Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm sorry, MP Kwan. I don't remember the question, but if it's related specifically to agriculture, perhaps Monsieur Groleau might be better at answering that.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I wouldn't be able to speak so much about that.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Sure. They give three years to international graduates after they finish their studies, which would then open a work permit for any employer. Why not give three years to people who have an employer and have demonstrated a need in Canada?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  It would be a difficult one, but mainly it would be restricting these programs from people who might have been able to apply under others, or maybe just doing quotas, as you were mentioning, by occupation. That way, at least we could protect different occupations, because I'm afraid that all those essential workers—many of whom are very important, like agricultural workers, truckers and people who work at convenience stores or grocery stores—are going to have their spots taken by the ones who are probably professional and had a chance to apply under other programs.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The way I see it, employers are already put through the wringer when they're doing an LMIA application—in terms of proving they have the money to pay for the person, that they're legitimate and that they're operating—and they have to do recruitment, too, right? If they have to go through this again, especially if it is done in a way whereby specific industries are allowed to have this simplified procedure, we already have guarantees that the employer is legitimate.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I fully agree with that. One thing I find most problematic is that when you look at the breakdown of the employers who are getting LMIAs, and the positions, they're mainly for occupations that are low-skilled. Unfortunately, all the economic programs at the federal level are for skilled individuals, as are most of the provincial programs.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Advance notice would have made a big difference. If we had known and our clients had known they had to write English tests in advance and they were able to get....This is the first time we've seen non-skilled people able to apply for permanent residence. Unfortunately, it's impossible for them to go and write an English test in three weeks.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That's an excellent point. I'm glad that you are bringing this to the attention of the committee and that it has been brought to your attention. We are seeing that. We are seeing some visa posts asking for documentation from the employer. This is not only agricultural; it's in trucking a lot as well.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm sorry—was that for me, or was it for the people from the trucking industry?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Sure. I wouldn't know much about what trucking employers need to do. We've done a few LMIAs for trucking. We have been successful in those. I find that the most challenging part with those kinds of applications is actually the work permit from wherever we're bringing people. I think probably my colleagues who are from these industries might be able to speak more about this.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I can certainly address that, Madam Chair, if you wish. Yes, there are definitely programs in place to sometimes make the LMIA process faster for some essential occupations when it comes to recruitment and also the processing of the work permits. However, we are seeing, as MP Saroya is pointing out, many issues with refusals of work permits, particularly in some visa offices.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you to the committee for inviting me today. I'm an immigration lawyer and partner at Desloges Law Group, a firm dedicated to the exclusive practice of Canadian immigration, refugee and citizenship law. I'm appearing today to speak about the temporary foreign worker program as someone who has been helping employers of all sizes navigate this program for almost a decade.