November 14, 2016
Canada’s Fall 2016 Economic Statement May Lead to Faster Work Permits
On November 2nd, Finance Minister Bill Morneau released Canada’s Fall 2016 economic statement, which includes potential changes to the existing Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) work permit regime. Under the Global Skills Strategy proposal, visas and work permits for global talent could be processed within two weeks.
This change would apply mainly to high-growth Canadian companies who can demonstrate benefits to the Canadian labour market such as increasing investments, knowledge transfer and Canadian job creation, as well as global companies making large investments, relocating to Canada, establishing new production or expanding production, and creating new Canadian jobs. Many such companies have complained recently that the current vetting process takes too long and is hampering their ability to grow.
This change could significantly benefit Canadian companies and temporary foreign workers from around the world. Under the current work permit framework, temporary foreign workers face processing times of anywhere from several weeks to over four months depending on their country of origin. These processing times are in addition to those faced by Canadian companies in obtaining Labour Market Impact Assessments.
In addition to these changes, there are also plans to introduce a new work permit exemption for short-duration work; namely for work terms of fewer than 30 days in a year or for brief academic stays.
The government has earmarked $271.3 million to expand this “talent-friendly” immigration system, with the goal of enabling Canadian firms to succeed by allowing them faster access to global skills and expertise. Stay tuned for more details.
For more information on Work Permits, please click here.
(Sources)