Employers wishing to apply for Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) are required to conduct recruitment efforts to hire Canadian citizens and permanent residents.  The Ministry of Economic and Social Development (“ESDC”) is very stringent in its recruitment requirements.

For Higher-Skilled Occupations, the Service Canada website states that recruitment requirements will be met if mandatory information is placed in public advertisements that provide a broad exposure of the vacancy to Canadian citizens and permanent residents in Canada who would be potential candidates for the position. 

As per the ESDC website, to meet the minimum advertising requirements, employers must advertise:

• On the national Job Bank or its provincial/territorial counterpart. 
  • The advertisement must be posted for a minimum of 4 weeks starting from the first day the ad appears and is accessible to the general public.
  • The advertisement must remain posted to actively seek qualified Canadians and permanent residents until the date a labour market impact assessment is issued.

• Using 2 or more additional methods of recruitment consistent with the normal practice for the occupation.
• • As a minimum, employers must choose one method that is national in scope, since people in higher-skilled positions are often mobile and willing to re-locate for work.Employers can choose one or more recruitment methods among these:
    • print media (national or provincial/territorial newspapers, national journals, magazines with national coverage, specialized journals, professional associations magazines, newsletters, etc.)
    • general employment websites (canadastop100.com, vault.com, workopolis.com, monster.ca, etc.)
    • specialized websites dedicated to specific occupation profiles (e.g. accounting, marketing, biotechnology, education, engineering, etc.)
    • The advertisement must be posted for a minimum of 4 weeks starting from the first day the ad appears and is accessible to the general public.

Employers must demonstrate that the print media and website used to advertise target an audience that has the appropriate education, professional experience and/or skill level required for the occupation.

Employers must provide proof of advertisement and the results of their efforts to recruit Canadian citizens and permanent residents (e.g. copy of advertisement and information to support where, when and for how long the position was advertised)

Employers recruiting higher-skilled workers, in areas where the use of the Job Bank or its provincial/territorial counterparts is not considered an effective method of recruitment, must provide a written explanation of the alternative method used with their Labour Market Impact Assessment application.  In general, Service Canada will be very unwilling to accept the explanation.

Each advertisement must include:

• Company operating name
• Business address
• Title of position
• Job duties (for each position, if advertising more than one vacancy)
• Terms of employment (e.g. project based, permanent position)
• Wage
  • a wage range can be used for the purposes of complying with the advertisement requirements; however, the minimum wage in the range must be the prevailing wage;
  • (refer to Wages, Working Conditions and Occupations tab to determine the established rate for the specific occupation and geographic area)
• Benefits package being offered (if applicable)
• Location of work (local area, city or town)
• Contact information: telephone number, cell phone number, email address, fax number, or mailing address; andSkills requirements:Education
• Work experience

Other methods of recruitment can include:

• participation at job fairs;
• partnering with training institutions or offering internships ;
• Use of professional recruitment agencies;
• Consultations with unions for available labour;
• Advertising through professional associations; or
• Recruitment within the company (e.g. considering internal candidates for the position).  Such companies may wish to provide a Human Resources Plan that outlines (i) the training opportunities for existing employees, (ii) a list of competencies for the employees, (iii) workshops and/or programs for professional development and career management, or (iv) specific programs to target specific employees for advancement.

For Lower-Skilled Positions, employers must also target underrepresented groups (aboriginal peoples, youth, older workers, persons with disabilities, and recent immigrants).  The ESDC website states:

Employer can:

• try to recruit workers from local or provincial/territorial employment centres, service centres for Aboriginal youth, new immigrants and people with disabilities;
• offer bursaries to attract students or youth, pursue online recruitment strategies, or undertake ongoing advertising and interviews in order to maintain a pre-screened applicant pool.

Labour Market Impact Assessment Application Tips

From our experience of representing employers with Labour Market Impact Assessment applications the following points should be noted:

1. An employer must advertise on the national Job Bank or its provincial equivalent for a minimum of four weeks immediately prior to submitting a Labour Market Impact Assessment application.

2. Employers must continue to advertise the position after filing the Labour Market Impact Assessment application and throughout the Labour Market Impact Assessment processing period.

3. Where there is evidence that an employer is not continuously advertising using at least one source, the Labour Market Impact Assessment application could be rejected.

4. To meet the “additional methods of recruitment” requirement, employers may use two online methods. However, they should not target the same audience and must not be substantially the same. Different types of online recruitment could consist of commercial websites, social media websites, online classifieds, or professional association websites or sector/occupation targeted websites.