Feds introduce changes to "reduce use" of temporary foreign workers in Canada
The federal government says it will introduce new measures to address current issues with Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault said he met with representatives from the country’s largest business associations and announced changes to reduce the use of temporary foreign workers in Canada.
The changes include consistently enforcing the application of the 20% cap policy for workers, which also involves those who are looking to apply for permanent residency through the “dual intent sub-stream.”
Employers that use that stream will be subject to “tough” guidelines, added Boissonnault, in a statement. This will include “stricter and more rigorous” oversight for high-risk areas when processing Labour Market Impact (LMIAs) and the consideration of an LMIA fee increase.
The feds may also introduce regulatory changes for employer eligibility in the future. Boissonnault also told business associations he could consider taking further action targeted to prevent some employers in different sectors from using the TFW Program by applying a “refusal to process” to the low wage stream.
“I’ve been clear over the last year; abuse and misuse of the TFW Program must end. The health and safety of temporary foreign workers in Canada is a responsibility I take very seriously,” stated the minister.
“Bad actors are taking advantage of people and compromising the program for legitimate businesses. We are putting more reforms in place to stop misuse and fraud from entering the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.”
The federal government notes that the TFW Program was designed to address changes in the country’s labour market, specifically after the pandemic when “needs were high.”
However, as Canada’s labour market returns to a normalized state, the feds say changes are being made to the program to ensure only employers with “demonstratable market needs” have access to it.
These changes come after Canada previously announced its plans to set a target for the number of new temporary residents arriving in the country.
In March, Immigration Minister Marc Miller highlighted that Canada’s temporary resident volume has “increased significantly,” reaching up to 2.5 million or 6.2% of the population in 2023.
Miller said the federal government plans to decrease the temporary resident population by 5% over the next three years.
In January, the federal government also announced it would cap international student visas for two years.
The temporary application cap is expected to result in approximately 364,000 approved international student study permits, which is a decrease of 35% from 2023.
With files from Isabelle Docto.