Canada immigration alert: Changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers Programme

A number of reforms to the Temporary Foreign Workers Programme (TFWP) of Canada have been recently announced by the Canadian government.

The TFWP facilitates Canadian employers to hire workers from abroad, without these workers having to apply for residency directly.

The programme has proven to be a useful method for foreign workers to start work directly, once they have arrived in Canada, whereas many immigrants witness long waiting times and unemployment after they obtained a visa to the country.

At the same time, the TFWP is structured in such way that it encourages employers to prioritise local work force over work force  from abroad, and  the changes made to the program are aimed towards more security of the local workforce.

“Canadians are experiencing significant skills shortages in many sectors and regions, and Canadians must always have first crack at job opportunities when they become available,” Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development was quoted as saying.

“The purpose of the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme is to help fill genuine and acute labour needs and we have been reviewing the program to ensure that goal is met and Canadian workers are never displaced.”

With the measures the Canadian government introduced legislative, regulatory and administrative changes that are already in place at the moment of this writing.

Most changes are related to the Labour Market Opinion, which is required to be obtained for each vacancy an employer wishes to hire a foreign worker for.

New questions are added to employer LMO applications to ensure that the TFWP is not used to facilitate the outsourcing of Canadian jobs; employers are now required to pay a fee for the processing of LMOs and the fees for work permits have been increased so that the taxpayers are no longer subsidising the costs; the Accelerated Labour Market Opinion process has temporarily been suspended; and the Government’s authority to suspend and revoke work permits and Labour Market Opinions (LMOs) if the programme is being misused has been increased.

Furthermore, employers who rely on temporary foreign workers need to have a firm plan in place to transition to a Canadian workforce over time, which is ensured through the LMO process.

English and French have been identified as the only languages that can be used as a job requirement.

Last year, approximately 200,000 temporary foreign workers came to Canada to perform work in a range of key fields and the program remains a popular option among immigration aspirants.

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