'What happens next?' Quicker access to skilled pool of talent also brings contract, liability questions, say experts
Ontario’s new labour mobility regime is promising employers faster access to certified talent from across Canada.
As of Jan. 1, 2026, skilled workers who are already certified in a regulated occupation elsewhere in Canada can start working in Ontario within 10 business days of applying for “deemed certification,” under amendments to the Labour Mobility Act.
An individual can be deemed certified in Ontario for up to six months after the regulator issues a notice of receipt acknowledging a complete "As of Right" application, provided the applicant meets the prescribed requirements. This allows them to begin working while pursuing full certification through the standard labour mobility process.
“This is intended to reduce lengthy processes where applicants must provide more substantial documentation, saving time, and preventing lost employment opportunities,” says the government.
The new framework covers more than 50 regulatory bodies and over 300 certifications, including engineers, architects and many skilled trades. All regulated occupations under the Ontario Labour Mobility Act – such as teachers, accountants and early childhood educators – are also eligible for deemed certification.
‘What happens next?’
While an encouraging development, there are important considerations for HR when it comes to contracts and insurance, according to two employment lawyers.
“It's very clear that, within 10 days, you're up and running — but now it's on the employers, human resources [to think] ‘Well, what's happening next?’” says Paul Macchione, partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada, if challenges arise.
While the new system “may help address ongoing labour shortages, particularly in skilled and regulated fields,” says Ronald Minken, founder of Minken Employment Lawyers, who also has concerns about the timeline.
“The problem is that there's only six months to confirm that that person can work in the field that they are certified in in the other province.
“So, what happens after that?”
Six‑month window raises questions
The As of Right framework allows regulators to require an attestation that applicants are in good standing and have not been refused certification.
If the person is an outside candidate and granted deemed certification, they’ll be “up and running,” says Macchione – and it’s also possible these labour mobility changes will allow for more internal moves.
“HR folks might see this as an excellent solution, whereby you need someone in Ontario who's already with your organization but in a different province,” he says. “Now, you have the options to potentially keep someone who's talented and move them over, or for someone who's talented to follow the work.”
In that case, the employer should decide if it needs to update the employment agreement given the change of location, says Macchione: “What should the understanding be?”
If full certification doesn't happen and the person can't work past the six months that they’re deemed certified, HR faces questions, he says: “How is that reflected? Is it reflected in the contract? Is it very clearly represented?”
Macchione also points to the extra work required of HR. He notes that HR already tracks visas, permit expiries, contractor relationships and fixed‑term contracts, and calls deemed certification “another timeline that we're all going to have to be aware of.”
Is a fixed-term contract appropriate?
As a security measure, Minken suggests employers consider a fixed‑term contract for six months, given there's no guarantee the employee will get certified within that time: “That’s going to be really key.”
He also points to the force majeure clause as an important consideration for HR, so the employer can end a contract for a reason that’s “not anticipated or beyond control of both parties… that could be helpful if the certificate is not granted or it's beyond the employer's control to end the contract there,” he says.
In addition, a valid enforceable termination clause could be helpful — though these have been increasingly in the spotlight lately, says Minken.
“If the certificate isn't granted in six months, well, there could be an appeal process. So, maybe that temporary layoff clause would be sufficient… [and] the employee is allowed to get some employment insurance.”
Understanding instead of fixed contract
But Macchione takes the opposite view when it comes to a fixed contract for professionals with deemed certification.
“For different reasons, we often shy away from fixed-term contracts in Ontario,” he says. “Often, if your terms within that fixed-term contract aren't perfect, if someone's let go, it can be liquidated damages right to the end of that fixed term.”
Instead, Macchione recommends “an understanding of the fact that they are coming in through this process, there’s an expectation that they will be otherwise certified, and then you would potentially have your termination provisions and things like that within your contract.”
He emphasizes this as “a very Ontario-specific answer,” adding that this is definitely the way he would go if an internal hire is involved.
Build qualifications into contract
Both lawyers stress that certification — and the qualifications behind it — should be expressly built into the contract. Minken recommends “a qualification in the employment agreement that the certification is a fundamental term and a breach could result in termination of employment, perhaps for cause and also for misrepresentation if the qualifications aren't [as stated].”
He says the qualifications should be included in the employment agreement as a “fundamental term because now they’re attesting to it” and if that attestation is false, “then there may be grounds for the employer to terminate that employment for cause and also for misrepresentation.”
As for the possibility of putting one of these new hires under probation given the deemed certification, Minken says those clauses “have little power, little effect.”
Safety, insurance questions with labour mobility
Bringing in out‑of‑province professionals also raises questions about potential liability if something goes wrong under deemed certification.
Minken says this “a good time for employers to up their ante with respect to ensuring that quality control is there, safety measures are in place and that should be applied across the board.”
Macchione also highlights the insurance dimensions, saying employers must figure out when to let the local workers' comp board know about the new hire.
“If they’re coming from the same employer, but a different workers’ compensation scheme, do we also let them know?” he says. “I think that’s a good thing to do for sure.”
A further consideration: If the employer subsidizes the employee’s relocation — but full certification isn’t achieved, what’s the expectation?
“Is there a return of some of those costs, some of those fees? What ultimately happens?” asks Macchione. “It’s thinking about the different contingencies that also happen.”
Engineers’ regulator promises full licence
While many regulators are still adjusting to the new system, Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) says it has been building towards this moment for decades.
“We’re already doing this as a group of engineering regulators across the country,” says Jennifer Quaglietta, CEO and registrar. “Our aim at PEO is not to just meet the bar, it's to set the bar.”
She says PEO launched a Canadian P.Eng. mobility application process on Dec. 15 of last year, providing a pathway for engineers already licensed by another Canadian engineering regulator to practice in Ontario.
“The process exceeds the legislative requirement, because we are issuing a full P.Eng. license to qualified Canadian P.Eng. mobility applicants within 10 business days of receiving a complete application.”
Quaglietta adds that the only reason someone out of province would not be issued a license in Ontario “would be due to a good character issue such as professional misconduct — which affects less than one per cent of all applicants in this category.”
She adds that PEO has seen a marked rise in mobility applications, with 927 in 2023, 961 in 2024 and 1,284 last year.
“For Ontario employers of professional engineers, there's now potentially a larger pool of applicants across Canada,” says Quaglietta.
“Since the mobility application process is faster and more seamless, this could potentially help employers fill positions quickly with the assurance that they have a licensed professional that they're hiring and that that professional is qualified to practise engineering.”
