Hmm - don't want to rain on your parade, but your best bet is to hope things get busy and people start getting timexed on fires at this stage, but many companies won't go through the dangerous goods and WHMIS process just for that - layoffs usually start happening in early September in any case.
Work permit process takes about 60 days, if I remember right, most of which is taken up with advertising in local papers for Canadians, but some companies apply for john doe paperwork and fill in the names at the last minute - you may be lucky.
Good luck!
Phil