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Quebec has decided to issue open work permits to foreign skilled workers who have already obtained Quebec Selection Certificates but yet to receive Permanent Residence visas. Under the expanded International Mobility Program of Canada, which is also known as IMP+, up to 7000 open work permits will be issued to skilled workers annually for Quebec, by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada(IRCC). It will help the PR applicants to start working soon while their applications for PR are being assessed.
It is expected that the IMP+ will help Quebec tackle the severe labour shortages being faced by many industrial sectors in the province and thus help the economy grow. At the same time, it will help the skilled workers to move to Quebec and start working even when they await final decision on their application for permanent residence. Quebec is also planning to exempt many employers from the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) requirement for hiring temporary workers. Further, the employer will have to start covering the expenses for plane tickets, medical insurance coverage and ensure proper housing for the workers they hire under the new, simplified process that will come into effect from May 24.
Benefits of IMP+
The IMP+ targets both those skilled workers who have work experience in high-priority economic sectors which are facing labour shortage in Quebec and those who have already received a job offer from a Quebec employer, where the job offer is approved by the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, Quebec.
In November last year, Quebec promised that the process of hiring overseas workers through the TFWP will be made simpler for the employers, especially for a number of high-demand occupations. The province also submitted a list of jobs to the federal government for providing:
- simplified processing of work permits;
- exemptions from posting and recruitment efforts, and;
- a doubling of the thresholds of TFWs per workplace.
Some of the high demand sectors which will be covered by the new relaxed rules include retail trade, accommodation and catering as well as food processing, which are currently facing sever labour shortage crisis.
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