International Mobility Program: Unique work situations - Seaspan
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
Seaspan is an association of Canadian companies primarily involved in coastal marine transportation, ship docking, ship escort, ship repair and shipbuilding services in western North America. International cruise ships regularly dry-dock at the Seaspan shipyards in Vancouver and Victoria to conduct major retrofit and maintenance work for a period of 2 to 5 weeks. The below-deck portion is typically completed by Canadian tradespeople, while the above-deck retrofit work is done by temporary workers under pre-existing contracts with foreign companies.
The workers are from various countries requiring both temporary resident visas and electronic travel authorizations. Work permits are to be issued for the duration of the offer of employment.
The department uses specific administrative codes to identify certain situations where it considers the work of a foreign national to create significant social, cultural or economic benefits or opportunities for Canadian citizens or permanent residents, as described in paragraph 205(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. The factors provided for each code demonstrate how the situation may meet the requirements of paragraph R205(a). Officers must also always be satisfied that all requirements of section R200 are met.
The administrative code C10 is the code used for the work of certain foreign nationals who are entering Canada to provide broader economic, cultural or other competitive advantages for Canada or reciprocal benefits enjoyed by Canadians and permanent residents. Due to economic investment and job creation in British Columbia, the activities of the foreign nationals fall under paragraph R205(a), under Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) exemption code C10, and may create significant economic or social benefits.
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Eligibility
To be eligible under paragraph R205(a), foreign nationals must demonstrate that their work will generate significant economic, social or cultural benefits, or opportunities for Canadian citizens or permanent residents:
- Economic, social or cultural benefits to Canadian clients of the foreign national may be considered if they can show they are providing a unique service otherwise unavailable in Canada.
Documentary evidence
Foreign nationals submitting an application for consideration under the work permit category “significant benefit” [administrative code C10] should provide documentation demonstrating how their work provides a significant benefit to Canada.
The following documents are required:
- LMIA-exempt offer of employment submitted in the Employer Portal (A#######) or approved alternate submission as per note on Client screen
- proof of payment of the employer compliance fee
- detailed evidence of how the foreign national’s work provides a significant benefit to Canada
Note: A simple copy-and-paste from the department’s website or program delivery instructions is not sufficient evidence.
Application assessment
Review of the offer of employment
When assessing the significant benefit, officers should review the following fields under the Employment Details tab in the Global Case Management System (GCMS) for information provided by the employer:
| Field | Considerations |
|---|---|
| Requirements Exemptions Met | Information in this field outlines how the job position or the foreign national meets the LMIA exemption requirements. This should not be a cut-and-paste from IRCC’s website or the Program Delivery Instructions. |
| Duties | These are the activities that the foreign national will be performing. Do they align with the significant benefit and the occupation? |
| Job Requirements | Are there specific requirements that align with the benefit? |
| Minimum Education Requirements | Are the educational requirements compatible with the stated significant benefit outlined in the offer of employment? The client’s education may have some bearing on whether the client meets the job requirements; however, its relative weight may be less if their work experience is sufficient. |
| Provincial/Federal Certification, Licensing or Registration | Documented evidence should be provided with the application; however, some occupations may require the foreign national to write an exam after they enter Canada, for example, for a licence from a regulated body or a first-aid certificate. |
Refer to Employer-specific work permits with Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) exemptions (International Mobility Program) for further guidance.
Economic benefit considerations
Consult: Economic benefit considerations
Final decision
Approval
The work permit will be issued under the authority of paragraph R205(a).
In the GCMS, on the Application screen, officers should enter the information below in the specified fields.
| Field | Selection or input |
|---|---|
| Case type | 52 The Case type field must be “52”. No other case type will allow the correct linkage in the GCMS. Entering a case type other than “52” will result in incorrect accounting for the GCMS, requiring manual corrections to be made and making inspection activities more difficult. |
| Province of destination | Address of physical job location |
| City of destination | Address of physical job location |
| Exemption code | C10
|
| NOC | National Occupational Classification code
|
| Intended occupation | Job title
|
| Salary (CAD) | Enter the “Amount per year” as indicated in the offer of employment (the temporary worker’s wage in Canadian dollars and the number of working hours) |
| Employer | Business operating name
|
Refusal
If an officer is not satisfied that all the requirements of section R200, including the assessment under paragraph R205(a), are met, they must record their reasons and outline the rationale underlying the decision, as well as the facts and elements considered. They must also provide an explanation for the decision in a case note.
A decision is reasonable and therefore defendable when another person is able to trace the decision maker’s reasoning, without encountering fatal flaws in the overarching logic, and is satisfied that there is a line of analysis within the given reasons that could reasonably lead the tribunal from the evidence before it to the decision maker’s conclusion.
The officer needs to engage with the documentary evidence that was provided by the applicant. Simply stating “I have reviewed the submissions, and I am not satisfied that section R205 is met” is not sufficient for another reasonable person to understand the logic of the decision without reviewing all of the evidence again.
Refusal reasons should clearly indicate which criteria or what requirements of section R200 were not met and explain how the conclusion was reached.
For assistance, officers can follow the steps in Decision making: Standard of review and process for making a reasonable decision.
Refusal grounds in the GCMS
The GCMS has standard text for refusal grounds. Officers should ensure that the refusal grounds selected for the refusal letter match the reasons that they have stated in their case notes.
If an officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant is not able to perform the work sought, they should select the paragraph “R200(3)(a) You were not able to demonstrate that you will be able to adequately perform the work you seek.” Officers should ensure that they clearly indicate in their refusal notes why they are not satisfied.