'Saving $10,000 on an offer and then spending $50,000 replacing the person is not thrift'
Ontario employers have been posting pay ranges on public job ads since January 2026, and the rules have made one recruitment shortcut impossible to hide: the lowball offer, says a Montreal recruiter.
Under Ontario’s new pay transparency rules for job postings, part of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), employers with 25 or more employees must list expected pay, or a range no wider than $50,000, for roles paying $200,000 or less.
Postings must also disclose any use of artificial intelligence (AI) in hiring and state whether the vacancy exists. British Columbia has required pay information on public postings since Nov. 1, 2023.
“Now that pay ranges have to be posted in Ontario and B.C., the lowball offer is sitting right there in public for everyone to see, but if someone is going to accept that, it is what it is,” says Jessica Glazer, who runs MindHR Inc. Placement Agencyl
The bigger risk is rushing a hire. “A problem is sometimes they take a shortcut to fill a seat and that never ends well.”
“Saving $10,000 on an offer and then spending $50,000 replacing the person is not thrift,” she says. “That’s just expensive math. So just spend now to save later. You will thank yourself later.”
Where does the hiring process lose candidates?
Pay is not the only way employers lose people. Glazer says the most common failure is silence. “When a candidate finishes a great interview and then hears nothing for two weeks, and by then someone else has made them an offer... your reputation goes out the window.”
Silence also hurts future hiring, given nearly half of candidates won’t reapply after being ghosted. In Ontario, covered employers must now tell interviewed applicants whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days of their last interview, in person, in writing or using technology.
The offer stage is the riskiest.
“A vague offer, a slow offer, or a surprise number or benefit or hours that doesn’t match the conversations will undo months of good work in a single email,” says Glazer. “Strong candidates have options. Treat their time like it matters, because it does.”
Those missteps rarely stay private. Reviews on sites such as Glassdoor carry significant weight, Glazer said, though former employees usually write them.
Candidates still dig. “They read the reviews, checked LinkedIn to see who left recently, and maybe even texted a friend who used to work there. If the stories are ugly, it’s a battle not worth fighting,” says Glazer.
She advises HR leaders to look for the grain of truth in a bad review. “You can’t PR your way out of a culture problem. You can only work your way out.”
What inclusive hiring looks like
That work starts with assessment. Inclusive recruitment, Glazer says, depends on process, not slogans. “It looks less like a poster and more like a lot of small, thoughtful choices.”
Those choices include postings that list genuine requirements, asking every candidate about accommodation needs, and structured interviews. “Interview questions decided in advance and asked of everyone, so the person who reminds the manager of himself doesn’t get the easy ride.”
She also urges employers to rethink domestic experience, echoing the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s position on Canadian experience requirements. Ontario now bars covered employers from requiring Canadian experience in public postings or application forms.
“And taking Canadian experience off the pedestal, because someone who led a team in Lagos or Manila can absolutely lead one in Mississauga,” says Glazer.
MindHR places candidates in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia.
