The Canadian government is always looking for new ways to create immigration opportunities for individuals seeking to come to Canada and become permanent residents. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has created several pilot programs which are designed to help specific groups of people immigrate to Canada and to highlight particular locations in the country that are seeking immigrants. Examples of these pilot programs include the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, and the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot.

Pilot programs were also designed to address specific labour market needs and to help Canada’s economy grow. Each program has unique requirements and criteria for eligibility, which can be very narrow. However, these programs offer immigration opportunities to people and areas which otherwise would not receive them.

Pilot Pathway for Construction Workers in Toronto

In 2019, the Canadian government announced a new temporary program called the Temporary Public Policy for Out-of-Status Construction Workers in the Greater Toronto Area. This program is intended to create a pathway to permanent residency for up to 500 construction workers who are out of status in the Greater Toronto Area.

The government created the policy in response to a parliamentary report on labour shortages in the construction industry. The policy allowed out of status workers to gain status and positively contribute to Canada’s labour market. Further, a worker’s spouse or partner and any dependent children could be included as part of the application for permanent residence.

2023 Pilot Program Expansion

On January 20, 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced that it would expand the pilot program for out-of-status construction workers in the Greater Toronto Area.

Now, the program has expanded to offer permanent residence to 1,000 Greater Toronto Area construction workers. The rationale for the expansion of the program is that it will help alleviate labour shortages within Canada while helping Canada’s economy, as these workers will be brought out of the underground economy.

The Need for Program Expansion

This program specifically acknowledges and affirms the vital role that construction workers play in terms of helping grow and build our communities. Further, it provides workers and their families with an avenue toward the often sought-after status of permanent residency. This particular program is one of several new measures which are being implemented in an effort to address ongoing Canadian labour shortages.

In addition to helping bring and retain construction workers, it encourages greater stability within the construction industry and further, helps ensure that skilled workers are able to address prominent housing development needs within our cities.

Who Qualifies for the Program?

Currently, the construction worker pilot program is only open to undocumented construction workers residing in the Toronto, Durham, Peel, York and Halton regions. Applicants must satisfy additional requirements, which include:

initially entering Canada as a temporary resident and having lived here for at least five years;
having a family member who is a permanent resident or citizen and is living in Canada, or have a child or spouse in Canada; and
not possessing a record of previous offences which would make them inadmissible to Canada, aside from breaching immigration law due to overstaying in the country.

The program states that individuals holding a job in the following categories are eligible to apply:

maintenance and equipment operation trades;
construction trades helpers and labourers;
heavy equipment operations (except crane);
residential and commercial installers and servicers; and
trades and skilled transport and equipment operators.

Details Regarding the Application Process

Individuals who are eligible for the program may apply before January 2, 2024. The program will continue to allow spouses, partners and dependent children of construction workers as part of their application for permanent residence.

Potential applicants must submit their name to the Canadian Labour Congress, which is a national labour organization with many construction industry affiliates in the Greater Toronto Area, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. After receiving the application, Canadian Labour Congress will then determine the applicant’s eligibility before referring them to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for further processing.

Contact Garson Immigration Law to make a Permanent Residence Application through this Program

Garson Immigration Law is a firm exclusively dedicated to the practice of immigration law. We successfully guide clients through the immigration process and offer advice to clients on various immigration programs which they may be eligible for. Our Canadian immigration team works hard to create tailored solutions for your individual immigration needs and ensure you are positioned for success with respect to your application.

The immigration lawyers at Garson Immigration Law have extensive experience guiding clients through the process to become permanent Canadian residents. If you have questions regarding your application for permanent residence, contact us online or call us at 416-321-2860 to learn more about how we can help you.

Some changes are coming to Ontario’s immigration system as the province plans to adopt the National Occupational Classification 2021 as part of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. A September 6 announcement from the Government of Ontario detailed the amendments that might be made based on the new National Occupational Classification that will impact the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.

This program is Ontario’s version of the Provincial Nominee Program, which allows the province to set out various streams under which immigration applicants can apply for residency in Ontario.

National Occupational Classification 2021

The National Occupational Classification is a national reference for occupations in Canada. The National Occupational Classification is updated every ten years, so changes do not happen often. However, the changes that occur significantly impact the employment landscape within Canada. The classification takes some time to be fully adopted, as the 2021 classification is just being implemented in late 2022.

The Canadian government describes the National Occupational Classification as providing a systematic classification structure that categorizes the entire range of occupational activity in Canada. This system aids in collecting, analyzing, and disseminating occupational data for labour market information and employment-related program administration.

Put simply, the classification system provides the Canadian government with information about job activity in Canada, including which employment fields are in demand and which areas are oversaturated. This occupational information is of critical importance for providing many programs and services and significantly impacts potential immigration.

Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibility (TEER) Categories

The National Occupational Classification 2021 system represents a significant change from previous systems. Prior systems classified jobs by requisite skill level. The new classification system has replaced this with “TEER categories”: Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibility.

Each TEER category has different requirements and a varying number of unit groups and is classified by a number from 0 to 5. Information on specific jobs within each TEER category is available online but generally includes the following:

TEER 0

TEER 0 is made up of management occupations.

TEER 1

TEER 1 includes individuals who have completed either a university degree or have several years of experience in a specific TEER 2 occupation.

TEER 2

TEER 2 includes individuals who have completed post-secondary education at a community college or institute of technology (or CEGEP in Québec) or have completed a two to five-year-old apprenticeship.

This TEER also includes occupations with supervisory or significant safety responsibilities, such as firefighters or police officers.

TEER 3

TEER 3 consists of individuals who have completed a post-secondary education program of fewer than two years at a community college, institute of technology or CEGEP, or apprenticeship training of fewer than two years.

This TEER also includes those with six months or more of on-the-job training, training courses, or specific work experience with some secondary school education.

TEER 4

TEER 4 consists solely of those who have completed secondary school education.

TEER 5

Finally, TEER 5 has no formal education requirements.

New Unit Groups Under the 2021 National Occupational Classification

To account for changing technology and its effect on the evolution of the labour market, the new National Occupational Classification sets out new unit groups of workers. These new unit groups include tech-related occupations such as data scientists and cybersecurity specialists and these classifications impact which occupations are eligible under each immigration stream.

Impact on the Ontario Immigration Nominee Program

The new classification system will significantly impact immigration into Ontario and Canada as a whole. To apply for entry into Canada on occupational grounds, skilled workers and temporary foreign workers’ experience must meet the National Occupational Classification requirements of the particular program they are applying under.

Ontario’s Immigration Nominee Program will be affected by the new system as it alters which occupations are eligible under each stream. Under the old Provincial Nominee Program, jobs requiring prior work experience were classified as skill types 0, A, or B. Those jobs will now fall into TEER 0, 1, 2, o 3. Some jobs will be classified differently, as the TEER system has six categories versus the four-level skill type system.

International Students Required to Meet Ontario Qualifications Framework

The upcoming changes will impact international students wanting to stay in Canada following their education. Applicants who are applying with a certificate of at least one year will be required to meet the criteria of the Ontario College Graduate Certificate as defined under the Ontario Qualifications Framework. According to the Ontario Immigration Nominee Program, “this amendment is expected to offer clarity and reduce burdens for International Student stream applicants applying with one year certificates.”

Changes to Employer Job Offer Foreign Worker Stream

The proposed regulatory amendments also include changes to the Employer Job Offer Foreign Worker stream. The proposed changes will require applicants to have a Canadian Language Benchmark of 5 Level or above. Ontario has indicated that the new language requirements will align with “the program’s interest in promoting employees’ successful integration and is expected to better protect applicants and the [Ontario Immigration Nominee Program] against misrepresentation and other program integrity concerns”.

Consultation Period on New Classification System Winding Down

The consultation period for feedback on National Occupational Classification 2021 ends October 21, 2022. If passed as planned, the proposed amendments in the new system will impact a broad spectrum of potential immigrants to Ontario and Canada. As these changes will likely be implemented in the next few months, applicants must recognize how the changes may impact them before preparing an application to immigrate to Canada to avoid any potential issues. Full details on National Occupational Classification 2021 can be found through Statistics Canada, and updates can be found on the Ontario Immigration Nominee Program website.

Contact Garson Immigration Law in Toronto for Comprehensive Advice on Worker Immigration

The knowledgeable immigration lawyers at Garson Immigration Law provide thorough, robust legal solutions to those looking to immigrate to Canada based on their occupation or work experience. We provide trusted advice on a variety of Canadian immigration matters, including work and study permits, temporary and permanent residence, business immigration, and citizenship. To schedule a confidential consultation, please contact us online or call 416-321-2860.