Let me rewrite:
The $36/Hour Problem
Category: Canada → Forums → Economy and Jobs → Employment → Labor Market
A Job That Pays Too Well
You see the posting: Restaurant Supervisor, $36/hour.
That's good money. Well above typical rates for the role. You're qualified. You've got experience. You apply.
You interview. It seems to go well. Then silence. You follow up. Nothing. You move on.
Months later, you notice the position filled. The new supervisor doesn't seem to be from around here.
You start to wonder if you ever had a chance.
The Threshold Game
The Labour Market Impact Assessment system requires employers to demonstrate they couldn't find qualified Canadians before hiring a Temporary Foreign Worker. The system also distinguishes between "high-wage" and "low-wage" positions based on provincial median wages.
In Alberta, that threshold sits around $36/hour.
Here's what that creates: employers who want to access the LMIA system need to post positions at or above that threshold. For specialized professional roles, $36/hour might be uncompetitive. But for restaurant supervisors, hospitality managers, food service staff?
$36/hour is attractive. Very attractive.
So Canadians apply. Lots of them. Qualified ones.
And that's the tell. If you're offering above-market wages for a role and still claiming you can't find Canadians—something else is happening.
How the Game Works
Step 1: Post at Threshold
List the position at exactly the wage needed to qualify for LMIA processing. Not market rate—threshold rate. For many service industry positions, this means posting well above what the role typically pays.
Step 2: Attract Applicants
Canadians see good wages for accessible work. They apply. They're qualified. They interview.
Step 3: Reject Everyone
Find reasons. Any reasons.
- "We've decided to go in a different direction"
- "The position requirements have changed"
- "We'll keep your resume on file"
- Or simply: silence
No substantive feedback. No clear disqualification. Just... no.
Step 4: Document "Failed Recruitment"
The employer now has records showing recruitment activity. Job posting? Check. Applications received? Check. Interviews conducted? Check. Qualified Canadian hired? Unfortunately, no suitable candidates were found.
Step 5: LMIA Approval
With documented recruitment "failure," the LMIA application proceeds. The predetermined candidate gets the work permit.
Step 6: Hire as Planned
The person the employer intended to hire all along arrives. The $36/hour posting served its purpose—not to find a Canadian worker, but to create paperwork justifying why one wasn't hired.
The Red Flags
Certain patterns suggest postings designed for LMIA eligibility rather than genuine recruitment:
Wages at Exact Threshold
When postings cluster precisely at $36-38/hour for roles that typically pay $22-28/hour, that's not generosity. That's threshold targeting.
High-Volume Canadian Rejections
A position paying above market rate that somehow can't find qualified local candidates? After receiving dozens of applications? That defies basic labor market logic.
Repeated LMIA Usage
Same employer, same pattern, quarter after quarter. Consistently posting, consistently rejecting Canadians, consistently bringing in TFWs. At some point, coincidence stops being a credible explanation.
Vague Rejection Rationale
Qualified applicants rejected without substantive explanation. "Not a fit." "Position filled." "Requirements changed." Nothing specific. Nothing actionable. Nothing that could be challenged.
Speed of TFW Hire
Position posted, Canadians rejected, TFW arrives—all within tight timelines that suggest the process was procedural rather than genuine.
Who Gets Hurt
Qualified Canadians
People who should have those jobs don't. They applied in good faith for positions they could do well. They were rejected for reasons that were never explained. After enough ghosting, they start questioning their own qualifications.
The system told them they weren't good enough. The system lied.
The Workers Brought In
Temporary Foreign Workers aren't villains in this story. They're often victims too.
Their status is tied to their employer. They can't easily leave. They can't easily complain. They're vulnerable to exploitation precisely because the system makes them dependent.
Employers running this game aren't just bypassing Canadians—they're accessing a labor pool with reduced bargaining power. Workers who can't quit. Workers who can't report abuse without risking deportation.
Wages Across the Industry
Here's the ugly math: if employers can access workers who can't negotiate, why raise wages to attract workers who can?
The LMIA threshold becomes a ceiling rather than a floor. Wages stagnate. Canadian workers in the industry compete against TFWs who have no leverage. Everyone loses except the employer.
Legitimate Businesses
Employers with genuine labor shortages—and they exist—face increasing scrutiny because bad actors have poisoned the system. The backlash against TFW programs hurts businesses using them appropriately.
What's Missing: A Way to Report
If you're a qualified Canadian who applied for an above-market position, interviewed, got rejected without explanation, and later learned the role was filled via LMIA—what's your recourse?
Report to whom? Service Canada? With what evidence? Your rejected application and a hunch?
The system has no structured mechanism for affected workers to flag suspected abuse. Individual cases are impossible to prove. But patterns across many cases? Those tell a story.
The infrastructure to detect those patterns doesn't exist.
What Would Accountability Look Like?
Pattern Detection
Individual reports mean little. But when dozens of qualified Canadians report rejection from the same employer, for similar roles, followed by LMIA hires—that's data.
Aggregate reports. Identify outliers. Flag employers whose rejection-to-LMIA ratio defies statistical probability.
Wage Threshold Analysis
Cross-reference posted wages against market rates for the role. A restaurant supervisor posting at $36/hour when market rate is $24/hour isn't generous—it's suspicious.
Why would an employer pay 50% above market and still claim they can't find workers?
Outcome Tracking
What happens to TFWs after arrival? Do they stay with the employer? Do they report issues? Do they transition to permanent status, or do they cycle out and get replaced?
Employers with high turnover, complaints, or unusual patterns warrant scrutiny.
Employer Transparency
Make LMIA history visible. Number of applications. Approval rates. Subsequent worker outcomes. Reports filed.
Employers operating legitimately have nothing to hide. Employers gaming the system prefer darkness.
What This Isn't
Not Anti-Immigration
Immigration built this country. Continues to build it. Skilled newcomers contribute enormously.
This is about employers exploiting immigration pathways—hurting Canadian workers and foreign workers alike.
Not Anti-Worker
TFWs aren't the problem. They're often victims. They didn't design this system. They're navigating it under conditions that make them vulnerable.
Accountability should target employers, not workers.
Not Anti-Business
Legitimate labor shortages exist. The LMIA system serves a purpose.
This is about ensuring the system works as intended—not about closing doors that should stay open.
The $36/Hour Question
Here's what we need to understand:
When a restaurant posts a supervisor position at $36/hour—well above market—and still claims no qualified Canadians applied, one of two things is true:
- The local labor market has catastrophically failed in ways that defy economic logic
- The posting was never intended to hire a Canadian
The first explanation strains credibility. The second explains the pattern.
The $36/hour posting isn't about finding workers. It's about generating paperwork. The wage exists to meet a threshold, not to attract candidates.
Qualified Canadians are just collateral damage in someone else's immigration paperwork.
Questions for Discussion
- Have you applied for positions at above-market wages and been rejected without explanation?
- What would make you confident enough to report a suspected LMIA abuse?
- Should employer LMIA history be public information?
- How do we protect TFWs who want to report exploitation?
- What does a fair accountability system look like—one that catches bad actors without burdening legitimate employers?
- Is the current threshold system fundamentally broken, or just poorly enforced?