Government of Canada announces LMIA-exempt Mobilité Francophone Stream

In a recent announcement, the Government of Canada expressed its intention to attract skilled francophone workers to Canada, with a specific view to encouraging them to settle in communities outside of Quebec. The goal of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (formerly “Citizenship and Immigration Canada”) is to have francophone newcomers make up at least 4% of all economic immigrants settling outside of Quebec by 2018, with an overall 4.4 % target for francophone immigration outside of Quebec by 2023.

As of June 1, 2016, the Mobilité Francophone stream will exempt employers from having to undergo the Labour Market Impact Assessment process when they hire francophone workers in a managerial, professional or technical/skilled trades occupations from abroad to work in francophone minority communities outside of Quebec. One of the benefits of bringing in an LMIA-exempt foreign worker is that the application process is more efficient, as there is no requirement to advertise online first to ensure that there is no qualified Canadian suited for the job.

Currently, there are specific LMIA-exempt categories including workers coming in via International Free Trade Agreements and those who fall under various Significant Benefit to Canada categories such as intra-company transferees, emergency repair personnel and television and film production workers.

In seeking to include this new category of worker as of this summer, employers may be motivated to integrate more French speaking foreign workers into their Canadian operations across provinces such as Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and British Columbia, as well as in Eastern Canada. Only time will tell if this initiative will yield its intended results.

For further information on this topic please contact employment law firms in Toronto and Workplace Immigration by telephone (416-214-5111) or by here.