CWS 3.0: June 25, 2014

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Canada overhauling Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Canada announced an overhaul to its Temporary Foreign Worker Program Friday that includes increased fees, higher penalties and caps on temporary foreign workers.

The overhaul comes after complaints the system had been abused.

“These comprehensive and balanced reforms restore the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to its original purpose — as a last and limited resource for employers when there are no qualified Canadians to fill available jobs,” said Jason Kenney, minister of Employment and Social Development. “Employers will be compelled to redouble their efforts to recruit and train Canadians. These reforms will significantly reduce the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada and improve labor market information, while strengthening enforcement and penalties for those who break the rules."

However, Friday’s announcement will affect all Canadian employers who engage in foreign recruitment, according to Mary McIninch, director of government relations at the Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services. The most serious impact will be felt in Alberta where there is a growing labor shortage in key sectors.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce said the overhaul will penalize Canadian business.

Changes call for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to be reorganized into two programs:

  • The Temporary Foreign Worker Program will retain the same name. Employers hiring in this program will be subject to a more rigorous “labor market impact assessment” than the “labor market opinion” that had been required to bring in temporary foreign workers. The labor market impact assessment will require employers provide additional information such as number of Canadians who applied for the job and were interviewed along with information on why they were not hired.
  • The “International Mobility Programs” will be for workers who are exempt from labor market impact assessments, such as workers coming from countries with reciprocal employment agreements with Canada.

Under the overhauled Temporary Foreign Worker Program, employers with 10 or more or employees applying for the new labor market impact assessment will also be subject to a 10 percent cap on the proportion of their workforce that can consist of low-wage temporary foreign workers. The cap will be phased in over the next couple of years. It will be applied per worksite, and it will be based on total hours worked at the worksite.

Some other changes include:

  • Labor market impact assessments won’t be processed for businesses in accommodation, food services and retail trade sectors in areas with unemployment rates at 6 percent or above.
  • The labor market impact assessment fee will increase to C$1,000 from C$275. 
  • Employers who break the rules will face fines of up to C$100,000.
  • Work permits set out in labor market impact assessments will be limited to a maximum of one year for all low-wage positions.

For more information, click here.

For an article on the overhaul, click here.