WatPort: New Faculty SupPort Office

& HRSDC for New HiresJanuary 22, 2009

A Little Bit of History

• June 2002 “Welcoming Women Faculty: The Report of the Provost’s Task Force on Female Faculty Recruitment”

• Need to remain competitive with other Canadian & American Universities to attract the very best candidates for recruitment

• Formal launch of the office made in March 2004 after consultation with various stake-holders on campus

Program Mandate - 2004

• Establish an office as a central resource• Establish a program to aid faculty recruitment & support• Assist newly hired faculty & their families/partners

throughout their resettlement process• Foster cooperation between every administrative &

academic departments & WatPort• Maintain & enhance the WatSource (WatPort now) website

for prospective and/or new faculty• Provide a list of support services available to prospective &

new faculty

Best Practices - 2008

• In 2004, 4 Canadian Universities were identified as having robust services which UW could model our new faculty program/office upon

• As of 2008, the 3 Ontario Universities are still the benchmark for Waterloo’s program/office to strive for

• Of the 3 Ontario Universities, Guelph is our closest “competitor” for which the program/office should at least meet their level of support & service

Present Services & Support

• ½-hour informational meeting during the candidate interview with the department

• KW & UW informational package provided either during the candidate interview or sent after receipt of the signed letter of appointment

• Assistance through email/phone/in person with any questions/queries about resettlement to the Waterloo area

• Provide support/assistance and information about immigration to new faculty candidates and their families and/or the hiring dept. as requested

Who needs a Work Permit

• Any foreign worker requires a valid work permit before they can be legally paid for their employment

• Most common cases are regular full-time faculty who do not hold a Canadian passport

• However, any FULL-TIME worker that do not hold a Canadian passport requires a work permit; this includes PDFs, Research/Teaching Assistants, Research Professors, Lab Assistants/Technicians

• Work permits cannot be issued for part-time work regardless of occupation

Hiring a Foreign Faculty

Once the Letter of Appointment is received from a Foreign new faculty, what happens next:

• Application for a Labour Market Opinion must be obtained• The foreign new faculty must obtain a work permit with an

LMO Confirmation • All LMO’s are for a maximum appointment time of 3 years• Upon re-appointment of the foreign faculty, a new Labour

Market Opinion must be obtained in order for the faculty member to renew his work permit (unless s/he has since received their PR status/card)

The Labour Market Opinion

• HRSDC forms: www.watport.uwaterloo.ca• What are they: Recruitment Summary Form & the

Foreign Worker Application – Application for Labour Market Opinion

• Where to find them: www.watport.uwaterloo.ca/OnCampus/indexWP.html

• How to complete them: www.watport.uwaterloo.ca/OnCampus/howto2.html

• To Whom do they go to: www.watport.uwaterloo.ca/OnCampus/howto1.html

How to complete the LMO

• Download the form from the WatPort site – this is necessary as there are some completed fields already

• Follow the instructions on the step-by-step guide and there should be no problems – if there is, call me!

• Once completed, follow the instructions on the first web-page (General Information) to send it to St. John’s, NB

• Within 24 hours, a confirmation letter will be faxed back to you confirming the credentials of the hire

• If you receive a denial of the LMO, call me!

LMO Confirmation

• Normal turn-around time from time of fax to receipt of the LMO Confirmation is 24 hours

• If you are called by HRSDC in St. John’s, they are simply looking to clarify a point – most likely something they could not read because of the fax transmission!

• Make sure to keep a copy of the LMO Confirmation in the faculty’s file in either the Dean’s or Chair’s office

• The original fax must be given to the new faculty for them to include with their work permit application

The Work PermitOnce the LMO Confirmation is received by your new faculty,

they must do the following:• Download a work permit application form:

www.watport.uwaterloo.ca/OnCampus/howto13.html• Follow the instructions given on the WatPort site:

www.watport.uwaterloo.ca/OnCampus/howto12.html• The actual work permit is not issued to the new faculty until

they enter Canada at any port of entry – they will only receive a Letter of Confirmation of Work Permit, which they must present at the port of entry

What Happens Next

Once your foreign new faculty arrive on campus:• Be sure to ask for a copy of their work permit to add to their

faculty file (this will help you to remember to apply for a new LMO when it comes time for the re-appointment)

• Point them to the WatPort site or refer them directly to me for any questions related to relocation

• Call me or refer me to the foreign new faculty if they have any questions about spousal/partner work permits or are looking to apply for PR

Extension of LMO

When it’s time for the foreign faculty to be re-appointed:• Make sure that the faculty member has not already

received PR – applying and having an application in the process does not negate the fact that they still need a work permit to be legally paid for their work!

• Once the re-appointment letter has been signed, Application to Extend a Labour Market Opinion must be completed and faxed to St. John’s, NB

• The form can be downloaded from the WatPort site: www.watport.uwaterloo.ca/OnCampus/howto8.html

New Faculty Statistics

Comments/Suggestions

• Is there any other immigration matter(s) that you would like to see on the WatPort website?

• Any other on-campus service that you would like linked from the WatPort site?

• Are there specific services or support that your dept./faculty provides that you would like mentioned and/or added to WatPort?

• Is there anything else that I might have missed, omitted, forgotten, overlooked, ignored?

How to reach me….

• On campus: NH 3060L• By phone: 519-888-4567 ext. 36332• By fax: 519-747-4168• By mobile: 519-498-4277• By email: fhanniga@uwaterloo.ca• On the web: www.watport.uwaterloo.ca

Thank you for your time!