The Government of Canada has introduced significant changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program that will come into effect on September 26, 2024. Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, has announced the details of these new measures, aiming to prioritise Canadian workers in the job market.
What Is the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program?
The TFW Program allows Canadian employers to hire foreign workers to fill jobs as a last resort when qualified Canadians are not available for the job. Canadian companies have begun to take advantage of the low wages of foreign workers and have become reliant on the TFW Program. To add, the current labour market conditions are still showing evidence of high unemployment rates of qualified Canadian workers.
Why Are Changes Being Made to the TFW Program?
The latest changes to the TFW Program are a response to the current labour market conditions, which still show high unemployment rates among qualified Canadian workers. The goal is to shift the focus back to Canadian workers and ensure that employers are first looking for available local workers before resorting to foreign labour.
The changes being implemented are as follows:
- Reduction in the Employer Cap for Foreign Workers
The cap on the number of foreign workers under the low-wage stream of the TFW Program has been reduced from 20% to 10%. The cap will remain at 20% only as an exception for employers in the healthcare, construction, and food processing sectors.
- Incorporating Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs)
Employers must fill out LMIAs to prove the need of a foreign worker to fill the job. All LMIAs approved for Low-wage Stream positions will be limited to one year of work, instead of the previous two years. The only exception will be for job positions under the Primary Agriculture Stream.
- Enforcing the Refusal to Process (RTP) Policy
In areas of the country that have an unemployment rate of over 6%, the federal government will enforce the RTP policy to stop processing LMIAs since unemployment rates remain high in certain areas.
The Impact on Canadian Employers
Canadian employers have a responsibility to invest in the full range of workers available in Canada as well as to ensure that Canadian workers have the opportunities that they deserve.
There are growing concerns about these new changes to the TFW Program. Mark von Schellwitz, Restaurants Canada’s Vice President of Western Canada, has pointed out the shortcomings of the new changes. He believes that it will no longer be worth it to employ international labour because it is not worthwhile to hire an employee for a one year time span taking into account that the process of hiring and training international labour is extremely time consuming.
The Impact on International Employees
Foreign workers are coming to Canada in hopes of making a living and staying in the country. Reducing the duration of their stay to one year will limit their opportunity to apply for immigration and stay as permanent residents. Not to mention, workers who are tied to a single employer creates risk for the worker as they are prone to mistreatment and are prevented from seeking employment elsewhere.
Next Steps
The federal government will continue to monitor labour market conditions and adjust the Program as needed so that only employers with demonstrated labour market needs can participate in the Program. Further review of the Program could result in changes to the high-wage stream, existing and unfilled LMIA applications, or refusal to process other LMIA applications.
