Agri-businesses seek a more flexible TFW program

As the Canadian government considers changes to its Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, a majority of agri-businesses are calling for the introduction of multi-employer work permits that would allow employers to share foreign workers.

According to new research by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), 59% of agri-businesses support this option to enable the sharing of foreign workers among employers. However, many agri-business owners have also said they are against sectoral and regional work permits, citing fears that these could lead to employee poaching and retention issues.

In the CFIB study, 59% of agri-businesses were found to oppose sectoral or regional permits under the current system, while 50% said they oppose them under a potential new structure where a third party recruits and dispatches foreign workers.

“While government is reviewing its TFW program, it needs to consider the practical needs of agri-businesses and the future of Canada’s food security,” said CFIB policy analyst Juliette Nicolaÿ.

According to Nicolaÿ, farmers turn to foreign labour as a “last resort” as they struggle with chronic staffing shortages and are unable to find anyone locally.

“That’s concerning given Canada’s ageing population and a perceived lack of interest among Canadian workers in a career in agriculture,” she said.

Data from the CFIB study also indicated that 30% of agri-businesses hired foreign workers in 2023. This reliance was higher in certain regions, such as Quebec (51%), and in sub-sectors requiring labour-intensive tasks, such as fruits, vegetables, and horticultural specialties (64%).

And while there are misconceptions that TFWs are underpaid or mistreated, CFIB found that 85% of TFWs receive wages equal to Canadians, with only 3.5% earning less

Francesca Basta, a research analyst at CFIB, said “isolated bad actors” should not represent the majority of agri-businesses that highly value foreign workers and invest significantly in bringing them to Canada. She noted that costs covered by employers include housing, transport, and health care, and many farmers retain the same TFWs year after year, with some even sponsoring them for permanent residency.

“They take time and effort to bring TFWs to Canada,” said Basta. “They cover costs that go beyond wages like housing, transport, and health care.”

Recommendations for program improvement

To enhance the efficiency of the TFW program, the CFIB report suggested several changes:

• Reducing the bureaucratic burden associated with hiring TFWs, particularly by streamlining the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process.
• Allowing the sharing or transferring of foreign workers through multi-employer work permits.
• Indexing the housing deduction to inflation, as the current $30 deduction does not reflect actual housing costs.
• Permitting employers to match wages offered by another employer with an LMIA in the same area to improve retention and reduce poaching.
• Reimbursing employers for costs associated with compliance inspections if the LMIA is not issued.
• Introducing mechanisms to compensate employers for initial costs if their employee is poached and simplifying access to new TFWs.

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