IRCC, Alberta government provides immigrants with avenues for extension
Intense wildfires across western Canada are sending huge plumes of smoke sweeping across North America, and this has forced some workplaces to close – causing thousands of Alberta residents to evacuate and leaving immigrants without employment.
With some temporary workers’ permits expiring soon, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said that those who cannot attend their authorized workplace due to wildfires can apply for an extension, according to a CBC report, citing an email from spokesperson Sofica Lukianenko.
These workers can also apply to transition from an employer-specific work permit to an open work permit, she said, according to the report.
They can also apply to work for other employers, and even be eligible for employment insurance, she said.
In the last three months of 2023, employers were approved to fill more than 81,000 positions through the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, The Globe and Mail previously reported, citing figures shared by the federal government. It was the largest quarter for approvals since Ottawa made several employer-friendly changes to the program in the spring of 2022, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the Alberta government said it is helping out temporary workers whose employment has been affected by the wildfires, according to the CBC report.
"Applications based on a job offer or residence in an Alberta community that has been evacuated will be held up to a maximum of one year from any Alberta community's evacuation date," Garrett Koehler, press secretary for Alberta's Immigration and Multiculturalism ministry, told CBC via email.
Applicants affected by a wildfire have one year to prove they meet the immigration program's criteria, he said.
"If unemployed due to the effects of the wildfire on businesses, this includes finding a new job in an eligible occupation with an Alberta employer," he said.
Earlier this year, a union representing wildland firefighters in Alberta sounded the alarm about the provincial government’s preparedness for another wildfire season that could be of the same level as last year.
“The 2023 wildfire season was the most destructive on record and still haunts many Albertans’ memories. With another drought and warmer temperatures on the way, the signs are pointing to this year being just as bad – or worse,” reads an open letter and a petition from the Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE).
