Marc Audet
President and Chief Executive Officer - AURAY Capital and AURAY Sourcing | Human resources consulting

Update on 2023, May 29

The workforce shortage is a concern for all entrepreneurs. Looking for a solution? Your skilled workers could be abroad.

According to a Grant Thornton International report released in 2023, almost 60% of business leaders around the world cited a lack of skilled workers as a constraint to their growth.

The workforce shortage—a lasting trend

This trend is not expected to end any time soon. n March 2023, Statistics Canada counted more than 205,000 job vacancies in Quebec, all sectors combined, and 815,000 across Canada. This number will grow over the next few years. According to Retraite Québec projections, more than a million workers will retire over the next 10 years.

The situation in Québec

Statistics prove it: the number of workers in the domestic market is no longer sufficient. Québec has one of the highest vacancy rates in the country. This labour shortage affects many sectors, including manufacturing, retail and distribution, health care and accommodation and food services.

To a certain extent, staff turnovers are predictable, for example, due to retirements. The best way to meet labour needs is to plan on hiring in advance of the expected departure of certain workers. This makes it possible to maintain production and avoid potentially long recruiting periods due to the scarcity of labour on the local market.

Recognizing the symptoms

Considering the pace of the situation in the Québec job market, companies that are proactive in the area of international recruitment will have a better chance of maintaining their productivity.

Experts have long noted that the number of young graduates is not sufficient to satisfy the demand, with more people retiring than the next generation of workers. Moreover, businesses need to be able to rely on an additional workforce to ensure their growth.

Here are some of the symptoms observed when traditional recruiting is no longer sufficient in a company:

  • Long-standing vacancies;
  • Longer local recruiting time;
  • Increased staff turnover rate;
  • Increased direct and indirect payroll costs;
  • Stagnation of company revenues and loss of contracts;
  • Decrease in production quality.

If your organization is experiencing these symptoms, it may be time to consider other staff recruiting options.

According to Emploi-Québec estimates, the future immigrant population will soon account for one in four workers in the labour supply. This is a pool of available new candidates that few companies are considering, yet it is proving to be a viable solution.

The answer: move out of the traditional pool of candidates

Again, according to Emploi-Québec estimates, young people entering the labour market by 2031 represent only 50% of the labour supply. There is therefore a significant shortfall if we rely solely on the next generation of workers. Recalling retirees and increasing overtime can meet productivity needs, but these are only stop-gap solutions that cannot be sustained in the medium term.

The solution to labour shortages lies in the non-traditional population, such as people with disabilities, Aboriginals, immigrants or internationally recruited workers. If companies continue to opt for traditional staff recruiting methods, they will only be going round in circles since they will have to attract employees from competitors, who will in turn attract them back.

In this context where everyone draws from the same pool of candidates, where there is not enough succession to fill the growth in vacancies and where companies can no longer attract the best candidates by increasing salaries, international recruiting provides a better outcome.

But where do you start?

Recruiting internationally requires customized solutions. While the hiring process may be more complex than in the local market, using qualified, authorized professionals in this field simplifies and accelerates the process.

With a global network of recruiting partners and multidisciplinary teams of professionals, AURAY Sourcing, a subsidiary of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, has recognized expertise in talent acquisition, immigration and integration of foreign workers, enabling it to offer a turnkey solution tailored to its clients’ needs.

Here is an overview of an international recruiting process when a company uses AURAY Sourcing’s services:

  • Presentation of the international recruiting process;
  • Needs analysis and definition of recruitment strategies according to the company’s situation;
  • Selection of candidates according to their skills and the eligibility criteria of current temporary immigration programs;
  • Complete management of the immigration process for the company and the candidate (labour market impact study, work permit, extension of status, etc.);
  • Greeting and integration of the candidate through an action plan.

Quality candidates

The selection of candidates is coordinated by international talent acquisition professionals. Based on interview templates and reports, candidates with superior ratings are recommended for further consideration. Each rating is based on an analysis of the resume as well as the entire application.

By leveraging this rigorous process, AURAY is able to offer its clients competent and motivated candidates to come and settle in Québec and integrate into the culture and the environment. Every effort is made to promote their successful integration.

To find out more about our support services and solutions, contact an AURAY Sourcing expert for a free consultation.

24 Jan 2020  |  Written by :

Marc Audet is the President & CEO of AURAY Capital International and expert in Residency and...

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Building on the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative that culminated in the Multilateral Instrument (MLI), which has achieved fundamental changes to treaties, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Secretariat continues to pursue an in-depth and comprehensive international tax reform.

In the fall of 2019, the OECD’s Secretariat issued a consultation document on digital taxation (“Pillar 1”). This document proposed new taxation rules to ensure that digital businesses pay tax in the jurisdictions in which they operate even if they do not have a traditional physical presence (nexus or a permanent establishment).

In November2019, the OECD Secretariat issued the Global Anti-Base Erosion Proposal (GloBe”) – Pillar 2 document in which it outlined its proposals to further reform international taxation. As discussed below, the proposals are far-reaching, and the OECD has received over 3,000 pages of feedback from various stakeholders.

Pillar Two’s objective is to implement a worldwide minimum income tax system and to ensure that there is also a minimum amount of cash tax is paid by multinationals (MNEs). At this time, the Secretariat has not indicated an income threshold; hence, it could apply to larger MNEs (for example those that are subject to transfer pricing country-by-country (CbC) rules because their sales are greater than €750 million) and to smaller entities. Also, the Pillar Two proposal has not specified what the minimum target income tax rate should be.

Components of Pillar Two – GloBE

The four components of the GloBE are:

  • An income inclusion rule to allow a jurisdiction to tax the income of a foreign branch or a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) if that income is taxed at an effective rate that is below the minimum rate;
  • An undertaxed payments rule to deny a deduction or impose a withholding tax on payments to a related party if that payment is taxed at an effective rate that is below the minimum rate;
  • A switch-over rule to support the income inclusion rule that would introduce a treaty provision that would allow a switch from an exemption to a credit method if income of a permanent establishment (PE) is taxed at an effective rate that is below the minimum rate. This rule could also apply to immoveable properties that are not part of a PE;
  • A subject to tax rule to support the undertaxed payment rule by subjecting payments that are taxed at a rate below the minimum rate subject to withholding tax and/or by denying the tax treaties’ benefits.

There is a significant overlap between the four components of GloBE and it is far from clear how they will interact with each other or whether countries will be provided a choice as to the means to be used to achieve the Pillar Two objective of establishing a minimum effective tax rate.

Tax base and consolidated financial statements

The GloBE suggests that consolidated financial statements should be used to determine the tax base. The use of consolidated financial statement raises a number of issues, such as:

  • The choice of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to be used (US, Japanese, International Financial Reporting Standards or local GAAP);
  • The impact of items denominated in foreign currencies on the Currency Translation Account (CTA);
  • The taxation of foreign exchange operations and the choice of currency for the payment of taxes;
  • The impact of permanent and temporary differences;
  • The appropriateness of changes to the tax base as a result of accounting principle changes;
  • The ability to audit consolidated financial statements by local taxation authorities;
  • The ability to standardize tax rules – for example to take into account the diversity of tax treatment for the deductibility of stock-based compensation, the deductibility of interest expense, etc.

Interaction between Pillar One and Pillar Two

The interaction between Pillar One and Pillar Two proposals is unclear. Presumably, Pillar One on digital taxation would apply to a MNE before Pillar Two applies. Therefore, it would seem logical that any taxes paid as a result of the application of Pillar One would be taken into account in computing the minimum taxes paid on income. However, the interaction and the interdependency of the two Pillars need clarification.

Another critical element that has not been addressed is to determine how and where the tax would be collected according to the organisational structure of the company. We believe that the GloBE proposal should be applied at the ultimate parent level. For example, A owns B and B owns C. A would apply the GloBE provisions to the income generated by B and by C. And, as long as A applies the GloBE proposal to the income generated by B and by C, B would not apply the provisions to the income generated by C. However, the proposal could also be interpreted as being applicable at each level in the organisational structure where a branch or a subsidiary is controlled by a member of the group. The determination of which legal entity or entities in the group are within the scope of the proposal is another critical issue that needs to be addressed. A bottoms-up approach toward taxation at each level in the organisational structure would be immensely complex and time consuming for taxpayers.

Lastly, the interaction with a particular jurisdiction’s CFC rules must be taken into account, otherwise, double or triple taxation could arise.

Too soon for GloBE?

As noted above, BEPS has introduced important changes to tax systems within the OECD. As a result, significant measures to protect countries’ tax base have recently been introduced in various countries including the following:

  • Interest deductibility rules (generally based on a percentage of EBITDA – earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization);
  • CFC legislation that should contribute to achieve a minimum taxation rate if it is properly implemented;
  • Anti-hybrid legislation that eliminates tax arbitrage obtained from exploiting various tax classifications by the countries;
  • Tightening of rules to limit tax benefits that may be obtained with regard to intellectual property;
  • The introduction of a principal purpose test in tax treaties which will greatly limit the ability to obtain lower withholding tax rates in the source jurisdiction if taxpayers do not have substantive economic presence in the country of residence via the MLI;
  • Modifications to transfer pricing guidelines (BEPS action items 8-10);
  • Tax treaty provisions regarding PE status (BEPS action 7).

We believe that the OECD should continue to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of these recently introduced changes and should continue to study measures that reform international taxation with approaches similar to GloBE or Pillar One proposals.

If the enacted measures outlined above do not achieve the tax policy objectives of protecting national taxation bases and of having MNEs paying a minimum tax due to meaningful CFC legislation, the introduction of GloBE type measures should then be seen as a means to this end.

Torn world – is there sufficient consensus to implement international tax changes?

The Pillar One and the Pillar Two proposals can only be achieved if there is a consensus among jurisdictions – otherwise double taxation will result.

In early December, the US Treasury Secretary indicated that the US has “serious concerns” with respect to certain aspects of Pillar One (digital taxation) proposals that could constitute a mandatory departure from the arm’s length principle and from the related nexus rules. The Secretary also announced that the US fully supports a GILTI-like Pillar Two proposal (“Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income” ) – perhaps by restricting the type of changes that the US is likely to accept in order to reach a consensus on reforming international taxation.

International taxation and digital taxation will continue to fuel discussions within the international community, including G20. For example, the Office of the US Trade Representatives (USTR) outlined a proposal on December 2 to impose additional duties of US$2.4 billion on French products (including champagne, cheese, cast-iron cookware) in response to the recently introduced French digital service tax.

For a more in-depth discussion of the issues raised by the GloBE proposals, please consult our detailed comments to the OECD.

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We begin this third edition of 2019 by considering the amendments issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Interest Rate Benchmark Reform (amendments to IFRS 9 Financial Instruments, IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement and IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures).

We then look at the current IASB Exposure Drafts that are out for comment and move on to IFRS related news at Grant Thornton and other news.

We conclude with a summary of the implementation dates of recently issued standards.

A list of the documents currently out for comment by the IASB and their respective comment deadlines is available at ifrs.org.

We are currently finalizing a new publication strategy for 2020 and, as a result, some of our publications will change in the upcoming months. Watch this space!

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You’ve successfully attracted the best talent to your business. Now you have to ensure that you retain these invaluable resources.

Recruiting staff has become a major challenge for businesses. Managers have to adapt to a shifting market and generational changes.

In this highly competitive context, your business has to master the art of recruiting as well as retaining and mobilizing employees.

Rethink the corporate culture

The intermingling of generations in an organization can lead to disparity and the need to deal with diverse values and expectations. It’s a factor that managers must consider carefully by rethinking the corporate culture to ensure they retain their talent.

For Gen Xers and Gen Yers, the long-term commitment to an employer is not as important as it is for prior generations. Individual well-being, transversal leadership, innovation, social engagement and working conditions such as flexible hours, salary, the dress code and benefits are key areas on which the new generations focus.

Why not consider undertaking a diagnosis of your working environment? A structured approach could help you rethink your policies, onboarding and integration process or values.

A corporate culture aligned with your business objectives will guide decision-making and behaviours. It will help you stand out from the competition and make your organization an employer of choice.

Review management methods

Fair and efficient management methods will support the implementation of your organization’s strategic directions and enable it to achieve its strategic and financial objectives. These methods could include, among others:

  • Aligning your management model and business plan with consistent decision-making leadership;
  • Managing future labour requirements based on business objectives;
  • Implementing various communication mechanisms that will foster a sense of belonging and develop the corporate culture;
  • Introducing recognition programs: they must be positive, genuine and constant;
  • Transferring knowledge and developing competencies;
  • Managing the performance and career of the strongest talent;
  • Focussing on a distinctive offering in terms of the overall compensation package (financial and non-financial);
  • Planning the succession to ensure the smooth continuity of the business.

The corporate culture and management methods are key loyalty factors. In the current workforce shortage context, employee turnover is costly. Now more than ever, it’s vital to establish a structured plan to retain resources.

Our team of human resource consultants can support you in all phases of employee management, from hiring to coaching managers. Call on our in-depth knowledge to boost your organization’s success.

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