Is Periscope Search Group licensed to recruit in Ontario?
Yes. Ontario requires recruiters who find employees for Ontario employers to hold a licence issued by the Ministry of Labour.
Our licence number is REC-0000006144, and you can verify it yourself on the province's public register.
Check any recruiter's licence on the Ontario public register →
Why this matters to you, not just to us
Since 1 July 2024, it has been a contravention of the Employment Standards Act for an employer to knowingly engage an unlicensed recruiter. The penalties fall on the employer, not only on the recruiter, and they escalate:
- $15,000 for a first contravention
- $25,000 for a second within three years
- $50,000 for a third within three years
Checking your recruiter's licence is not diligence you are doing on our behalf. It is diligence you are doing on your own.
The licence is not a formality
Before issuing one, the ministry reviews employment standards and health and safety order history, tax compliance, workplace safety insurance registration and premium payment, whether a licence has been refused or revoked in any other Canadian jurisdiction, and criminal convictions of the applicant and of the officers and directors of the business.
A licence number tells you a firm has been through that.
If you hire beyond Ontario
The requirement follows the location of the work, not the location of the recruiter. A search firm anywhere in Canada or the United States that fills Ontario-based roles needs an Ontario licence. If you are working with a firm outside the province and the role is here, check.
Do candidates ever pay us anything?
No. Never. We are paid by the employer, always. There is no circumstance in which we would charge a candidate for placement, resume work, interview preparation, or anything else.
How we use AI
We use AI-assisted mapping to find people, including candidates who are not looking and would never appear on a job board. It surfaces names for a consultant to review.
It does not score candidates, rank them, or filter anyone out. Every judgement about fit is made by a human senior consultant. We are specific about this because the distinction is what determines whether automated-screening rules apply to a hiring process.
Standards we hold beyond the licence
Two commitments that go further than the law requires of us:
- We verify every partner's licence. If we subcontract sourcing or work with a partner firm, we check their licence on the public register first. Engaging an unlicensed recruiter is a contravention for the engaging recruiter too, and we are not passing that risk to you.
- Every interviewed candidate hears back within 45 days. Ontario requires this of employers with 25 or more employees from 1 January 2026. It is not required of recruiters. We do it as standard, in every market we work in.
What you can ask any recruiter
You can ask whether they hold an Ontario licence, and check the answer yourself on the public register.
Ours is REC-0000006144. If anything on this page is unclear, email info@periscopesearch.com and ask.