CANADA - Information Technology Workers Program to End
- Canada
- 05/26/2010
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has announced that the Information Technology ( IT) Workers Program will end on September 30, 2010. (See http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/communications/ITendNotice.shtml.) This work permit category has allowed companies to employ workers in seven software development occupations without acquiring a Labour Market Opinion (LMO). Currently, these work permits are issued in one-year increments and are renewable indefinitely. The IT Workers Program was implemented several years ago as a pilot project to address the shortage of software development workers. However, the Canadian Government believes there is no longer a shortage in this area.
BAL Comment
BAL has been advised that extension applications under the IT Workers Program will still be adjudicated if they are filed prior to when the program ends. These employees will not need LMOs to renew their work permits. As a result, individuals currently employed in Canada pursuant to the IT Workers Program should immediately renew these work permits in order to obtain an additional year of work authorization prior to the expiration of the program on September 30, 2010. An individual interested in long-term employment in Canada should consider whether to initiate the Canadian permanent residence process. (This alert is an update to BAL’s publication in November 2009: please click here.)
