CANADA – Employers Subject to Increasing Audits by Immigration Authorities
Employers in the International Mobility Program are subject to an increasing amount of audits being performed by Canadian authorities as a result of the new enforcement procedures implemented earlier this year. Audits seek proof that employers are in compliance with all laws and requirements for the hiring of foreign workers as well require extensive documentation. Canadian employers recruiting and appointing intracompany transferees and NAFTA professionals, among other groups, are affected. Employers should be prepared in case they are chosen for random inspections now that the audit program is escalating.
Employers will be inspected in every aspect of an offer of employment submitted in support of a work permit, including working conditions, wages, accommodations, health care coverage, and transportation expenses where applicable. Audits may also request extensive documentation such as proof of compliance with provincial or regional employment laws, proof of corporate policies addressing several factors, evidence of the employer’s active business engagements, proof of the foreign worker’s job duties, payroll statements, timesheets, employment contracts and proof of nonmonetary compensations. The government may request further documentation if it feels it is necessary. As part of an information-sharing agreement aimed at pursuing the enforcement of provincial and regional laws, information obtained from audits will be shared among relevant government agencies.
Citizen and Immigration Canada (CIC) amended the International Mobility Program and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in 2014. The amendments increased enforcement of regulations with the objective of auditing one in four employers.
Beginning December 1, a new administrative monetary penalty will be imposed which will considerably intensify the consequences for employers deemed to be in violation of laws and regulations governing the hiring of foreign workers.