would need to accept this certificate as an Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) approval that authorises these applicants to work in the Ironworker trade in Alberta and its craft areas

The Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT)’s Qualification Certificate Program (QCP) for Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) Requiring Certification

The Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) would issue an Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) Qualification Certificate Program approval letter. They would issue this letter to all foreign nationals and their employers. The letter would inform the foreign nationals and their employers that they would need to include this approval letter with their work permit applications, when they submit their work permit application:

  • To a visa office
  • Inland for an extension
  • To the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers at a port of entry

Upon arrival in Alberta, the officers would authorise the foreign national to work at the employer’s site. The foreign nationals would need to challenge a theory and/or a practical exam before their work permit expires. Alberta requires foreign nationals to achieve trade certification. Therefore, foreign nationals would need to accomplish this within 12 months of their arrival in Canada.

CIC officers could issue an initial work permit for a 12-month duration. They could impose a condition that the applicant must include the Alberta Qualification Certificate along with the application for extension.

In case the Temporary Foreign Workers’ (TFWs’) work permits need an extension, officers would require the employer to obtain a new Labour Market Opinion (LMO). This is applicable if:

  • The Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) fail the certification examinations and,
  • Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) permit the candidates to re-write the examinations

Officers can issue a new work permit only if the new application includes the new QCP approval letter. Usually, the International and Provincial Assessment Services Branch within the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) issues this approval letter.

Employers could apply for a second Labour Market Opinion (LMO) and the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) could apply for a work permit extension if:

  • The Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) clear the certification exams and,
  • Acquire the trade certificate

The employer and the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) could apply for the second Labour Market Opinion (LMO) and the work permit extension respectively, prior to the expiry of their current work permit. This would enable them to cover the remaining duration of intended employment.

Situations could arise where the employer or foreign national do not respect the rules surrounding trade certification of temporary foreign workers in compulsory trades. This would be a gross violation of Alberta’s Apprenticeship and Industry Training Act.

  

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) 

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Alberta’s ‘red hot economy’ needs more temporary foreign workers to meet demand, Jim Prentice says

 

 Alberta Premier Jim Prentice says time is becoming a critical factor in solving the temporary foreign worker shortage, but he dismissed criticism that an exploitative province is to blame.Prentice plans soon to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss, among other issues, the temporary foreign worker changes that he says have hit Alberta’s roaring economy hard.They’re quite prepared in most of the cases I’ve seen to pay a premium to get people here. They just can’t find people given the red hot economyIn June, Harper’s government brought in rules to limit the number of foreign workers that large and medium-sized companies can hire, to ensure Canadians are first in line for jobs.Alberta and its oilsands engine have led the nation in growth during the past 20 years. Despite 100,000 newcomers a year, Alberta has grown heavily reliant on temporary foreign workers.As of December 2012, there were more than 68,000 temporary foreign workers in Alberta — 20% of the Canadian total.Prentice said rule changes are starting to hit home, particularly in rural areas and in agriculture.Prentice is not the only western leader expressing concerns.This week, B.C. Premier Christy Clark told the province’s business community that training young people and wooing skilled workers from other provinces simply won’t be enough to meet the labour needs of her envisioned liquefied natural gas industry.However federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney reaffirmed to a conference in Ottawa Thursday that there will not be any changes to the June rules.Kenney said that in Alberta the program has been “overused.” He noted that wages in the fast-food sector have not kept up with the rate of inflation.Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, says the temporary foreign worker program — far from bolstering the labour situation — has been a catalyst for placing downward pressure on wages.Last week, the AFL presented examples of various Alberta companies getting the green light to bring in temporary foreign workers despite paying wages substantially below the prevailing rate.McGowan, in an interview, said it becomes self-fulfilling economic principle: underpaid foreign workers drive wages down across the board, serving as a disincentive for Canadians to take those jobs, in turn creating a demand for even more temporary foreign workers.Kenney has suggested the impact on the changes in Alberta have been overstated.He said when the new limits are fully implemented in 2016, it will be the equivalent of Alberta losing just 8,000 low paid jobs relative to 2013, less than one per cent of the province’s workforce.

Source: National Post  

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