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Julie Lessard

Partner, BCF Business Law | International Mobility - Immigration Law

Julie Lessard is a prominent figure in business immigration law with over two decades of experience in the field.

She co-founded Lessard Tremblay Attorneys in 1998 and later became a partner at BCF, where she currently leads the strategic Business Immigration team.

Ms. Lessard offers strategic guidance on global personnel mobility to Fortune 500 companies and emerging leaders across various industries.

Her expertise extends to advising on immigration matters during corporate restructuring, mergers, and acquisitions, catering to businesses, senior management, executives, and specialized employees.

A sought-after speaker, Ms. Lessard frequently presents at international seminars on immigration law and workforce mobility.

Her accolades include being named among the Lexpert Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers Under 40 and recognized by Best Lawyers as one of the top immigration lawyers in Canada from 2014 to 2022.

Julie Lessard holds an LL.B. in Law from Université de Sherbrooke and is a member of the Barreau du Québec.

She has been actively involved in organizations like the Canadian Employee Relocation Council, American Chamber of Commerce in Canada, and the Government Relations Committee.

Highlights

Aug 7 · linkedin

While I do agree that more inspections may be required to end misuse and abuse of the program, I disagree that closed work permits and correct use of the program is driving down wages. To the opposite, closed work permits under the Temporary Foreign Workers Program do ensure that not only foreign workers are entering Canada to fill jobs for which there is a true need but also that the wages paid do match the provincial or median hourly wage. There are no such protections in the context of open work permits. The liberty to change employer does not automatically equate to better protection neither for the workers or the local labor market. I do agree however that we need a better alignment between temporary programs and permanent residence programs. Elsa Agostinho Sophia Khanzadian BCF Avocats d'affaires | Business Law Olga Prygoda

Jul 31 · linkedin

Il est important de parler du phénomène des immigrants qui veulent s'établir au Québec mais qui contournent le système en présentant leur demande sous les programmes d'autres provinces. Toutefois, contrairement à ce qui est mentionné, la plupart de ces immigrants sont déjà installés au Québec temporairement et donc on ne parle pas de nouvelles arrivées quoique cela affecte sans contredit les seuils du Québec. Toutefois, je suis d'avis qu'il est tout aussi urgent de discuter du départ réel des talents vers d'autres provinces en raison du système d'immigration permanente du Québec qui leur est inaccessible. Nous voyons de plus en plus d'entreprises choisir d'ouvrir des établissements secondaires par exemple en Ontario afin d'assister ces travailleurs hautement qualifiés dans leur objectif de demeurer au Canada. On parle ici de talents déjà présents au Québec, déjà intégrés, c'est une perte directe pour l'économie et l'innovation. Elsa Agostinho Sophia Khanzadian Olga Prygoda BCF Avocats d'affaires | Business Law Stéphanie Grammond

Julie Lessard
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Location

Montreal, Quebec, Canada