Amendments to Ontario Immigration Act, 2015
Regulation Number(s):
Ontario Immigration Act, 2015
Instrument Type:
Regulation - LGIC
Bill or Act:
Act
Summary of Proposal:
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) reviews foreign national and related employer applications and issues nominations to foreign nationals who have the skills and experience needed to support Ontario's economy.

The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD) is seeking approval to amend the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015 (Act) to improve the Act's compliance authority and the efficiency of the OINP. The amendments would improve the program's ability to protect against incidences of misrepresentation and fraud and resolve cases as efficiently and effectively as possible. The amendments would also be leveraged to support the program's obligation to ensure that only applicants who meet prescribed criteria are nominated.

The amendments proposed would:
Expand the authority of the director appointed under the Act (Director) to compel information from employers/applicants directly as well as indirectly from their representatives;
Expand inspection authorities to allow for:
opre-nomination inspections of applicant employers who wish to employ foreign nationals; and
oinspections of businesses established or purchased by foreign nationals applying under the OINP's Entrepreneur stream;
Increasing the maximum duration of a ban for a person or body who has contravened the Act or its regulations from two years to five years to better align with that of the federal government;
Reducing the timeline for submitting an internal review request from 60 days to 30 days to reflect a fully electronic application process (existing timelines were established before e-filing), and
Updating an important reference in the Act to reflect pending changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) that would allow the program to continue to regulate immigration consultants.

MLTSD is also pursuing a housekeeping amendment to clarify the Act's existing delegation of regulation making authority to the Minister.
Analysis of Regulatory Impact:
No new administrative cost for business.
Further Information:
Proposal Number:
21-MLTSD 008
Posting Date:
April 15, 2021
Comments Due Date:
May 25, 2021
Contact Address:
400 University Ave., 4th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M7A 1T7