22 www.lexpert.ca
Feature
HIRING
FROM
ABROAD
DURING
COVID
BRINGING SKILLED FOREIGN WORKERS TO
CANADA DURING A PANDEMIC IS BEING
ACCOMMODATED BY GOVERNMENTS,
BUT THERE ARE ALSO HURDLES:
TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS, SELF-ISOLATION
REQUIREMENTS AND MORE
ON Jan. 20, the United States of America
welcomed a new president and a new
administration. Immigration to the U.S.
had been restricted under the last adminis-
tration, which President Joe Biden is expect-
ed to ease. Yet Canada remains a very attrac-
tive destination for foreign workers, say
immigration lawyers who help technolog y
and other companies bring foreign workers
to the country.
"Canada has been reliable in creating paths
for highly educated people and giving them
paths to stay in Canada," says Robin Seligman
of Seligman Law in Toronto. "It doesn't
change from government to government; it's
consistent with who we are as Canadians."
Government programs such as the Global
Skills Strateg y and Global Talent Stream,
Express Entry and provincial programs such
as Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program
continue to attract foreign workers, despite
travel difficulties caused by the pandemic.
"Canada is really a place of opportunity,"
Seligman says.
Government programs
ere are multiple government programs
and streams to facilitate the entry of skilled
foreign workers into Canada, including in
the technolog y sector.
Service Canada has determined that
certain occupations, including information
technolog y specialists, mathematicians and
statisticians are in demand, and the usual
advertisement requirements for Labour
Market Impact Assessments are waived for
employers hiring individuals in these occu-
pations. is means companies do not have
to advertise or try to recruit Canadians to
do a job before they are able to hire a foreign
worker, because the government has recog-
nized there is a shortage of skilled workers
in these areas. Employers must also commit
to paying the prevailing Canadian wage
or salary.
Under the federal Global Talent Stream
program — part of the broader Global
Skills Strateg y program to assist Canadian
businesses — the government commits to
14-day processing of work permits for tech-
nolog y and other high-skilled occupations
and to process an LMIA opinion within 10
