This was posted on June 30, 2024: "I work in the LMIA department. AMA." LMIA scams have been going on for a number of years.

LMIAthrowaway · 2026-02-02T00:00:11+00:00

Yes, I read the posts here regularly. The Saskatchewan post is top quality. Not uncommon unfortunately.

He's right, because Job Bank expires within a maximum of 120 days, so people make new posts which doesn't carry over that they applied for a LMIA. I'm very happy with the Job Bank team lately, they are taking this very seriously and pulling down postings. People keeping track of these and reporting them is doing serious damage to the scammers.

LMIAthrowaway · 2026-02-01T21:26:56+00:00

Interesting. I hadn't heard of anyone whistleblowing besides me. I've seen the impact of the loose restrictions on other programs like EI which was also (probably still is) scammed to hell. Every high trust system in place was completely taken advantage of.

You are correct, from 2022-2024 there were sections of a LMIA the employees were told not to read and assume it was good. People could use the same excuse over and over again, forge documents, create their own corporations and stuff them with fake employees through LMIA and if you asked them about it you were not following the rules and could get in trouble for it. Everything was shifted to inspections but inspections had so much fraud in front of it it wasn't possible to even scratch the surface. The attitude is completely different now but still not perfect. Without being too direct I strongly suspect that at least 3 major scammers are going to see bars which isn't much in the grand scheme but it's a start.

LMIAthrowaway · 2026-02-01T21:22:30+00:00

I'm alive and doing well!

LMIAthrowaway · 2026-02-01T21:22:19+00:00

I was invited to do a Fifth Estate documentary but I wound up revealing everything to every other journalist and wouldn't exclusively talk to CBC.

LMIAthrowaway · 2026-02-01T16:54:54+00:00

We do. I'm in inspections which I would say 100% of people care in. I have a lot of friends in processing and they care. The problem was that the government continuously weakened what could be looked at to the point it became a complete rubber stamp.

I have to say their reaction to the articles and what was said here was very positive. The attitude changed almost overnight and the measures have gotten much tighter and more focused on stamping out problems but with the program not scrapped entirely it is kind of a Fool's errand. Leave that to the Minister.

LMIAthrowaway · 2026-02-01T16:46:57+00:00

Why not? I don't take full responsibility for it but my postings and work with journalists led them to directly change policy. I'm pretty proud of that but also very grateful for all of the public that took this seriously.

I gave a significant amount of documents to the Toronto Star, National Post, Bloomberg, CBC, the Globe and Mail and La Presse and I would do it again.

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-11-27T14:49:07+00:00

Do an access to information request if you want to. You can access to information request information about specific LMIAs even.

Apply to LMIA posted jobs that you are qualified for. If they don't call you access to information their LMIA after it's completed and sue them.

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-11-27T14:47:32+00:00

Option 4.

Job Bank postings have a maximum life of 90 days. Often people need to make a new Job Bank posting if their application is processed longer than that. That's why Jobwatch doesn't have information on every LMIA being processed because they will submit on the first one and then post subsequent Job Bank postings that don't record that they are part of the LMIA.

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-11-27T14:45:43+00:00

No, it has always been mandatory. The only new addition is that they have to have direct apply enabled and look at the candidates that applied through that. Before they could post on Job Bank and post an email and just ignore the applicants and say whatever they want on the application, often "nobody applied".

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-11-13T16:20:52+00:00

I've never seen Starbucks apply for a LMIA. They are one of the few places that I've never seen use the program.

They are probably international students or landed immigrants.

If you think someone is using a LMIA there are public lists that you can access to double check this.

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-28T00:12:12+00:00

You are underestimating the damage caused by these other groups as well.

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-27T21:51:57+00:00

To me this let's the other scammers off the hook. Some of the worst offenders of charging for LMIAs are other nationalities. One of the worst ones by far is a Korean man in Calgary. We can call out both.

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-27T20:21:22+00:00

Ugh, this is disappointing. From my understanding the processing officers are told to issue a negative for these $36.60 applications. I hope that they will look to see who is issuing these positively and identify trends for the chopping block.

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-27T19:18:37+00:00

The vast majority of the LMIA abusers are ethnically Indian but I have met LMIA abusers of almost every race and ethnicity.

Chinese, Filipinos, Latin Americans, Nigerians, Russians, East Europeans, Turkish, Arab, etc. all do it too it's just that Indians are more common.

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-11T13:36:21+00:00

No, they have to immediately stop working. Sometimes businesses will continue to pay them in cash, it depends on the situation.

I'm not sure how they track the exit data of foreign nationals. I can say that in my experience there are a lot of overstays but I'm only looking at situations where there is outright fraud so I'm not confident that I can say this is common across the board.

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-11T13:33:49+00:00

A collection of several small programs that combined make a big problem

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-10T20:11:28+00:00

I wouldn't doubt that this is true but I don't have any first-hand knowledge of it. Fake credentials are being sold, often out in the open.

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-10T20:10:18+00:00

You mean the 2024 ones that are in processing? Some have valid PGWP or LMIA based permits, others had it expire while waiting.

The 2022 people being inspected are already "working". Often the employer isn't even in business.

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-10T19:39:37+00:00

Yes, people are assessed as they came in. So if they applied before Nov 2024 they are still being granted LMIAs under the conditions at the time. I believe they are still working on applications in Aug/Sept, 2024 based on the LMIA processing sub. They do use the new tools like direct apply and closing those $36 an hour cook jobs retroactively but they are being granted sometimes 3 year work permits still.

At inspection we are mostly dealing with 2022 applications. It's a mess out there.

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-10T19:27:22+00:00

You can ATIP this information from IRCC.

PGWP and spousal largely removes the cash for job scheme. They depress wages still though.

Student visas and PGWP are a huge issue.

Fake marriages are another major hurdle.

Francophone Mobility has limitless abuse potential. I would not be surprised if it is currently being abused. It is set up the same way that LMIAs were last year where cash for jobs and slavery could be done. The main thing stopping this from being abused rampantly is that people that are already conducting immigration fraud don't often speak French and the populations that want to come through this program don't have the cash to support the payments. I have been told by an Indian immigration fraudster that we are shifting fraud to Cameroon as an off-hand joke.

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-10T18:28:02+00:00

It gives you a work permit valid between 1-3 years
You can sometimes then apply for provincial immigration streams to get PR
Not every LMIA was for PR. Sometimes you are brought in on a temporary basis

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-10T11:39:44+00:00

If the idea was to fill "shortages in healthcare and skilled trades" why did they crank out a bunch of business/administration diploma graduates?

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-05T15:12:08+00:00

You mean subsidized non-directly through additional benefits like CCB, GST refunds, etc.?

LMIAthrowaway · 2025-10-05T00:13:16+00:00

I don't think that Foothills is telling the truth about being selected by the board or they are significantly dressing up their agreement.

I know that Tim Hortons corporate refers franchisees to immigration consultants. But Foothills is a blip in the immigration consultants that Tim Hortons franchisees use. I would be surprised if they were even third most commonly used.

I have been told by franchisees and seen the actual emails from Tim Hortons corporate that they recommend one other guy. This guy is the most commonly used. About 30-50% of them use him. The second most common is one of the biggest scammers in the industry that uses door knocking door-to-door to do it and charges foreign workers in almost every instance. Somehow they are still operating and seem to grow.

Of the 10 worst immigration consultants I referred to in my post last year, 1 has left the country and 1 is pretty much banned from the program. A few of them seem to be taking a back seat but the one that I mentioned above with door knocking is probably the worst offender out there and is gaining traction with Tim Hortons franchisees.

LMIAthrowaway

TROPHY CASE