'We are putting more reforms in place to stop misuse and fraud from entering the Temporary Foreign Worker Program'
The federal government is taking a stricter approach to the rules around employers’ use of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program to “weed out misuse and fraud within the system”.
“I’ve been clear over the last year; abuse and misuse of the TFW program must end,” says Randy Boissonnault, minister of employment, workforce development and official languages.
“The health and safety of temporary foreign workers in Canada is a responsibility I take very seriously. Bad actors are taking advantage of people and compromising the program for legitimate businesses. We are putting more reforms in place to stop misuse and fraud from entering the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.”
Currently, Ottawa is taking the following action about the program:
- Enforcing consistent application of the 20 per cent cap policy for temporary foreign workers. This includes the policy for the “dual intent sub-stream”, which applies to temporary foreign workers who intend to apply for permanent residency. Employers using this stream will be subject to more stringent guidelines.
- Applying a stricter and more rigorous oversight in high-risk areas when processing Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) and when conducting inspections.
Canadian employers are leaning more and more towards hiring temporary foreign workers so Ottawa has decided to limit the use of the TFW Program to those who absolutely cannot find Canadians who can fill job openings.
Last month, a group in Alberta alerted the federal government about a scheme where 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.
More changes coming to TFW Program
Ottawa also said it is:
- considering implementing refusal to process under the low wage stream. If implemented, this would prevent employers in certain areas and industries from using the TFW Program.
- considering LMIA fee increases to pay for additional integrity and processing activities
- looking to implement future regulatory changes regarding employer eligibility (factors such as a minimum number of years of business operations or history of layoffs by the employer).
Earlier this year, the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) said that low-wage employers are exploiting the Recognized Employer Pilot (REP) under TFW program.
Additionally, the federal government is working on modernizing the TFW Program with a new foreign labour stream for agriculture and fish & seafood processing, as announced in Budget 2022.
“The actions highlighted today are in addition to previous changes to this program that have directly resulted in an improvement in the quality, timeliness, and reach of employer inspections conducted, and a 36 per cent increase in fines issued in 2023–2024, compared to the previous fiscal year,” according to the federal government.
