Operational Bulletins 084 – November 7, 2008

Petro-Canada Group of Employers: Use of Temporary Foreign Workers to Meet Labour Market Demands for the Petro-Canada Oil Sands Project

This Operational Bulletin has expired.

Background

Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) have signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding with Petro-Canada to streamline the processing of HRSDC/Service Canada Labour Market Opinions (LMOs) and their corresponding CIC work permits (WPs). The MOU outlines the commitments of Petro-Canada and participating employers, including regular reporting, paid training to Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs), and payment of full-time wages for periods when the TFWs does not have a job offer. This MOU is in accordance with R203(2)(b) referring to groups of employers.

The MOU is only applicable to the Petro-Canada Oil Sands Project, which includes three oil sands in Alberta:

• a) Fort Hills Bitumen Mine, north of Fort McMurray;
• b) MacKay River in situ development, north of Fort McMurray;
• c) Fort Hills Sturgeon Upgrader, northeast of Edmonton.

It is expected that recruiting for these TFWs will not begin until fall 2008. It is possible that similar arrangements may be made with other organizations, based on established criteria.

Petro-Canada Oil Sands Project

The MOU supports a process which will allow the transfer of TFWs between approximately 30 to 50 pre-approved employers without the requirement for a new WP for each new job and employer, as is typically required to ensure program integrity.

Employer

Only those employers identified by Petro-Canada, for the purpose of recruiting and hiring TFWs for the Petro-Canada Oil Sands Project, will be included for the purposes of this project. Recruiting will take place in the Philippines, India and Mexico, and possibly the Ukraine and Great Britain. These employers will be referred to as the “Group of Employers” and will include contractors or subcontractors as well as engineering, procurement and construction companies, who have been engaged to provide services to the Petro-Canada Oil Sands Project and who anticipate hiring TFWs for this project. Both LMOs and WPs will identify the employer as “Petro-Can Group of Employers.” The list of current and previously approved employers will be made available at the following HRSDC Web site:  www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/
cic_goe/indexgoe.shtml.

TFWs will have the ability to move from one employer to another as long as they remain within the Group of Employers. A new WP and LMO will not be required. For specific questions on LMOs, please send questions to HRSDC at: nc-cic_exchange-gd@hrsdc.gc.ca.

Location

TFWs will also have the ability to move between the three work sites identified in the Petro-Canada Oil Sands Project. Both LMOs and WPs will identify the location as “Petro-Can Oil Sands Project”. A new LMO and WP will not be required if the location changes.

Occupation

Applications for LMOs covered by this MOUare restricted to those positions in the specific and agreed-upon list of skilled occupations. Appendix A of the MOU contains a list of agreed-upon skilled occupations and their respective NOC codes. This will be made available at the following HRSDC Web site: www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/
cic_goe/indexgoe.shtml.

Special program codes

Effective immediately, officers are requested to use the special program code “PCG”, in Field Operations Support System (FOSS) or Computer Assisted Immigration Processing (CAIPS), on initial WPs and extensions for this project. This will assist immigration and border services officers when reviewing these applications. It is also important for statistical research, evaluation and policy development purposes.

Duration

The duration of the initial WP for this project will be 12 months to ensure that apprenticeship requirements are met. Following certification, the Group of Employers will put in a request for a new LMO and a new WP for two years’ duration, followed by a two-year extension.

Process

Officers will need to continue to assess these applications to ensure that the client continues to meet all the terms and conditions outlined on their WP, as per R183, R179 and R200.

In the event that an employer terminates a contractual arrangement with a TFW, Petro-Canada will act as a mediator to either resolve issues to the satisfaction of all parties, or to terminate the contractual arrangement between the employer and the TFW and to offer assistance to the TFW to return to their country of residence. Petro-Canada will notify CIC-NHQ of this termination without delay and the HRSDC Web site will also be updated.

Contacts

Domestic: For further information on the procedures outlined in this document, please contact Operational Management and Coordination Branch at OMC-Immigration@cic.gc.ca.

International: For further information on international procedures, please contact International Region at CIC-NAT-operational-RIM-TFW@cic.gc.ca.