OTTAWA – An upcoming jobs fair in France is enticing Canadian employers to recruit temporary foreign workers and bypass skills and wage requirements as the controversy surrounding the federal program rages on.

The promotional material for the Working Abroad Newcomers Network exhibition, being held in June in Lyon and Toulouse, assures firms they can hire workers without a so-called labour market opinion.

Canadian employers need a positive LMO to bring in most temporary foreign workers. The LMO requires companies to explain why they want to hire a foreign worker instead of a Canadian.

Would-be French temporary foreign workers, however, can apply for the so-called francophone significant benefit.

That allows them to come to Canada without the need of an LMO to live and work outside of Quebec in managerial, professional, technical and skilled trades under specific occupation classifications.

Among the Canadian employers participating in the France fair, according to the promotional literature, are the governments of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Loblaws, Maple Leaf Foods and Scotiabank.

The Working Abroad Newcomers Network says that almost 24,000 job-seekers are on its database interested in jobs in Canada.

Follow Lee-Anne Goodman on Twitter at @leeanne25