AI-Assisted Employer Selection for Labour Compliance Inspections

Enforcement · Risk Assessment & Triage

What it collects that can identify you

Sensitive personal information

Identifiable data

Employer business numbers (BNs) and associated Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) data held by ESDC, identifying specific employers enrolled in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Data is classified up to Protected B/C.

AIA — Section 3.1 Q55: Input data description

Also collects operational data, which is anonymized data.

Run by: Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
Where: No fixed location
Kept: Retained Not specified in AIA
Shared with: Accountable organization
Your copy: You cannot see the data it holds about you. What you can do

What it is for

Enforcement

Risk Assessment & Triage

This system automatically selects employers enrolled in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program for compliance inspections, using risk-based criteria and business rules to prioritize those who may be more likely to violate program conditions. It produces a referral list that human investigators then use to initiate and conduct inspections. The system does not make any compliance finding — all decisions about employer compliance remain with trained human inspectors.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

Sensitive personal information

Identifiable data

Employer business numbers (BNs) and associated Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) data held by ESDC, identifying specific employers enrolled in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Data is classified up to Protected B/C.

AIA — Section 3.1 Q55: Input data description

Operational data

Anonymized data

Administrative data from multiple federal departments (IRCC, CBSA, ESDC) and provincial/territorial governments shared under Information Sharing Agreements (ISAs) for TFWP integrity purposes, including LMIA data and compliance history records.

AIA — Section 3.1 Q55: Input data description

Processing

Classification & Prediction

A business rules algorithm evaluates employer data against established risk factors to classify employers as higher-risk or general population, and then performs random selection within those strata to produce inspection referral lists.

What it does

Deciding (Analytical AI)

Human decides

The system applies business rules and risk-based criteria to score and rank employers, producing a referral list. Human investigators receive the list and make all subsequent compliance decisions — the system does not render any compliance determination.

Outputs

A recommendation or prediction

Identifiable data

The system produces a list of employer business numbers (BNs) and associated LMIA data referred to the case management system for the creation of inspection cases. This is an advisory referral — human staff maintain full autonomy to manage, distribute, assign, or remove cases.

Run by

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)

Service Canada, part of Employment and Social Development Canada, is responsible for inspecting employers to determine compliance with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. The Integrity Services Branch and Temporary Foreign Worker Branch jointly operate this system.

Temporary Foreign Worker Program Case Selection Algorithm — Government of Canada Open Data

Built by

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Kept for

Retained Not specified in AIA

The AIA confirms an audit trail is maintained that records system recommendations and identifies the version used, and a change log is kept. Specific retention periods for output referral data and audit logs are not disclosed in the available documentation. Personal Information Bank numbers PPU 040 and PPU 715 govern personal information use.
Duration: Not specified in AIA

Shared with

Available to the accountable organization

Output referral lists and associated LMIA data are available to ESDC's Integrity Operations and Service Canada investigators. Access permission processes are noted as not yet fully formalized in the AIA.

Not available to me

Employers selected by the system are not individually notified of their selection or the specific risk factors that triggered their referral. The criteria used to evaluate employer data are restricted from public disclosure due to the nature of the compliance program.

Stored

Stored locally

The system uses data held by ESDC and obtained through information-sharing agreements with other federal departments and provinces and territories. Input data is classified up to Protected B/C. The system operates within the Government of Canada's federal IT infrastructure. No third-party cloud storage is indicated.
Duration: Not specified in AIA

How to read the colours

Can it identify you?

Anonymized data: Data about people with the link to who is broken. Stripped of identifiers, blurred, aggregated, or noised so this system can’t reasonably tie a record back to an individual.
Pseudonymous data: Each person’s data is tied to a token (hash, ID, template) that lets this system recognise the same person across events, but the token itself doesn’t reveal a name. Reidentification is possible with extra information.
Identifiable data: The data either contains a direct identifier (name, address, account name, recognisable face or voice, plate number) or carries a token this system uses to look up legal identity during processing.

Who completes the loop?

Human decides: This mode suggests; a person decides what to do next. The AI is always advisory — a human is in the loop on every decision. Example: a triage tool ranks cases for a clinician who chooses which to see first.
Human executes: This mode decides; a person carries out the result. Example: an optimizer plans the day’s trash-collection routes, and drivers run them.
Autonomous: This mode decides and acts on its own. No person reviews each decision or carries out the resulting action.

Definitions from the DTPR standard. Amber is about your data, violet about who decides. The fuller the shape and the deeper the colour, the more identifying the data or the less a person is involved.

What you can do

Ask about this system

Questions go to the Helpful Places, not the vendor.

Your rights

Right to Be Informed of AI UseEmployers subject to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program are subject to inspection under IRPR s.209.5 and are informed through the program's regulatory framework that any approved employer may be selected for a random inspection. The existence of this automated selection system has been disclosed through the Government of Canada's AI register and the published Algorithmic Impact Assessment.
Right to a Human ReviewAll inspection decisions are made by human investigators — the system only generates a referral list. Human staff maintain full autonomy to manage, distribute, assign, or remove cases from the referral list before any inspection is initiated. The inspection process itself, including any finding of non-compliance, is conducted entirely by trained human officers following established IRPR regulations and guidance.
Right to ContestA recourse process exists for employers who wish to challenge outcomes arising from the inspection process. Employers may also contact Employment and Social Development Canada through established program channels. The AIA confirms that a recourse process has been established for clients wishing to challenge decisions.
Right to Algorithmic TransparencyThe existence and general purpose of this automated selection system have been disclosed through the Government of Canada's AI register and a published Algorithmic Impact Assessment, discoverable via the open.canada.ca portal. Note: the specific risk criteria used by the algorithm are not publicly disclosed due to the nature of the compliance program.

Risks and safeguards

Civil liberties harmThe risk-based selection criteria are not publicly disclosed, raising concerns about potential discriminatory or disparate-impact selection of certain employer groups, and the chilling effect on employers exercising lawful program participation. The system operates in an area of intense public scrutiny given its immigration nexus.Safeguard: All inspections are conducted by trained human investigators following established IRPR procedures; human staff may override or remove cases from the referral list; an audit trail records system recommendations and identifies the version used; a recourse process exists for employers who wish to challenge inspection outcomes; and internal consultations with Legal Services and the ATIP office were conducted. No formal Gender-Based Analysis Plus or bias testing of datasets has been completed, which is a noted gap.
Financial & business harmEmployers selected for inspection who are ultimately found non-compliant may face administrative monetary penalties or bans from the TFWP, causing direct financial harm. Erroneous selection of compliant employers creates operational burden and reputational risk.Safeguard: The system does not render compliance decisions; only trained human inspectors can find non-compliance. Impacts from the selection decision are considered reversible and brief. Human staff maintain autonomy to remove cases before inspection is initiated.