Federal government to remove incentive for foreign workers to reduce fraud in immigration system

This story is a collaboration between CBC News and the Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF).

The federal government will no longer be granting additional points toward permanent residence to some temporary foreign workers, less than two months after an undercover CBC News and Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF) investigation revealed how easy it is to buy and sell these jobs online (new window).

On Tuesday, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller announced that applicants to the Express Entry (new window) program will no longer receive 50 or 200 additional points for working in a position supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (new window) (LMIA) — a move that one immigration lawyer described as drastic but expected.

Labour Market Impact Assessments are documents issued to employers by the federal government. It allows them to hire foreign workers if they can’t find a Canadian or a permanent resident to fill a position.

The positions were introduced in 2014 as “a last and limited resort (new window) to fill acute labour shortages on a temporary basis when qualified Canadians are not available.”

Until now, LMIA-supported positions not only allowed foreign nationals to work legally in Canada but also increased their chances of becoming permanent residents by adding points to their permanent residency applications.

WATCH | Marc Miller announces changes to immigration system:

Removing PR-point incentive from certain jobs will ‘reduce potential fraud,’ immigration minister says

In a press conference on Tuesday, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller announced that jobs supported by Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) would no longer result in additional points for applicants looking for permanent residency in Canada — a move he says will ‘remove the incentive for candidates to purchase an LMIA’ and boost ‘fairness and integrity’ in the system.

The change was announced during a press conference (new window) about Canada’s plans for dealing with immigration and border security issues.

This measure is expected to remove the incentive for candidates to purchase an LMIA, resulting in increasing fairness and integrity in the Express Entry system, and taking some of the value out of the fraud already being perpetrated in the LMIA system, Miller told reporters.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has not responded to a CBC News request to clarify the timeline and details of the policy change, including whether it will apply to foreign workers currently hired in LMIA-supported positions.

Change ‘drastic’ but expected: lawyer

Calgary immigration lawyer Jatin Shory described the change as drastic but expected.

He said he understands the push to cut back on fraud, but it’s unfortunate that all the good actors are the ones who are going to be penalized as a result of actions by the bad actors.

The foreign nationals hired to work LMIA-backed jobs then receive an additional 50 or 200 points out of a potential 1,200 on their Comprehensive Ranking System (new window) score, which is used to assess candidates for permanent residency.

Others have applauded the change. The youth migrant advocacy group Naujawan Support Network posted on X (new window) saying the move marks a victory in our struggle for a fair pathway to PR and will reduce exploitation of migrants.

Regulated immigration consultant Steven Paolasini previously told CBC/IJF that this system needs an overhaul and that LMIAs should have no direct immigration benefit whatsoever.

LMIA-supported positions jobs come with closed work permits, which prevent temporary foreign workers from working for other employers.

In early November, a parliamentary report (new window) recommended reassessing whether LMIAs should be closed work permits, stating that they “have the potential to increase a [temporary foreign worker’s] dependency on their employer.

That makes workers less likely to insist on proper working conditions, safety and contract terms, and less likely to reach out for supports, because they fear deportation, possible unpaid debt to recruiters and financial ruin, the report said.

Some, including Toronto labour lawyer John No, who has represented dozens of exploited or abused temporary foreign workers, advocate for the complete abolition of the program.

Exploitation will happen even if we tinker with it, he said.

The only viable solution is to grant newcomers permanent residence upon arrival in Canada, according to No.

From day one, they would have stability, they would have status.… It’s not a radical idea. A lot of immigrants currently, and in the past, have come with status on arrival.

WATCH | Migrant advocate calls for status for all:

Federal government has made ‘too many broken promises’ to migrants, advocate says

Speaking in Toronto on International Migrants Day, Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, criticizes the federal government for a series of broken promises to immigrants, including regularization for undocumented migrants and permanent residence on arrival for care workers.

$45K for an LMIA ‘without job’

In October, an in-depth investigation by CBC/IJF uncovered a thriving black market for LMIAs. Reporters tracked dozens of online accounts (new window) openly selling LMIA-supported jobs and government documentation on sites such as Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace.

An undercover journalist posing as a recently graduated international student spoke to several sellers who offered her LMIA-approved jobs for between $25,000 and $45,000. One asked if she needed the job with LMIA or just LMIA without [the] job.

CBC/IJF found these immigration schemes often came with a choice of a real position or a fake one — complete with fraudulent supporting documentation, including pay stubs and tax slips to use as evidence of Canadian work experience when applying for permanent residence.

Some of the deals included an employer cost of $27,000 or more, even though employers are prohibited from charging foreign nationals (new window) any recruitment fees.

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (new window), charging foreign workers any money for LMIAs is illegal. Experts who spoke with CBC/IJF described these offers as outright fraud.

Another portion of the investigation showed (new window) how one of these immigration schemes played out for a worker who paid tens of thousands of dollars for an LMIA — then allegedly paid his own wages for a fake job.

WATCH | Illegal job ads target vulnerable newcomers:

Temporary foreign workers targeted by costly online immigration schemes

As Canada tightens its path to permanent residency, more immigration schemes are appearing online, offering fake jobs to foreign workers in exchange for up to $45,000.

Better communication key to reducing fraud

Shory, the immigration lawyer, argues that the true measure of whether this latest change in immigration policy will effectively reduce fraud lies in how it is presented to prospective new Canadians.

Ultimately, these ghost consultants, as we call them — agents who are overseas — are the ones who are essentially the first point of contact, who get to control the narrative, he said.

People who are vulnerable, enough to be convinced that you need to pay for a job inside of Canada, what’s the expectation that they will recognize that LMIAs will no longer help you increase your points?

Over the past year, the federal government has implemented several measures aimed at slowing immigration and reducing the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada.

One such measure is the refusal to process Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) for low-wage jobs in major cities with high unemployment (new window), except in industries facing significant labour shortages.

with files from Marnie Luke, Andreas Wesley and the IJF’s Carly Penrose and Apurva Bhat

This article is republished from RCI.