Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

Marginal note:Foreign national referred to in subparagraph 200(1)(c)(iii)

• 209.3 (1) An employer who has made an offer of employment to a foreign national referred to in subparagraph 200(1)(c)(iii) must comply with the following conditions:

  • (a) during the period of employment for which the work permit is issued to the foreign national,

    • (i) the employer must be actively engaged in the business in respect of which the offer of employment was made, unless the offer was made for employment as a live-in caregiver,

    • (ii) the employer must comply with the federal or provincial laws that regulate the employment or recruitment of employees, including foreign nationals, in the province in which the foreign national works,

    • (ii.1) the employer must make available to the foreign national, in both official languages of Canada, the information referred to in paragraph (a.1),

    • (iii) the employer, in the case of an employer who employs a foreign national as a live-in caregiver, must

      • (A) ensure that the foreign national resides in a private household in Canada and provides child care, senior home support care or care of a disabled person in that household without supervision,

      • (B) provide the foreign national with adequate furnished and private accommodations in the household, and

      • (C) have sufficient financial resources to pay the foreign national the wages that were offered to the foreign national,

    • (iv) subject to subparagraph (xii), the employer must provide the foreign national with employment in the same occupation as that set out in the foreign national’s offer of employment and with wages and working conditions that are substantially the same as — but not less favourable than — those set out in that offer,

    • (v) the employer must make reasonable efforts to provide a workplace that is free of abuse,

    • (vi) the employer, in the case of an employer who employs a foreign national to perform work under an international agreement between Canada and one or more countries concerning seasonal agricultural workers, must provide the foreign national with adequate accommodations,

    • (vii) the employer, in the case of an employer who employs a foreign national who is subject to an order or regulation made under the Emergencies Act or the Quarantine Act, must not do anything that prevents the foreign national from complying with the requirements of the order or regulation, including requiring the foreign national to do anything that is contrary to those requirements,

    • (viii) the employer, in the case of an employer who employs a foreign national who is subject to a provincial law that governs public health in response to COVID-19, must not do anything that prevents the foreign national from complying with the requirements of the law, including requiring the foreign national to do anything that is contrary to the law,

    • (ix) the employer, in the case of an employer who provides accommodations to a foreign national, must — during any period that the foreign national is required to quarantine themselves in accordance with an order or regulation made under the Emergencies Act or the Quarantine Act — provide the foreign national with accommodations that are separate from those provided to persons who are not in quarantine and that permit the foreign worker to remain at least two metres away from any other person,

    • (x) the employer, in the case of an employer who provides accommodations to a foreign national who is subject to an order or regulation made under the Emergencies Act or the Quarantine Act, must provide the foreign national with cleaning products for the purposes of cleaning and disinfecting the accommodations regularly,

    • (xi) the employer, in the case of an employer who provides accommodations to a foreign national who becomes infected with or develops any signs or symptoms of COVID-19, must provide the foreign national with accommodations that have a bedroom and a bathroom that are solely for the use of the foreign national while they isolate themselves,

    • (xii) the employer, in the case of an employer who employs a foreign national who, in accordance with an order made under section 58 of the Quarantine Act, is required to isolate or quarantine themselves for a period on entry into Canada, must provide the foreign national with wages during that period that are substantially the same as those set out in the offer of employment,

    • (xiii) the employer, except in the case of an employer who employs a foreign national to perform work under an international agreement between Canada and one or more countries concerning seasonal agricultural workers and the agreement includes health insurance, must obtain and pay for private health insurance that covers emergency medical care, for any period during which the foreign national is not covered by the applicable provincial health insurance system,

    • (xiv) the employer must make reasonable efforts to provide access to health care services when the foreign national is injured or becomes ill at the workplace,

    • (xv) the employer must not, directly or indirectly, charge or recover from the foreign national the fees referred to in subparagraph (xiii) or subsection 315.2(1) or any fees related to the recruitment of the foreign national, with the exception of the fees referred to in subsections 296(1), 298(1) and 299(1) and fees related to the recruitment of the foreign national that are authorized to be charged or recovered under an international agreement between Canada and one or more countries concerning seasonal agricultural workers, and

    • (xvi) the employer must ensure that any person who recruited the foreign national for the employer does not, directly or indirectly, charge or recover from the foreign national the fees referred to in subparagraph (xiii), subsection 315.2(1) or any fees related to the recruitment of the foreign national, with the exception of the fees referred to in subsections 296(1), 298(1) and 299(1) and fees related to the recruitment of the foreign national that are authorized to be charged or recovered under an international agreement between Canada and one or more countries concerning seasonal agricultural workers;

  • (a.1) on or before the foreign national’s first day of work that is during the period of employment for which the work permit is issued to the foreign national, the employer must provide the foreign national with a copy in their chosen official language of Canada of the most recent information with respect to the foreign national’s rights in Canada that is made available by the Government of Canada for that purpose; and

  • (b) during the period of employment for which the work permit is issued to the foreign national or any other period that was agreed on by the employer and the Department of Employment and Social Development at the time the assessment referred to in subsection 203(2) was provided,

    • (i) the employer must ensure that the employment of the foreign national will result in direct job creation or job retention for Canadian citizens or permanent residents, if that was one of the factors that led to the issuance of the work permit,

    • (ii) the employer must ensure that the employment of the foreign national will result in the development or transfer of skills and knowledge for the benefit of Canadian citizens or permanent residents, if that was one of the factors that led to the issuance of the work permit,

    • (iii) the employer must hire or train Canadian citizens or permanent residents, if that was one of the factors that led to the issuance of the work permit, and

    • (iv) the employer must make reasonable efforts to hire or train Canadian citizens or permanent residents, if that was one of the factors that led to the issuance of the work permit; and

  • (c) during a period of six years beginning on the first day of the period of employment for which the work permit is issued to the foreign national, the employer must

    • (i) be able to demonstrate that any information they provided under subsections 203(1) and (2.1) was accurate, and

    • (ii) retain any document that relates to compliance with the conditions set out in paragraphs (a) and (b).

• Marginal note:Period of employment

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the period of employment for which the work permit is issued includes any period during which

  • (a) the foreign national may, under paragraph 186(u), work in Canada without a permit after the expiry of their work permit; and

  • (b) the foreign national is required to isolate or quarantine themselves on entry into Canada in accordance with an order made under the Quarantine Act.

• Marginal note:Justification

  (3) A failure to comply with any of the conditions set out in subparagraphs (1)(a)(i) to (xiv) and paragraphs (1)(a.1) and (b) is justified if it results from a:

  • (a) a change in federal or provincial law;

  • (b) a change to the provisions of a collective agreement;

  • (c) the implementation of measures by the employer in response to a dramatic change in economic conditions that directly affected the business of the employer, provided that the measures were not directed disproportionately at foreign nationals employed by the employer;

  • (d) an error in interpretation made in good faith by the employer with respect to its obligations to a foreign national, if the employer subsequently provided compensation — or if it was not possible to provide compensation, made sufficient efforts to do so — to all foreign nationals who suffered a disadvantage as a result of the error;

  • (e) an accounting or administrative error made by the employer, if the employer subsequently provided compensation — or if it was not possible to provide compensation, made sufficient efforts to do so — to all foreign nationals who suffered a disadvantage as a result of the error;

  • (f) circumstances similar to those set out in paragraphs (a) to (e);

  • (g) superior force; or

  • (h) an error in interpretation made in good faith by the employer with respect to its compliance with the conditions set out in any of subparagraphs (1)(a)(vii) to (xi).

• Marginal note:Justification

  (4) A failure to comply with either of the conditions set out in paragraph (1)(c) is justified if the employer made all reasonable efforts to comply with the condition.

• Marginal note:Justification

  (5) A failure to comply with any of the conditions set out in subparagraphs (1)(a)(xv) and (xvi) is justified if the employer

  • (a) made all reasonable efforts to comply with the condition; and

  • (b) subsequently provided full compensation to the foreign national for the fees that were incorrectly charged or recovered.