Fast Tracking Skilled Labour Foreign Hires.

[Gilles]

Good timing. This morning I received an Access to Information Request I made on May 13 2014. It took almost a year to receive it.

It contains all the approved LMO applications made by Canadian Aircraft Operators between Oct 2014 and May 13 2014, with all supporting documents. In a few days, we will publish an indexed version of same document with applicant's name in the index.

I encourage all pilots to go over this 1000+ page document to see what dubious claims Employers often make to avoid hiring qualified Canadian pilots in favor of TFW pilots:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5853ejl2jrclmeu/LMO%20aplications%20Oct2013-May2014.pdf?dl=0

[Twin Helix]

 

One of the complaints the Director of the TFWP at ESDC made to us, is that they set up a means for people to complain against abuses in the TFWP but very few pilots have lodged complaints. They need complaints in order to take any action because without the complaints...

While whistle blowers can help point the TFW folks in the right direction, the real onus should stay on the administrators of the program to check claims. If the government needs more time to verify LMO claims, they should take more time rather than rubber stamping the whole process.

As they say, lack of planning on your part doesn't equate to an emergency on my part. Simply, if an operator applies last minute, they can wait for the process to play out or they can look a bit harder for a qualified local employee.

A while back I heard it suggested that a universal posting and application board would make it much easier for the feds to assess the legitimacy of claims. When the TFW program gets an LMO application and it states there are no 407 pilots with 5000+ hours and a mountain course, the fed can search for the same qualifications in the job seeking section. If they find eligible applicants in the system, easy to conclude they need to ask more questions of the operator.

As a bonus, operators that legitimately want to look for locals would then have easy access to a much larger labour pool.

Thanks for your continuing efforts, Gilles

[tin lizzie]

The problem I see with this reporting system is unless a pilot knows someone on the inside we have no way of knowing whether we were not hired due to a preferred Canadian worker or a TFW. We can certainly report that we applied at the company during the LMO application period, but that's all most of us could state with any certainty.

This is kind of like closing the barn door after the horse escapes - considering it could take over a year (or more!) to obtain an ATP request. I'm pretty sure the government is well aware of this.


Besides, as I've said before, as long as employers know there is a backup source of TFW if they build a correct paper trail, it enables the employer to be choosier when considering the pool of applicants.

If the TFW option was removed entirely operators would simply have to deal with it. Businesses are faced with tough challenges all the time - like most pilots, most business owners don't throw up their hands and give up when the #### hits the fan. As it stands now, operators know they only have to make a bit of noise and the government quickly caves before the media gets wind if it.

Cheers,
tin lizzie

[flingwinger]

I never had much of an opinion on the tfw's until I was in the field and went for friendly beers with a tfw pilot. After a couple cold ones the truth came out that his only prior experience was flight training over seas.. Here he was flying an astar full time, his first season in Canada. That was an eye opener for me, at how abused the system is.

[shakey]

I am curious in that situation shouldn't the employer be held criminally responsible if there were to be an accident? I would think he or she should for not doing their due diligence in a background check. Also insurance should be null and void as well.

[just looking]

I am curious in that situation shouldn't the employer be held criminally responsible if there were to be an accident? I would think he or she should for not doing their due diligence in a background check. Also insurance should be null and void as well.

 

Not sure how. There are a few Canadian pilots that fly 400 plus hours from one year to the next in a winter flying the couch and drinking beer watching TV. Truthfully how could anyone check to verify a log book entry are true from another country let alone Canada.

[HeliRico]

If ur a low timer with at least 500/600 hrs of "real" flying time, it is very easy to boost the log at 1500hours telling your futur employer you haven't fly in 5/6 years.. The result on your check ride will the same or even better and check pilot won't see the difference.. If its what it takes to get a job, why not?? Foreigners got the balls big enough to do it , so why dont you? Save your jobs guy's ! And for the ones getting ofended by this comments, SUCK IT UP ! yep, sad truth indeed!

[bigD]

Good timing. This morning I received an Access to Information Request I made on May 13 2014. It took almost a year to receive it.

It contains all the approved LMO applications made by Canadian Aircraft Operators between Oct 2014 and May 13 2014, with all supporting documents. In a few days, we will publish an indexed version of same document with applicant's name in the index.

I encourage all pilots to go over this 1000+ page document to see what dubious claims Employers often make to avoid hiring qualified Canadian pilots in favor of TFW pilots:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5853ejl2jrclmeu/LMO%20aplications%20Oct2013-May2014.pdf?dl=0

Thanks Gilles

Interesting. I guess next time I'm looking for work I will have to check out kijiji and Craigslist.

[Skidmark]

I never had much of an opinion on the tfw's until I was in the field and went for friendly beers with a tfw pilot. After a couple cold ones the truth came out that his only prior experience was flight training over seas.. Here he was flying an astar full time, his first season in Canada. That was an eye opener for me, at how abused the system is.

 

Well, here's your chance to put the system to task.

Flingwinger, state when this occurred. Give an obvious hint who the company may be and if any other readers applied for a job and were rejected during the time frame file a complaint.

If not a single capable qualified unemployed Canadian pilot applied then I say the foreign pilot you mentioned has been fortunate and has a job that no other Canadians wanted.

[bigD]

If ur a low timer with at least 500/600 hrs of "real" flying time, it is very easy to boost the log at 1500hours telling your futur employer you haven't fly in 5/6 years.. The result on your check ride will the same or even better and check pilot won't see the difference.. If its what it takes to get a job, why not?? Foreigners got the balls big enough to do it , so why dont you? Save your jobs guy's ! And for the ones getting ofended by this comments, SUCK IT UP ! yep, sad truth indeed!

I sure wouldn't recommend that as a Canadian pilot. It's a small industry. I don't think it is that foreigners have "bigger Balls" just less to lose in a foreign country. If there fake log books don't pan out they can go home and lie about how many hours they got in Canada.just remember there are a lot of companies that check references. Im guessing the companies that hire all the TFWs don't.