Highly-skilled foreign workers and tech industry look to Canada 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.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, ImmigrationAugust 25, 2017June 19, 2020
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 to help Canadian companies thrive, grow and ultimately, create more jobs. “When companies in Canada can thrive and grow, they create more jobs.” The intent of the Global Skills Strategy is to provide employers with a faster and more predictable process for attracting top-talent and new skills to Canada. Under the Strategy, in most circumstances and for managerial and professional occupations, lengthy visa processing delays no longer await highly-skilled workers coming to Canada. Canada’s ambitious two-week turnaround for processing work visas and permits brings a greater level of certainty to both workers and employers. The two-week service standard also applies to immediate family members accompanying highly-skilled workers to Canada. The Strategy also introduces work permit exceptions. Highly-skilled workers who need to come to Canada for a short-term work assignment no longer require a work permit. Eligible workers are permitted one 15 consecutive day work permit-exempt stay in Canada every 6 months, or one 30 consecutive day work permit-exempt stay every 12 months. Researchers taking part in short-term research projects also do not require a work permit. Rather, researchers are allowed one 120-day stay every 12 months with no work permit, if they are working on a research project at a publicly funded degree-granting institution or affiliated research institution, such as a University. Other changes brought forward by the Strategy include: * A dedicated service channel for employers making a significant investment to Canada. This channel helps employers navigate the immigration application process. The channel gives employers access to an account manager, who will assess the employer’s needs, answer questions, and provide guidance. and * The creation of Global Talent Stream for skilled occupations in shortage and for employers with unique talent needs. The Global Talent Stream is available to two categories of employers: Category A: Firms in Canada that are referred to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program’s Global Talent Stream by an Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) Designated Partner because they are innovative and can demonstrate a need to hire unique and specialized temporary foreign workers in order to scale-up and grow. Category B: Firms in Canada that need to hire foreign workers for highly skilled in-demand occupations found on ESDC’s Global Talent Occupations List where there is insufficient domestic labour supply. Reports indicate that since the official launch of the Strategy, Canada has been quite successful in recruiting new workers and talent. This is not however surprising, given the reputation Canada has for good quality of life, in tandem with the current political climate in the United States. 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. “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.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, ImmigrationAugust 16, 2017June 19, 2020
