Changes 'prioritize Canadians workers and ensure Canadians can trust the program is meeting the needs of our economy'
The federal government is taking further action to clean up the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program and weed out those who violate the rules of the program.
Effective Sept. 26 this year, Ottawa will refuse to process Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) in the low-wage stream in census metropolitan areas with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher.
Exceptions will be granted for seasonal and non-seasonal jobs in food security sectors (primary agriculture, food processing and fish processing), as well as construction and healthcare, according to the government.
“The Temporary Foreign Worker program was designed to address labour market shortages when qualified Canadians were not able to fill those roles,” said Randy Boissonnault, minister of employment, workforce development and official languages. “Right now, we know that there are more Canadians qualified to fill open positions. The changes we are making today will prioritize Canadians workers and ensures Canadians can trust the program is meeting the needs of our economy.”
This comes after a number of employer groups are criticizing the federal government’s decision to halt the acceptance of workers under the low-wage stream of the TFW Program in Montreal. The processing of LMIA applications in Montreal will be suspended for six months, starting on Sept. 3, for job offers with wages below $27.47 per hour.
Reducing limit on low-wage stream hires
Also, starting Sept. 26, employers will be allowed to hire no more than 10% of their total workforce through the TFW Program. This maximum employment percentage will be applied to the low-wage stream. Exceptions will be granted for seasonal and non-seasonal jobs in food security sectors (primary agriculture, food processing and fish processing), as well as healthcare and construction.
In March, Ottawa announced that all employers identified in the 2022 Workforce Solutions Road Map will have a reduction from 30% to 20% of their total workforce that can come in through the TFWP, under the low wage stream, with an exception for the construction and health care sectors.
Overall, the number of positions approved to be filled by temporary foreign workers in 2023 stood at 239,646, more than double the 108,988 recorded in 2018, CBC previously reported, citing data from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
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Also, the maximum duration of employment for workers hired through the Low-Wage stream will be reduced to one year from two years.
According to the July data from the Labour Force Survey, the overall unemployment rate has increased to 6.4% following two consecutive monthly increases in May and June. Canada’s unemployment rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 6.4% in June 2024. The unemployment rate has trended up since April 2023, rising 1.3 percentage points over the period.
In June 2024, there were 1.4 million unemployed people, an increase of 42,000 (+3.1%) from the previous month, noted the federal government.