What the Changes to the Owner Operator Program Mean for Your Ontario Business Plan
The recent changes to the LMIA owner operator program may have a significant impact on your Ontario Business Plan. In other words, if you were planning on pursuing the Ontario business plan for immigration purposes via the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) owner operator program, you may need to reconsider your options and/or adapt your plan. Background The owner operator program as it has existed for quite some time was a viable option for hopeful business immigrants. The LMIA is a document, or type of clearance, that most employers are required to obtain before they may hire a foreign worker. As the name implies, it assesses the impact of hiring a foreign worker to the overall labour market. The LMIA also requires that an advertisement be placed for the job as evidence that a qualified citizen or current resident was not available to fill the position. LMIA Owner Operator Basics The Owner Operator Program is an alternative that allows someone to receive a positive LMIA even without posting the job. Instead, if the applicant intends to own and operate a business, they could still be approved. One of the most common destinations for owner-operators is
Ontario, therefor these applications would be accompanied by an Ontario business plan. The Changes The changes announced in February 2021 that will take go into effect in April 2021 change the basics of the owner operator program. In essence, it cancels the program by removing the special processing rules and exceptions. Now, owner operators must still place the job advertisement and prove that other citizens or residents are not able to fill the role (in this case owner and manager) that they themselves plan to fill. There are other changes as well. Most notably, the prevailing wage requirement was not applied under the owner operator program. When hiring a foreign worker, employers must pay them within the average wage for the specific job in the given area. Those applying under the LMIA owner operator program were not expected to adhere to this. They would often opt not to pay themselves this wage in order to have more cash flow for general business expenses or to cover other salaries. This is no longer an option, which may make it difficult for those who could still qualify under the new rules. Adapting Your Ontario Business Plan If you have created – or are planning on creating – an Ontario Business Plan as part of an owner operator program, there are a few important things to keep in mind. First and foremost, you may still be able to secure an owner operator program LMIA if you can prove the role can’t be filled by a local. This can be a tall task but, may be achievable if the business you are proposing running is in a high demand field like technology. You may also be able to adapt your Ontario business plan and intended business immigration path to one of several alternatives. These include many exceptions to the LMIA under the International Mobility Program. They include things like Significant Benefit exception or, if you already own your business in your home country, an Intra-Company Transferee. Conclusion Changes to the LMIA Owner Operator Program have fundamentally altered the requirements. Thankfully, several exceptions exist. In any case, if you are going for the program in Ontario, you’ll need an Ontario business plan. This plan can, and should, be adapted to address the specifics of any business immigration path you choose to apply for instead. Make sure to consult professionals to help you decide which immigration plan is best for you considering these changes.