I was shocked when I stumbled across an online job posting this week for the music director of a significant Canadian regional orchestra, because he is loved by his musicians as well as the wider community.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
I asked the orchestra’s PR person what was going on, opening the door to a clear case of bureaucracy gone mad. Let’s call it Canada’s Kafkaesque immigration equality for all.
(I am not using any names, because I don’t want to cause grief for people following the letter of the law.)
The orchestra spokesperson responded that, because the music director is the citizen of another country, “[He] must apply and be granted a work permit to allow him to work in Canada. As part of this process we are required to do due diligence to promote and actively recruit nationally to fill this position.”
So the job posting I saw was for a job that’s already filled — but isn’t.
“It’s a new policy at Citizen and Immigration Canada this year. It’s actually his LMO that needs to be approved, so it won’t be the full application process,” wrote the PR person in response to a follow-up email question. “That said, we do need to advertise nationally to see if there is a suitable Canadian to fill the position first. At this point, I do not believe that we have received any suitable Canadian applications.”
Wondering what an LMO was, I consulted the online Citizenship and Immigration Canada Help Centre. It states:
A Labour Market Opinion (LMO) is a document that an employer in Canada may need to get before hiring a foreign worker.
A positive LMO will show that there is a need for a foreign worker to fill the job and that no Canadian worker can do the job. A positive LMO is sometimes called a Confirmation letter.
Your proposed employer must contact Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). ESDC will provide details on the LMO application process.
It looks like this is related to the announcement made last April 29 by then-Human Resources Minister Diane Finley and then-Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney that the federal government was reforming the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP, for those with the right alphabet soup in their lunchbowl).
“These reforms will require that greater efforts be made to recruit and train Canadians to fill available jobs,” stated Kenney in the accompanying press release. “They will also help ensure the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is only used as intended — to fill acute skills shortages on a temporary basis.”
It’s interesting how this well-intentioned policy gets distorted in the real world — and how a government supposedly concerned with efficiency can add layers of red tape to the already complicated process of getting work permits for foreign workers.
We have to assume that this is costing the orchestra many extra dollars and person-hours — just so they can keep a fine artist who has done much to grow the organization’s profile in the community. Ironically, this artist has become a tremendous champion of Canadian musicians and composers.
This orchestra has a multimillion-dollar budget, so the cost of this fake talent search is relatively small. But what about all of the smaller arts organizations and presenters who may be held to the same rules?
The April 29 press release ends with this paragraph:
As part of the ongoing review of the TFWP, the Harper government will seek input from Canadians on further changes, to ensure that the Program is working in the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses. Cross-Canada consultations will be held over the coming months with businesses, industry and trade organizations, unions and others on additional changes to the TFWP.
Clearly, it’s time to contact our Members of Parliament and whoever else might listen to explain that perhaps the arts are not the same as tree-planting, grape-picking or bio-research.
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
