Reforming the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

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Today, the Harper Government announced reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

• The purpose of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is to help fill genuine and acute labour needs and our Government has been reviewing the program to ensure that goal is met and Canadian workers are never displaced.

• Canada is experiencing significant skills shortages in many sectors and regions, and Canadians must always have first crack at job opportunities when they become available.

• Stemming from the ongoing review of the TFW Program, and as announced in Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2013, the Government is introducing legislative, regulatory and administrative changes that will:   

·        effective immediately, require employers to pay temporary foreign workers at the prevailing wage by removing the existing wage flexibility;

·        effective immediately, temporarily suspend the Accelerated Labour Market Opinion process;

·        increase the Government’s authority to suspend and revoke Work Permits and Labour Market Opinions (LMOs) if the program is being misused;

·        add questions to employer LMO applications to ensure that the TFW Program is not used to facilitate the outsourcing of Canadian jobs;

·        ensure employers who rely on temporary foreign workers have a firm plan in place to transition to a Canadian workforce over time through the LMO process;

·        introduce fees for employers for the processing of Labour Market Opinions and increase the fees for work permits so that the taxpayers are no longer subsidizing the costs; and

·        restrict English and French as the only languages that can be identified as a job requirement.

• As part of the ongoing review of the TFW Program, the Harper Government will hold cross-Canada consultations over the coming months with businesses, industry and trade organizations, unions and others on additional changes to the Program. 

• These reforms will help ensure the TFW Program is only used as intended – to fill acute skills shortages on a temporary basis.

Background

The results of these changes will strengthen and improve the TFW Program to support our economic recovery and growth, and ensure that employers make greater efforts to hire Canadians before hiring temporary foreign workers.  These reforms will ensure that the TFW Program, which is an important program to deal with acute skills shortages on a temporary basis, is used only as a last resort.

Primary agricultural occupations will be subject to the reform that will increase the Government’s authority to suspend and revoke Work Permits and Labour Market Opinions if they are being misused. The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and the Agricultural Stream will be unaffected by the remaining reforms as there are proven acute labour shortages in this industry and the unfilled jobs are truly temporary.

 StarBuzzOnline.com

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