Temporary foreign workers ‘don’t know any better,’ says expert
A group in Alberta is alerting the federal government about an apparent scam that has immigrants paying large sums of money for jobs, only for them to be disappointed, according to a report.
Under the scheme, employers, immigration consultants and recruiters sell labour market impact assessments (LMIAs), which should have been fully covered by an employer hiring immigrants because they can’t find Canadians to fill a role.
This scam has been evolving for the past 30 years, said Centre for Newcomers CEO Anila Umar in a CBC report.
"The temporary foreign workers — they don't often know better," she says.
"They don't realize that this isn't the process and this isn't how you're supposed to do it. So they come in good faith. They may spend years collecting the money that they need. They get here and then they're told that it was a complete sham and there was another way that they could have come here without having to spend any money."
And while the scam has historically been more common in cities with larger populations, it’s now becoming more common in Alberta as the province experiences record-breaking population growth thanks to immigration, says Umar.
"Alberta is quickly becoming the No. 1 destination [for immigration]. So with that, we're also going to have the growing pains of that. We're also going to have these issues come in a lot more, unfortunately."
On average, two persons a week come into the centre asking for help with this issue, Umar told the CBC.
Violating employers are not being penalized
Ottawa increased the fines it imposed on employers that have been found non-compliant with the rules under the TFW Program in the past fiscal year. During that time, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) completed 2,122 inspections under the program. From April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, the federal government agency issued $2.1 million in Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMPs) to non-compliant employers.
However, companies that are committing this type of crime are not being made to pay just yet.
"No employers have been yet fined for this new condition; however, some on-going inspections may include this condition," said a spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada in the CBC report.
However, the Canada Border Services Agency has charged immigration consultants and unauthorized practitioners (UAPs) for this scam.
In May, the owner of an Edmonton-based immigration business was convicted for charging $30,000 and $45,000 to arrange employment for foreign workers, noted CBC.
Canadian employers are leaning more and more towards hiring temporary foreign workers so Ottawa has decided to limit the use of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program to those who absolutely cannot find Canadians who can fill job openings.
