Highly-skilled foreign workers and tech industry look to Canada Posted onAugust 25, 2017June 19, 2020/ Devry Smith Frank LLP There has been an on-going debate as to whether expedited visa programs for highly-skilled foreign trained workers are salutary from a domestic labour point of view. One perspective decries them as facilitating domestic job theft, while an alternative perspective recognizes that such visas are necessary to fill glaring gaps in the domestic labour pool. The United States has affirmed the former position; whereas recent changes to Canada’s immigration policy support the latter. The American visa system for highly-skilled foreign workers, the H-1B visa, has a cap of 85,000. This cap is intended to prevent foreign workers from usurping well-paid jobs from Americans, in a protectionist, America-first philosophy. This perspective, coupled with pervasive uncertainty in future immigration trends in the Trump presidency, has caused certain industries dependent on highly skilled labour to look for opportunities elsewhere. Canada’s official position on highly skilled foreign workers is much more inviting. There is no cap on the number of visas, there is certainty in work permits, and, as of June 2017, Canada has adopted the Global Skills Strategy, to facilitate and expedite the entry of such individuals. This new programme has made bringing in foreign talent more accessible and timely, and it reduces costs for employers. Employers will benefit from the transparency of the programme, in knowing what the precise requirements for entry are, as well as being able to adapt their plans given the speedy two week decision-making period. These diverging perspectives are changing the international flow of labour with respect to the tech industry. Not only is the tech industry reliant on a high level of skill and specific talent, it is also especially reliant on foreign workers, particularly those from India. Large multinational corporations are seeking opportunities to have subsidiaries or satellite offices in Canada in order to benefit from a more favourable immigration policy. As well, tech start-ups are increasingly looking to Canada as a place to form their businesses. These Canadian offices are geographically close to their American counterparts, often in the same time zone, to facilitate easy cross-border collaboration. Additionally, the employees may feel more secure, given the accessibility of longer stays and permanent residency, and, potentially, citizenship for themselves and their families. This favorable immigration environment is conducive to the ever expanding tech industry. The majority of tech workers in the tech hubs, such as Silicon Valley, are foreign workers. And these innovative workers drive production and grow the economy. Investing and supporting the tech sector through inviting foreign workers actually creates domestic jobs rather than eliminating them, as these entrepreneurial tech positions create growth and expand companies and their need for more employees. The new Global Skills Strategy recognizes that Canada presently lacks the domestic talent to satisfy the demand in these industries. The new program is paving the way for Canadian cities to become more competitive in the lucrative tech through including highly skilled foreign workers. If you are an employer looking to hire a highly-skilled foreign worker, or you are a highly-skilled worker looking to come to Canada, or for any other immigration-related matters, please contact our Immigration lawyers today. For any other inquiries, browse our website, or call us directly at 416-449-1400. By: Samantha Hamilton, Student-at-Law “This article is intended to inform and entertain. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” Related Posts Posted onAugust 16, 2017June 19, 2020/ Katelyn Bell Canadian Government Launches the Global Skills Strategy By: Katelyn Bell, Summer Law Student On June 12 of this year, the Government of Canada announced the commencement of the Global Skills Strategy. The program was originally announced back in November, 2016. The Global Skills Strategy Programme is designed to assist employers to attract foreign workers with top-talent and innovative skills in an effort [...] Read more