Human Resources committee  My recommendation is that it be removed for in-demand high-skilled jobs only. I'm not recommending it be removed for everyone. I do realize there is a use for it in certain instances. In terms of other options, you have a list of what our main issues are with the program. For us, without seeing the complete removal of the LMIA process for certain specific designated occupations, what we need to see is a better processing system in terms of the actual application process for this.

Human Resources committee  Well, we've been making suggestions for the last five years to the previous government and this government in regard to ways that we think this program can be improved. We actually were supporters of the increased fee because we thought it was going to reduce the number of applications.

Human Resources committee  What I'd like to suggest is the system that happens in the United Kingdom with the tier 2, high-skilled visa, which is a designated occupation list of jobs, and those people are exempt. If we had proper labour market information in this country, we would be able to determine which jobs are actually in demand and which are having shortages.

Human Resources committee  Currently we're trying to work with the government in order to renew those and to create new occupations. Our industry was involved in a project with ICTC four years ago, the Information and Communications Technology Council, on a project that was funded by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada to develop 10 new job profiles for the digital media industry.

Human Resources committee  Currently or in an ideal world?

Human Resources committee  Currently we're talking sometimes four or five months, and in an ideal world we could be talking weeks. That is what we used to have when we had the IT exemptions under the temporary foreign worker program.

Human Resources committee  I don't work for the government so I can't tell you that I can make that happen, but I can tell you that our experience when we did not have to fill out a labour market impact assessment the process was considerably more efficient than it is now. I can tell you that 99% of the complaints I receive from companies in our industry are completely related to the LMIA and its process.

Human Resources committee  Most of the companies in my industry are very secretive about their competitive advantages and the jobs they have available and those people they've lost or couldn't bring in. Anecdotally I hear this all the time that companies are on the verge of losing the opportunity to bring in a worker for a position because they simply can't get the labour market impact assessment through, that there are jobs that are absolutely necessary for a project to happen and they are unable to bring those people in because we're unable to find them here in Canada.

Human Resources committee  The best timetable for us would be the recommendation that I stated in my opening remarks, which is to abolish the requirement for a labour market impact assessment for in-demand high-tech jobs where there is a demonstrable shortage. That would lower the timetable for us to be able to find somebody and bring them in to a job because right now that mechanism is causing all the problems.

Human Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman and committee members, for your time. My name is Jayson Hilchie. I'm the president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association of Canada. ESAC is the voice of the Canadian video game industry. We represent some of the biggest and most innovative companies making interactive digital entertainment in studios from coast to coast.

Industry committee  Yes, sure.

Industry committee  It's definitely something we can discuss at our next board meeting with our members and look into the information, and give that to them. I don't know what our individual members have done with respect to that. It's not an issue that I'm necessarily educated on. It's certainly something we can bring to the forefront at our next meeting.

Industry committee  That's a great question. Probably the most honest answer is that a lot of people don't know. The industry today looks a lot different than it did six months ago. Six months ago, a number of investor relations individuals, pundits, and critics would have said that the console video game industry was dead and that the industry's future lay in mobile devices, in telephones and hand-held devices.

Industry committee  I can give you a bit of a unique background on this, only because before I took this job I worked for a provincial government trying to do just that, which is build the video game industry. So I have some first-hand experience with starting from scratch, almost. It was in Nova Scotia.

Industry committee  I can respond to that just a little. Actually, we're going to San Francisco in a week and a half to the Game Developers Conference, and the Canadian trade commissioner service has a large presence there this year. I know this because we've been in contact with them on this. They're working to match Canadian companies with foreign companies, and they're also working to, I believe, promote Canada as an investment destination as well.