Vol. 149, No. 13 — July 1, 2015

Registration

SI/2015-51 July 1, 2015

ECONOMIC ACTION PLAN 2014 ACT, NO. 2

Order Fixing the Day after the Day on which this Order is made as the Day on which Certain Sections of the Act Come into Force

P.C. 2015-802 June 11, 2015

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, pursuant to section 314 of the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2, chapter 39 of the Statutes of Canada, 2014, fixes the day after the day on which this Order is made as the day on which sections 307 and 310 of that Act come into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order fixes the day after the day on which the Order is made as the day on which sections 307 and 310 of the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2, chapter 39 of the Statutes of Canada, 2014, come into force.

Objective

This Order brings into force provisions that amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) to replace all references to Employment and Social Development Canada’s (ESDC) “opinion” regarding the likely effect that the employment of a foreign national would have on the Canadian labour market with the word “assessment.” The change from “opinion” to “assessment” is in line with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) reforms announced by the Government of Canada on June 20, 2014.

Background

Sections 307 and 310 of the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2, which received royal assent on December 16, 2014, replace references in the IRPA of an “opinion” provided by ESDC with references to an “assessment.” Pursuant to section 314 of the Economic Action Plan 2014, No. 2, these provisions come into force on a day or days that are to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council. ESDC is responsible for processing employer-submitted applications and undertaking an assessment on whether the employment of a foreign national is likely to have a neutral or positive effect on the Canadian labour market.

These assessments were previously known as Labour Market Opinions (LMO). On June 20, 2014, the Government of Canada announced reforms to the TFWP, including renaming the LMO the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). This renaming reflects the various policy changes aiming at strengthening the assessment of the labour market impact and to ensure Canadians and permanent residents are considered first for available jobs.

Implications

The minor technical amendments to replace all references to ESDC’s “opinion” with the word “assessment” will ensure that the recent TFWP reforms are reflected in the IRPA.

The reforms included various policy changes that impact the assessment of LMIA applications. For example, employers must submit additional information such as a detailed description of their recruitment activities, the number of Canadians/permanent residents who have applied for the position for which a LMIA is requested and the reasons for not hiring those Canadians/permanent residents. Renaming the LMO to LMIA reflects policy changes that strengthened the assessment of the impact employment of a foreign national would have on the Canadian labour market.

Given the technical nature of the changes, there are no anticipated impacts on the public or on users of the Program. ESDC and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) are updating all relevant Web sites, application forms and communications materials by replacing “Labour Market Opinion (LMO)” with “Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).”

Departmental contact

Colin Spencer James
Director
Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Policy and Program Design
Employment and Social Development Canada
140 Promenade du Portage, Phase IV
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0J9
Email: colin.s.james@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca