Presentation by Minerva Argenal-Roman to BRAED Fall Forum

1. Temporary Foreign
Worker Advisory
Office
Overview
Human Services
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2. Overview:
Temporary Foreign Worker Advisory
Office
 The Government of Alberta opened the Temporary
Foreign Worker Advisory Office and Temporary
Foreign Worker Helpline in December 2007
 The Advisory Offices are the first of their kind in
Canada
 There are two Advisory Offices in Alberta; one in
Calgary and one in Edmonton
 Advisory Offices were established to ensure TFWs are
aware of their Rights and Responsibilities
Human Services
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3. TFW Program at a Glance
Step 1.
Employer submits a Labour
Step 2.
Service Canada reviews
Market Opinion (LMO)
LMO and provides a positive response
to Service Canada
justifying hiring Temporary Workers
Step 4. Step 3.
Temporary Foreign Workers Employer can now complete a LMO
can now apply for a Work Permit contract for a TFW stating
to work for LMO employer only
hours of work, wages, etc…
Note: The TFWAO does NOT have a current LMO Employer list
Human Services
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4. Who Are Our
Clients?
 Temporary Foreign Workers
 Employers of TFWs
 Recruitment Agencies/Brokers
 Immigrant Serving Agencies
 Federal, Provincial and Municipal
Partners
 Concerned citizens
Human Services
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5. Who We Are & What We Do
 The TFWAO has a Director, seven advisors and two
intake officers and a business manager
 Our knowledgeable individuals have previous working
experience as Career & Employment Consultants,
Immigration Consultants, Labour Attraction – Immigration
Specialists, Settlement Services and CIC officers
 With our extensive background, we are able to respond to
inquiries, provide information about a wide range of topics
and to deliver services
Human Services
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6. First Contact – Intake Officer
 Intake Officers (IO) are the first point of contact at the TFWAO.
Whether it is an email, a phone call, a third party referral or a
walk-in client
 Our intake officers do a Service Needs Determination to
determine the service required by the client
 If the IO identifies that the TFW requires level 2 service, the IO
then assigns the client to the appropriate advisor
Human Services
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7. How We Do Business
Advisors have rotational responsibilities:
 We have a Booked Appointment (BA) advisor whose sole
responsibility is to see clients for the month
 We have a Booked Appointment 2 (BA2) advisor who is responsible
for Action Requests, Briefing Notes or walk-in clients in addition to
covering for absences (i.e.: training, vacation or any kind of leave)
 The Outreach Coordinator (ORC) is responsible for coordinating
presentations in rural and urban areas, delivering presentations,
seeing clients in rural areas as well as hospitals and reaching out to
different communities to offer services. These can be churches,
mosques, ethnic communities, etc…
 The TFWAO has no enforcement authority; however, we work
closely with agencies that do
Note: The majority of our enforcement referrals are to Employment Standards
Human Services
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8. 8

9. Federal & Provincial Partners
PROVINCIAL FEDERAL
PARTNERS PARTNERS
 Employment Standards  HRSDC – Service Canada
 Service Alberta  CIC – Immigration
 Workplace Health & Safety  CBSA – Canada Border
 Workers Compensation Board Services Agency
 Human Rights Commission
 Apprenticeship
 Immigrate to Alberta
Information Services
Human Services
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10. ES Referrals for Enforcement
 Employment Standards is responsible for enforcing
Employment Standards Code and Employment Standards
Regulations in the workplace for employees and employers
 TFWs have the same rights and responsibilities as other
Albertans
 If the client is afraid to pursue the complaint, the advisor
pursues a third party complaint after assessing the impact of
this action on the client
 Referrals for investigations often result in multiple complaints
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11. SA Referral for Enforcement
 Service Alberta is responsible for enforcing Alberta’s
Fair Trading Act and the Residential Tenancy Act
 Under the Alberta Fair Trading Act, any business
acting as an employment agency must have a
provincial employment agency business license
 An employment agent/agency cannot charge a
worker a fee to find them employment
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12. WHS Referral for Enforcement
 Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) is responsible for
enforcing the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act,
Regulations and Code to protect and promote the health and
safety of workers
 When an advisor identifies a possible violation of WHS code,
the WHS 24 hr hotline is contacted with the client in order to get
information and direction on the situation
 Based on the information provided, WHS determines whether
the situation needs immediate attention (24 hrs) or if it can be
investigated within a 2-week timeframe
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13. WCB Referral for Enforcement
 WCB is responsible for assisting workers who are injured at work
 A TFW is covered once they’re within Alberta borders
 TFWs are referred to WCB once they report that they were injured
at the workplace
 Once TFWs have a case manager, advisors often result in
becoming the TFW’s representative by completing a WCB form that
allows WCB case managers to discuss the TFW’s WCB information
and action plans
 In most cases it is easier to assist TFWs in this process as they
typically don’t know their rights and feel that they’re inconveniencing
their case managers
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14. Federal Partners
 Service Canada reviews and processes employers’ Labour
Market Opinion applications considering the National Labour
Market
 Citizenship and Immigration Canada manages
immigration policies and programs including the issuance of
Work Permits
 Canada Border Service Agency is responsible for
providing integrated border services that support national
security and public safety
Note: The Temporary Foreign Worker Program is a federal
program
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15. TFWAO Enforcement Statistics
January, 2011 to December, 2011
 Citizenship & Immigration Canada – 32.3%
 Employment Standards – 24.7%
 Service Canada – 20.0%
 Service Alberta – 7.8%
 Alberta Human Rights – 7.0%
 RCMP or other Police – 5.1%
 Workers’ Compensation Board – 1.6%
 Workplace Health & Safety – 1.5%
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16. Referrals to Non-Enforcement
Agencies
Our office also refers to non-enforcement agencies such as:
 Immigrate to Alberta Information Services
 Service Providers: Lethbridge Family Services
 Apprenticeship and Industry Training Board
 Labour Market Information Centres
 Employment Insurance benefits, Calgary Legal Aid,
Supports Services for TFWs, etc…
Note: Our office does NOT refer TFWs to apply for IS benefits
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17. TFW Resources
 Guide For TFW Employees
 Fourteen Languages: English, Chinese, French,
German, Hindi, Korean, Polish, Punjabi,
Romanian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Ukrainian,
Vietnamese
http://employment.alberta.ca/Immigration/6599.html (rc)
 Outlines TFWs’ rights and responsibilities while
working and living in Alberta
 Provides contact information for support services
and resources useful for TFWs
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18. TFW Resources
 Guide For Employers of TFWs
 Outlines Employers’ rights and responsibilities
while employing TFWs in Alberta
http://employment.alberta.ca/Immigration/4545.html (rc)
 Discusses Contracting with an Employment
Agency
 Support Services for Employers and TFWs
 Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP)
 Checklist for Employers for TFW’s first day at work
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19. Other Resources
 Welcome to Alberta: Outlines initial settlement
related information for new comers to Alberta
 Hiring and Retaining Foreign Workers :
Outlines TFW processes, recommendations on TFW
retention and information around nomination for
permanent residence
 A Guide to Rights and Responsibilities in
Alberta Workplaces booklet : publication can help
find answers to questions about employment
standards, health and safety, human rights and
workers' compensation procedures
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20. Important Information for TFWs
 No one has the authority to deport or remove a TFW
except Citizenship and Immigration (CIC) and Canada
Border Services Agency (CBSA)
 A TFW has the right to legally stay in Canada until the
day their work permit expires regardless if they are
working or not
 The government of Alberta established the TFWAO to
make TFWs aware of their Rights and Responsibilities
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21. Permanent Residence in
Canada
CIC makes final
decision
FEDERAL PROVINCIAL
Alberta (AINP) Manitoba
Federal Skilled Worker
Newfoundland & Ontario
Canadian Experience Class Labrador
Saskatchewan British Columbia
Sponsorship
In-Canada Spouse/Common-law Cl ass
OR Family Cl ass New Brunswick Nova Scotia
Investors, Entrepreneurs,
Self-employed Prince Edward Yukon
Island
Quebec-selected Northwest
skilled workers Territories
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22. Alberta Immigrant Nominee
Program
Employer -Driven Family Self-Employed Strategic Recruitment
Stream Farmer Stream Stream
Skilled Worker
International Graduate
Semi-skilled Compulsory and Engineering US Visa
Worker Optional Trades Occupations Holder
Since August 23, 2010, the AINP is not accepting applications under the Family Stream or under the US Visa Holder category.
Human Services
Temporary Foreign Worker Advisory Office

23. Contact Immigrate to Alberta
Information Service by Phone
Monday to Friday: 10:00 to 16:30
Mountain Time
Toll-free within Alberta: 1-877-427-6419
Outside Alberta: 780-427-6419
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24. By Email
 Specific questions can be sent to
immigration.info@gov.ab.ca
 Family Stream - Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program
family.stream@gov.ab.ca
 Website
http://www.albertacanada.com/immigration/immigrating/
ainp.aspx
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25. Other Contacts
 You may submit additional documents or changes to your
AINP application by mail or fax as indicated below. Make
sure to quote your file number, your full name, the name of
your Alberta employer or your Alberta relative (if applicable).
Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program
Suite 940, Telus Plaza North Tower
10025 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 1S6
Fax Number: 780-427-6560
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26. Using an Immigration Lawyer or
Immigration Consultant
 Immigration consultants, lawyers, and other
representatives give immigration advice and help to
visa applicants, usually for a fee.
 You do not need to hire an immigration consultant. It
is up to you. Your application will not be given special
attention or guaranteed approval if you use a
consultant.
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27. Representatives
Paid Representatives
 Only the following people may charge a fee to represent or
advise you on immigration and refugee matters with the
Government of Canada:
 Lawyers who are members in good standing of a
Canadian provincial or territorial law society
 Immigration consultants who are members in good
standing of the Immigration Consultants of Canada
Regulatory Council
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28. Representatives
Unpaid Representatives
 A person or organization who does not charge a fee for
their service may also represent you. For example:
 a family member or friend
 a member of a non-governmental or religious
organization
Source:http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/representative/index.asp
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29. Support Services for TFWs
 Human Services has contracted six support service agencies
for TFWs including Calgary Catholic Immigration Society
 There are other non-contracted support services like the
Women’s Shelter, Calgary Workers Resource Centre, Calgary
Immigrant Women's Association, Calgary Food Bank, Calgary
Homeless Shelter, and ethnic communities who play an
important role in assisting TFWs
 There are also non-contracted support services in rural areas.
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30. Contracted Support Services for TFWs
1. Calgary Catholic Immigration
Society
The main role of
Brooks and County
Support Services is
2.
Immigration Services
to assist Temporary 3. Lethbridge Family Services –
Foreign Workers in Immigrant Services
the process of 4. Red Deer - Catholic Social
Services
adapting to living 5. Edmonton CSS/Mennonite
and working in Centre for Newcomers
Alberta. 6. Fort McMurray – Y.M.C.A –
Wood Buffalo – Settlement
Development Program
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31. Locations
The TFWAO provides a province-wide service with Edmonton
serving northern Alberta and Calgary serving southern Alberta.
Each office is located on bus routes for easy access.
North Location South Location
3rd Floor, City Centre 6th floor, JJ Bowlen Bldg
10242 – 105 Street 620 – 7 Avenue SW
Edmonton, AB T5J 3L5 Calgary, AB T2P 0Y8
T. (780) 644.2584 T. (403) 476.4540
F. (780) 643.0668 F. (403) 476.4542
tfwadvisory.office@gov.ab.ca
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32. Questions
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