Canadian HR Reporter, 2020
a Pakistani speciality shop. The employer
stated that the applicant would not be in-
teracting with customers and that most of
the employees in the organization spoke
Urdu. Nevertheless, the application was re-
jected as the applicant was not conversant
in English. The applicant submitted that,
regardless of the LMIA language require-
ments, the officer should have conducted
an analysis of the impact of the applicant's
inability to speak English and the require-
ments of the job. The court found that the
visa officer should have analyzed all of the
evidence and based his decision on the ac-
tual requirements of the position.
Communication a basic requirement
Proficiency in one of the official languag-
es is an important factor for issuance of
work permits, even though it may not be
a requirement for a specific job. A person's
ability to communicate with other employ
-
ees, customers, clients and emergency ser-
vices is a basic requirement for most jobs.
Therefore, employers should be mindful of
a foreign worker's language skills before
embarking on a lengthy and costly LMIA
or work permit process.
For more information see:
• Sulce v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship
and Immigration), 2015 FC 1132 (F.C.).
• Sun v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and
Immigration), 2019 FC 1548 (F.C.).
• Kaur v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship
and Immigration), 2017 FC 1097 (F.C.).
• Sangha v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship
and Immigration), 2020 FC 95 (F.C.).
• Brar v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and
Immigration), 2020 FC 70 (F.C.).
• Ul Zaman v. Canada (Minister of Citizen
-
ship and Immigration), 2020 FC 268 (F.C.).
November
18,
2020
|
Canadian
Employment
Law
Today
CREDIT:
MICROSTOCKHUB
iSTOCK
A person's ability to
communicate with other
employees, customers and
emergency services is a basic
requirement for most jobs.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sergio R. Karas
Sergio R. Karas, B.A., J.D., is a Certified Specialist in Canadian
Citizenship and Immigration Law by the Law Society of
Ontario. He is past chairman of the Ontario Bar Association
Citizenship and Immigration Law Section, past chairman of
the International Bar Association Immigration and Nationality
Law Committee and past chairman of the Canada committee
of the American Bar Association International Law Section.
He can be reached at (416) 506-1800 or karas@karas.ca.
