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Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

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Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program

Assessment Criteria

To assist you in the application process for foreign workers under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), below is a description of the factors that Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)/Service Canada takes into consideration when reviewing your job offer. Submitting a complete application and providing information on these factors can result in faster decisions by HRSDC/Service Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) officers and reduce delays in the recruitment of agricultural foreign workers.

When assessing your job offer, HRSDC/Service Canada considers primarily :

You should consult the :

Occupation

HRSDC/Service Canada and CIC use the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system to:

  • categorize the job you are filling based on the majority of duties you expect the foreign worker to perform; and
  • identify wages and labour market trends when assessing your job offer.

The NOC system can help you:

  • more accurately describe the duties; and
  • identify the occupation that the agricultural foreign worker will be expected to perform.

HRSDC/Service Canada officers will work with you if the NOC does not precisely reflect your employment needs.

Wages and Working Conditions

HRSDC/Service Canada sets the prevailing wage rate that you must offer based on labour market information from Statistics Canada, HRSDC/Service Canada, provincial ministries and other reliable sources. The rate is consistent with wages being paid to Canadians and permanent residents in the occupation and region where the worker will be employed. Your request for a Labour Market Opinion will not be confirmed if you offer wages below rates paid to Canadians in a similar position and region.  

Benefits provided to Canadian workers and permanent residents must be extended to foreign workers. You are required to offer temporary foreign workers working in a unionized environment the same wage rate as established under the collective bargaining agreement.

You must provide working conditions that are consistent with federal and provincial standards for the occupation and workplace.

Advertisement and Recruitment

You will have conducted the minimum advertising efforts required if you:

  • Advertise for a minimum of 14 days on the national Job Bank (or the equivalent in Quebec, Saskatchewan or the Northwest Territories) during the three (3) months prior to applying for a Labour Market Opinion (LMO); and 
  • Conduct recruitment activities consistent with the practice in the occupation. The employer should advertise for the equivalent of 14 days, choosing one or more of the following options:
    • advertise in newspapers, e.g., a weekly ad running for two-three weeks in journals, newsletters, national/regional newspapers, ethnic newspapers/newsletters or free local newspapers;
    • advertise in the community, e.g., posting ads for two-three weeks in local stores, community resource centres, churches or local regional employment centres;
    • advertise on Internet sites e.g., posting during 14 days/two weeks on recognized Internet job sites (union, community resource centres or ethnic sites).

The advertisement must include the company operating name, business address and wage range (i.e. an accurate range of wages being offered to Canadians and permanent residents). It must always include the wage rate set by HRSDC/Service Canada and reference to benefit packages being offered.  A worker in a unionized environment must receive the same wage rate as established under the collective bargaining agreement.

In addition to the advertisement requirements mentioned above, you are encouraged to conduct ongoing recruitment efforts, including communities that face barriers to employment (e.g., Aboriginal Peoples, older workers, immigrants/newcomers, youth and persons with disabilities). Advertisement could be on recognized Internet job sites, in local and regional newspapers, at community resource centres and local regional employment centres.

Advertisement criteria vary slightly in the province of Quebec from those mentioned above. For further information, consult Hiring Temporary Foreign Workers in Quebec. 

Proof of Advertisement

You must be prepared to demonstrate that you meet the advertising requirements by providing proof of advertisement and the results of your efforts to recruit Canadians or permanent residents as part of the LMO process (e.g., information on the qualifications of Canadian applicants and why they were rejected). Records of your efforts should be kept for a minimum of six years, as stipulated in some federal and provincial legislations, such as the Income Tax Act.

Housing

Under the SAWP, you are expected to provide free accommodation to foreign workers employed on your farm in all provinces except British Columbia. HRSDC/Service Canada expects you to show evidence that the seasonal housing has been approved by the appropriate provincial/municipal body or authorized private inspector before confirming the hiring of the foreign workers.

Transportation and Work Permit Fees

Under the SAWP, you must arrange and pay for two-way airfare for the worker to travel from his/her source country to the location of work in Canada and for the return to the source country.  Part of the cost of the airfare may be recouped through payroll deductions in all provinces except British Columbia.  You must also pay for the worker's CIC work permit fees ($150) that you can deduct from the worker's wages.

Employment Contract

The employment contract must be signed by the employer, the worker and the consular liaison officer from the worker's source country. In cases of demonstrable breaches of the employment contract, where no reparations have been made, HRSDC/Service Canada and the liaison officer reserve the right to discontinue service to an employer for the hiring of foreign seasonal agricultural workers.

In addition to the employment contract, foreign workers, like Canadians, are also covered by provincial labour and workplace safety legislation.

Health and Workplace Safety

As outlined in the SAWP employment contract, all foreign workers are covered by private insurance that is arranged by their source country.  When hiring Mexican workers, you must remit payments to RBC insurance on behalf of each worker. In most provinces workers must be enrolled in the provincial health plan.

Under the employment contract, you must also register all foreign workers under the appropriate provincial Workers' Safety and Compensation Board.

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Date Modified:
2011-04-29