The CNLA has produced a primer for industry members looking to the foreign worker programs to solve the low labour situation in many areas of the country. The most commonly used program is for Low Skill Workers, falling under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) code 8612.

The FAQ includes information on the programs available, the process for obtaining a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) and the responsibilities for both the employer and employee. It also includes sample wage information for several cities/regions across Canada. This is the wage information that will determine what an employer is required to pay each foreign worker.

This wage information is generally over-inflated as the data is gathered from positions posted on the HRSDC Job Bank website. Municipalities, and other unionized, higher wage employers tend to be the most common users of the system for the landscape sector, thus inflating the average rate of pay.

All members can help solve this problem. Each and every job posting you make ensure that you post it on the HRSDC Job Bank, at www.jobbank.gc.ca. It is free to post and the more private contractors that post jobs the more accurate the wage information will be, this will then give more favourable data for the employ of foreign workers in the future.

The Foreign Worker Program FAQ document is available to members only, by calling the CNLA office at 1-888-446-3499 or e-mail cnla@canadanursery.com.