More residents of Ontario and Canada at large have been keeping an eye on foreign worker stats lately after learning just how many companies have applied to hire employees from abroad using Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) — including Tim Hortons, which is now under serious scrutiny for the practice.

It has come to light that the assessments, a tool from the federal government reserved for times when there is "a need for a foreign worker to fill a job [because] no Canadian worker or permanent resident is available to do it," are being used for all sorts of positions that many feel could easily be filled by local candidates.

This is especially concerning when the job market is as competitive as it currently is, with qualified hopefuls having to apply to hundreds or even thousands of positions and Toronto's unemployment rate sitting at a brutal 7.7 per cent.

Corporations exploiting programs by the Federal government that deprive everyone involved of dignified employment.

You don’t say? https://t.co/mpaVfKJ728

— theBurlyChef (@theBurlyChef) August 12, 2024

A now-viral map showing the thousands of entry-level and low-wage positions that are being filled with foreign workers in Ontario has now been followed by subsequent social media posts about Tim Hortons specifically, which users have calculated hired a whopping 1131 per cent more temporary foreign workers in 2023 than in 2019.

While a few have pointed out that new Tim's locations could account for some of that increase, many are crying foul, accusing the brand of trying to keep costs low by utilizing "loopholes" and subsidies like employer training grants, keeping wages as low as possible and exploiting foreign workers while also denying Canadians from much-needed jobs.

Some also believe that employers are illegally selling approved LMIA positions to workers, and that immigration lawyers, staffing agencies and others could also be profiting off of the process.

Serious question: What is the justification for hiring foreign workers for jobs at Tim Horton's?
byu/RuinEnvironmental394 inCanadaHousing2

Even Ottawa has drawn attention to the broader issue, promising last week to better enforce LMIA and Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) requirements that some employers have been "abusing and misusing."

Many have used the data available to research businesses in their own areas, and are shocked by what they've found.

They cannot find hires where there are NO govt subsidies. They want people where they can pay $5 per hour

— John Doe (@busterbuck123) August 9, 2024

"I zoomed in on my city into a popular high traffic plaza, where people are always looking for jobs. There is a LMIA for food counter attendant at a restaurant, a couple for sales supervisor at a cell phone shop that only has one person working ever, and one for a jewler [sic] shop that is only staffed by the owners," one person wrote in a Reddit discussion on the subject.

"Then a city over in a rural area a relatively small nursery has 233 for general labour... Canada is allowing blatantly open corruption to take place."

Some Tim Hortons restaurants in Ontario are posting "LMIA approved" positions such as food service supervisor and food counter attendant — jobs some feel can and should be filled by Canadians looking for work before the company looks abroad for hires.

A quick Google search for Tim Hortons roles near Toronto shows that franchisees are among those explicitly advertising some positions as "LMIA approved" to appeal to foreign workers.