Lexpert magazine features articles and columns on developments in legal practice management, deals and lawsuits of interest in Canada, the law and business issues of interest to legal professionals and businesses that purchase legal services.
Issue link: https://digital.carswellmedia.com/i/875051
LEXPERT MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2017 59 were imposed randomly on one-in-four foreign-worker applications. Reviews in- cluded time-consuming examinations of an employer's performance under previous TFWP applications, and pending applica- tions were routinely placed on hold until reviews were completed, McRae says. "You could be looking at months," she says. Lawyers agree that a four-month wait was fairly standard and seven months was not unknown, "during which time that rare and special talent went elsewhere," McRae says. "Canadian employers were losing these people because of the long wait periods, and something had to be done." A NEW STRATEGY Ottawa's announced Global Skills Strat- egy was graed to the Temporary For- eign Workers Program. e new strategy includes a $7.8-million, two-year Global Talent Stream pilot project, under which companies can apply for expedited process- ing of highly skilled foreign workers for positions of any duration specified by the prospective employer. High-growth companies that need to hire uniquely talented foreigners to aid in growth-related projects can now ap- ply under Category A of the Global Tal- ent Stream, as long as the project results in additional Canadian jobs or some kind of knowledge transfer. Qualifying foreign workers would possess: advanced knowl- edge; experience or advanced degrees; and earn $80,000 per year or more. Category A remains subject to the long-standing TFWP requirement that jobs be advertised occupations is entirely related to digital technologies and includes: computer sys- tems managers, engineers, systems analysts and consultants; database analysts and administrators; soware engineers and de- signers, and various others. e new program sets no time limit on the stay of Category A and B temporary foreign workers in Canada, but application forms require the prospective employer to estimate the duration of the employment and provide some rationale for the request- ed timeframe. A third option will allow employers to bring in high-value foreign specialists on very short contracts of 15 days over six months, or 30 days per year. Work permits are not required for these employees, who are viewed as "business visitors." (An aca- demic variant of this option allows univer- | IN-HOUSE ADVISOR: HIRING FOREIGN TALENT | JENNIFER MCRAE > THOMPSON DORFMAN SWEATMAN LLP You could be looking at months, during which time that rare and special talent went elsewhere. Canadian employers were losing these people because of the long wait periods, and something had to be done. in Canada for a month before a foreign- worker application is filed. No Canadian advertising is required pri- or to applying under Category B, through which any company can hire foreigners whose occupations are classified as in very short supply. e current list of qualifying