2021 LMIA: Hire a Agricultural Temporary Foreign Worker (Non-Seasonal)

Unpaid representatives

Individuals representing employers for free (for example do not collect fees or other forms of compensation) are not subject to any restrictions under the IRPA. These individuals are usually family members, non-for-profit or religious organizations that assist employers who may not be able to complete the application process on their own.

If a paid representative is not authorized under the IRPA, ESDC/Service Canada will continue to process the application, but will communicate with the employer directly. However, a copy of a signed letter stating that the employer is no longer using the services of the original representative will be required before the employer can:

• hire another paid authorized representative
• work with an unpaid representative

ESDC/Service Canada:

• reserves the right to contact employers directly when further information or documentation is required.
• will not mediate a dispute between an employer and a third-party representative nor communicate complaints
  to a regulatory body on an employer’s behalf. Employers who wish to file a formal complaint
  against their representative should contact the appropriate regulatory body (for example the provincial
  law society, the Chambre des notaires du Québec or the ICCR). For additional
  information on how to file a complaint, visit IRCC.

3. Wages, working conditions and occupations

You must provide temporary foreign workers with the same wages and benefits as those provided to Canadian and permanent resident employees working in the same occupation. In addition, temporary foreign workers working in a unionized environment must be paid the wage rate as established under the collective bargaining agreement.

If you plan to hire temporary foreign workers in non-livestock high-skilled positions, you must consult the Streams for High-wage or Low-wage  positions to determine the wage.

You must agree to review and adjust the wage of the temporary foreign worker to ensure it meets or exceeds, at all times, the wage rates outlined in the wage tables, or applicable federal/provincial/territorial minimum wage rates, whichever is higher.

• apiary products
• fruits, vegetables (including canning/processing of these products if grown on the farm)
• mushrooms
• flowers
• nursery-grown trees including Christmas trees, greenhouses/nurseries
• pedigreed canola seed
• seed corn
• grains
• oil seeds
• maple syrup
• sod
• tobacco
• bovine
• dairy
• duck
• horse
• mink
• poultry
• sheep
• swine

4. Recruitment and advertisement

Employers are required to conduct recruitment efforts to hire Canadians and permanent residents, before offering a job to a temporary foreign worker (TFW).