The new requirement for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) in a low wage position, as of August 28, 2017, is that, at least three different advertisements must be made. These requirements include a mandatory posting on the Government of Canada’s Job Bank website, and at least two additional recruitment methods that target specific groups.
Depending on the type of application for an LMIA, Service Canada and Employment Social Development Canada (ESDC) will require different target audiences for the recruitment methods. For low wage jobs, Service Canada and ESDC require that each of the methods used must target a different underrepresented group. These underrepresented groups include: indigenous persons, vulnerable youth, newcomers and persons with disabilities. Vulnerable youth refers to young people who face barriers to employment, developing basic employability skills and gaining valuable job experience to assist them in making a successful transition into the labour market or to return to school. These barriers may include, but are not limited to: challenges faced by recent immigrant youth, youth with disabilities, single parent youth, youth who have not completed high school, indigenous youth and youth living in rural and remote areas.
Please note that when advertising for high wage jobs, it is not mandatory that the job be posted in places that specifically target underrepresented groups. However, it is generally recommended that to ensure a strong application, one of the suggested recruitment methods for underrepresented groups should be used.
Job Advertisement Information
The required job advertisement information includes:
- company operating name
- business address
- title of the position
- job duties (for each position, if advertising is for more than one vacancy)
- terms of employment (project based, permanent position)
- language of work
- wage (must include any incremental raises, performance pay or bonuses. A wage range can be used for the purposes of complying with the advertisements; however the minimum wage in the range must meet prevailing wage)
- benefits package offered (if applicable)
- location(s) of work (local area, city or town)
- contact information: telephone number, cell phone number, email address, fax number, or mailing address
- skills requirements (includes education and work experience)
Methods of Recruitment
Acceptable methods of recruitment for a job advertisement must include:
- general employment websites
- online classified websites
- specialized websites which are dedicated to specific occupational profiles (for example, accounting, marketing, biotechnology, education, engineering)
- local, regional and national newspapers or newsletters
- local stores, places of worship, and community resource centres
- local, regional and provincial/territorial employment centres
- magazines and journals (for example, national journals or magazines, professional associations magazines, specialized journals)
- participation at job fairs
- partnering with training institutions or offering internships/bursaries
- professional recruitment agencies
- consultations with unions for available labour
- advertising through professional associations
- recruitment within the company (for example, considering internal candidates for the position)
For jobs posted online, it is required that each of the websites must have a unique value and must reach different audiences.
Job Advertisement Duration
Job advertisement are required to appear for at last three months prior to submitting the LMIA and it must be posted for a minimum of four consecutive weeks weeks within the three months prior to submitting a Labour Market Impact Assessment application.
In addition, at least one of the three recruitment activities must be seeking for qualified Canadians and Permanent Residents and must be ongoing until the date that a positive or negative LMIA is issued.
Proof of Advertisement
To show proof of advertisement, you must demonstrate that you have made efforts to recruit Canadians and Permanent Residents by providing documents that:
- the advertisement was posted and information to support where, when and for how long the position was advertised for
- proof that the print mediate and websites used to advertise target an audience that has the appropriate education, professional experience and/or skill level required for the occupation
- proof of other recruitment activities
