KSA used temporary foreign worker program to fill low-wage position

The Kwantlen Student Association filled an accounting technician and bookkeeper low-wage position through the temporary foreign worker program (TFWP).

Employment and Social Development Canada’s (ESDC) 2024 fourth-quarter report of positive labour market impact assessments (LMIA) includes the KSA. 

Employers may need an LMIA before hiring a temporary foreign worker (TFW), the Government of Canada website reads. A positive assessment is issued if hiring the worker will have a positive or neutral impact on the Canadian labour market. All employers must obtain a positive LMIA before hiring the worker. 

“An LMIA confirms that there is a need for a temporary foreign worker and that no Canadians or permanent residents are available,” ESDC wrote in an email statement to The Runner.

Temporary foreign workers are about one per cent of Canada’s labour force, ESDC added. 

“The staff [the] KSA hired for the Accounting position had a PGWP (post-graduate work permit) which is an open work permit,” KSA Executive Director Timothii Ragavan wrote in an email statement to The Runner. “The staff was already working with the KSA as part of its Accounting Team.”

Ragavan added that the staff member graduated from Kwantlen Polytechnic University with a post-baccalaureate diploma in accounting.

“As an independent organization, only the KSA can talk to its hiring practices,” KPU Vice-President Students Zena Mitchell wrote in an email statement to The Runner.

The diploma is an around 16-month program. For programs more than eight months but less than two years, a post-graduation work permit may be issued, valid up to the same length as the program.

“The KSA supported the staff’s application for [permanent residency] by allowing her to continue in the job position that she was already doing for more than a year,” Ragavan wrote.

LMIA recruitment requirements

“Before issuing a positive LMIA, the TFW Program reviews whether the employer and job offer are legitimate and whether the employer has adhered to program requirements, including that genuine recruitment efforts were undertaken to hire Canadians or permanent residents first,” ESDC wrote.

In 2024, the LMIA recruitment time requirement was at least four weeks. As of April 1, the requirement is a minimum of eight consecutive weeks within the three months before submitting the application.

“The KSA did try to make a genuine effort to recruit other candidates for the position,” Ragavan said at the Jan. 29 council meeting.

The Runner requested documentation of the KSA’s recruitment efforts. At the same meeting, Ragavan said he would need to consult the association’s legal counsel before releasing any “internal documents.”

How much did it cost?

The LMIA processing fee is $1,000 — and it cannot be paid by or recovered from temporary foreign workers.

Before June 27, 2025, a TFW low-wage position in B.C. was paid less than $34.62, the provincial wage threshold. Temporary foreign workers must be offered full-time positions, with a minimum of 30 hours per week.

Other costs may have included advertising fees or hiring a third-party representative to file the LMIA application.

Ragavan said he would provide The Runner with all of the applications associated costs by Jan. 30. As of publication, The Runner has not received any documentation.

The report also stated this is the only positive LMIA the KSA has. However, Ragavan did not confirm if any other KSA positions have been filled using the TFWP.

“[T]he TFW Program is a last-resort measure used to address critical, short-term labour market shortages when qualified Canadians or permanent residents are not available,” ESDC wrote.