HIGH WAGE LMIA 

The High Wage LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment) is a specific stream that Canadian employers must utilize if they are considering hiring temporary foreign workers for high wage positions.

A few steps are involved in determining if a position falls under the high wage category, thereby making it appropriate for a High Wage LMIA application:

1. Firstly, review the provincial median wage.
2. If the hourly wage offered to a temporary foreign worker equals or surpasses the provincial median wage for a specific job location, the High Wage LMIA is the suitable option.

Employers should maintain fair pay practices by ensuring that wages are consistent across the same roles for all staff, whether they are local or foreign workers.

If employers plan to hire foreign workers, they must offer a wage that is not less than the job's median wage in that particular location or less than what they are currently paying their other employees in the same position.

For certain high-skilled roles, the median wage for the job in that location might be much higher than the overall median wage for the province. In these scenarios, the minimum wage offered to a foreign worker should be at least this higher job-specific median wage. This is because employers cannot pay less than the job-specific median wage in that location or less than what they pay their other employees in the same role if it exceeds the job-specific median. In these instances, it would be appropriate to apply through the High Wage LMIA stream.

In contrast, for semi-skilled roles, particularly those requiring specialization or training, the wage could be equal to or even lower than the provincial median. However, in practice, many employers often pay a higher wage to their staff in these roles. This is especially true if the staff members have undergone specialized training or gained expertise in their field. Consequently, despite the occupational median wage for these roles being potentially lower than the provincial median, they may also qualify under the High Wage LMIA stream due to the higher wages paid to the other employees in the same position.

However, if both the median wage for the job and the current wages the company offers to staff in the same role in that location are lower than the province's overall median wage, the employer may consider applying through the Low Wage LMIA stream. This is often the case for lower-skilled jobs.

Let's consider a real-world example to understand how the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) high-wage process works. In this case, we'll focus on highly skilled jobs, like those that demand a lot of experience, specialized knowledge, or specific education.

Imagine a technology company in downtown Toronto, Ontario, is planning to hire a foreign worker for the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). In Ontario, where the company is located, the average wage for all jobs is about C$27 per hour.

However, for the CEO role, the wage tends to be much higher. According to the Canadian government's Job Bank, the average wage for a CEO in Toronto (classified under the National Occupational Classification, or NOC, code 00012) is C$64.90 per hour.

At this particular tech company, there aren't any other CEOs currently employed. So, in this situation, the company would need to pay at least the average CEO wage of C$64.90 per hour for their new hire.

Since the wage for this CEO role is significantly higher than the average wage in Ontario, the company should apply for a High Wage LMIA. This is a special type of application for jobs that pay above the provincial median wage.

By using this High Wage LMIA, the company can demonstrate that hiring a foreign worker won't negatively impact Canadian workers, and will help them get the approval they need to bring their new CEO onboard.

For instance, let's consider a Canadian trucking company with several vacancies across two locations. The company needs two long-haul truck drivers for their Ontario fleet and one short-haul truck driver for their British Columbia fleet. The NOC code associated with the Truck Driver role is 73300 – Transport truck drivers.

The median wage for transport truck drivers in Ontario's Northwest Region, where the job is located, is C$25.35/hr according to the Job Bank outlook. This is lower than the provincial median wage in Ontario, which stands at C$27/hr.

However, this specific trucking company already pays its existing long-haul truck drivers C$27/hr. Consequently, when they hire foreign workers, they'll need to offer at least this wage, even though it's above the region's median wage. As such, they will need to apply under the High Wage LMIA program.

If, on the other hand, the company did not already have truck drivers earning more than the provincial median wage in Ontario, they could potentially offer a lower wage. In this scenario, they might choose to apply through the Low Wage LMIA program.

For a different scenario, let's look at British Columbia's Cariboo Region. Here, the median wage for truck drivers is C$30.74/hr, higher than the provincial median wage in British Columbia, which is C$27.50/hr. Therefore, to hire a temporary foreign worker for a trucking position in this location, the company would have to apply through the High Wage LMIA program, as the minimum required wage surpasses the provincial median wage in British Columbia.

If the company already has truck driver employees in this location earning more than the occupational median wage, the minimum required wage for new hires could be even higher. However, this wouldn't change the application stream - it would still fall under the High Wage LMIA program, given that the minimum wage is above the provincial median in British Columbia.

A similar approach would apply to other semi-skilled workers, depending on their job location and the current wages earned by other employees in similar positions. This includes professions such as long-haul truck drivers, food and beverage servers, healthcare workers, agricultural workers, manufacturing workers, and construction workers - including carpenters, electricians, and welders - as well as childcare workers, cleaners, janitors, and more.

Employers intending to hire foreign workers must be operational and demonstrate good financial standing. They need to fulfill the basic LMIA eligibility requirements and adhere to the LMIA process. This includes conducting a four-week recruitment targeting Canadians and permanent residents, which is typically achieved through job advertising.

Canadian companies that plan to hire foreign workers through the High Wage LMIA stream must submit a transition plan. This document outlines the steps they will take to eventually shift towards a Canadian workforce during the duration of the foreign worker's recruitment for which an LMIA has been approved.

The transition plan could be for just one activity dedicated to supporting a foreign worker's permanent residency application. In other words, the employer promises to assist the temporary foreign workers they hire through the LMIA in becoming permanent residents while they're employed. This can encompass various activities, such as offering a permanent job, providing language training to the temporary foreign worker (TFW), allowing time off to prepare for a language test, or covering legal and government fees related to the permanent residency application process.

If a company is unsure whether the temporary foreign workers they're hiring would qualify for permanent residency or simply doesn't want to make this commitment, they must pledge to undertake four activities:

• Three separate activities aimed at recruiting, retaining, or training Canadians or permanent residents. This could include offering increased wages, establishing an employee referral incentive program, providing part-time or flexible hours, offering health insurance or other benefits, attending job fairs, financially supporting the relocation of Canadians or permanent residents, hiring a recruitment agency to identify potential candidates, partnering with unions or industry associations to identify potential candidates, offering apprenticeships, internships, or co-ops, participating in government programs, offering paid educational leave, or providing on-the-job training.
• One additional activity, which is always engaging an organization that serves underrepresented groups.

Alongside these transition plan activities, employers must also set specific targets and timelines for when they plan to meet these objectives.

Companies seeking to hire for the same roles as in previous transition plans must report on the progress of their earlier plans and prepare new ones. Service Canada/ESDC (Employment and Social Development Canada) always assesses this progress, and whether there has been a decrease in dependence on temporary foreign workers, before approving subsequent LMIAs.

Exceptions may occur when employers hire for the following roles, which do not require a transition plan:

• In-home caregiver or health care provider positions
• Primary agriculture occupations
• Specialized occupations qualifying for Quebec’s facilitated LMIA process
• Limited duration positions
• Unique skills positions that are not readily available in Canada

Choosing the correct LMIA stream is a crucial initial step. This decision can hasten the process of hiring foreign labour, and aid in avoiding unnecessary delays and additional costs. We encourage you to learn more about the variety of LMIA types available. These include streams designed to support permanent residency, those suitable for low-wage positions, options for primary agriculture roles, categories for tech and engineering professionals, streams for unique and specialized roles, as well as LMIAs for caregiver positions.