The over-use of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) and Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program has been thrust into the spotlight in the last few weeks, with residents realizing just how many businesses in their area are advertising job openings specially pre-approved for overseas hires when they may not need to.

Thousands of firms across all sorts of industries in Ontario have been marketing administrative, retail, food service, trucking and other roles exclusively to foreign workers though the federal government stipulates that LMIAs are only to be used when "there is a need for a foreign worker" because "no Canadians or permanent residents are available to do the job."

I made a map of every employer who had a LMIA accepted because they couldn't find Canadian workers (2023-Present).
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For the countless local jobseekers who are available to do the job, and who have in fact applied to hundreds of roles in what is decidedly an awful market, this revelation has been a shock. With unemployment at 8 per cent in Toronto and is even worse in cities like Windsor, many are wondering how and why places like Tim Hortons got the green light to look abroad for staff.

New layers to what the government has now deemed "abuse and misuse" of the system have continued to come to light, including the fact that some of these foreign workers were duped into paying tens of thousands of dollars just to secure these positions.

Some jobs have even allegedly been auctioned off to the highest and most desperate bidder to be used as a bridge to a more long-term stay in Canada, and to gain points toward permanent residency.

LMIA Scams
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Certain recruiters, employers and even immigration lawyers are alleged to be involved in what people are calling a growing "black market" for LMIA jobs, with international students and other newcomers saying they have been asked to pay up in advance for the guarantee of a job here. Two students who spoke with the Globe & Mail in September said "were offered LMIA jobs for a fee of up to $35,000 by job recruiters in Brampton, but rejected the offers because of cost." 

Others have taken to Reddit to share their experience of being asked to fork over money in what are obvious cases of fraud. 

"I work as a highly specialized chef in Ontario. My work permit expires in July this year so I asked my employer for an LMIA. They have done multiple LMIAs before, both through the company itself and their parent company. They are asking me for about $7,000 for an LMIA," one person wrote.

"I asked around a bit and they've been charging for LMIAs for other employees too, but nobody wants to speak up because they're desperate. Also because my current employers are asking for less money than some other companies ask for."

Others have cited paying around the same amount to immigration consultants, believing they may be being exploited. Stll others are even being sold LMIAs for jobs that don’t even exist, with the feds now more openly acknowledging the problem and asking people to report any attempt to sell LMIAs, which is illegal.

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One MP who prompted a House of Commons probe into these cash-for-jobs scams calls our immigration system "broken," saying "our system was once the envy of the world but is now filled with fraud, chaos, backlogs and delays. Conservatives called for the immigration committee to study this rampant fraud months ago and we will continue to push for answers."

Meanwhile, Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault announced changes to the TFW program in August, admitting that its criteria have not been properly followed.

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"The TFW Program cannot be used to circumvent hiring talented workers in Canada, and the federal government will take further action to weed out misuse and fraud within the system," the Minister said, promising "stricter and more rigorous oversight" where there is a high risk of fraud and “more stringent guidelines” for certain foreign worker streams.

The LMIA page on the government’s website now highlights new measures as of September 26, which include the fact that "certain LMIA applications for low-wage positions in census metropolitan areas with an unemployment rate of six per cent or higher won't be processed" and reductions on the cap on the proportion of low-wage positions in some sectors.

The maximum employment duration for low-wage positions has also been cut from two years to one, and Montreal has put a moratorium on LMIAs for entry-level positions completely — something some residents of Toronto think we should implement here, too.