Employment and Workforce Development Minister Randy Boissonneau told industry groups on Tuesday the federal government is considering rejecting applications for temporary foreign worker (TFW) applicants under the low-wage program, his office told CBC News.
The policy change applies to jobs that pay less than the average hourly wage in each state and territory. Varies by jurisdictionIn Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, the hourly rate is $24, and in the Northwest Territories it is $39.24.
“I have been clear over the past year that the abuse and misuse of the TFW program must stop. The health and safety of temporary foreign workers in Canada is a responsibility I take very seriously,” Boissonneau said in a media statement.
“Bad actors are deceiving people and putting a program meant for legitimate businesses at risk, and we are implementing further reforms to stop abuse and fraud from creeping into the TFW program.”
Tuesday’s ministerial meeting included representatives from the food and beverage, transport and agriculture industries.
Christina Farrell, CEO of the Canadian Food and Beverage Association, also attended the meeting and said companies in the food processing industry are concerned that applications for low-wage TFWs may be rejected.
“If that applies to food and beverage manufacturing, then obviously that would be a crisis,” she told CBC News. “Ultimately, that would have an impact on food prices.”
Farrell said it was difficult to estimate the number of TFWs employed in food processing because the numbers could vary widely from year to year.
is more than A $2 million fine was imposed. Based on the 2023-24 TFW program, this represents a 36 percent increase over the previous year.
Immigration lawyers, agencies and consultants are sounding the alarm about fake Labor Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) being sold for tens of thousands of dollars.
“These employers are seeking penalties of $30,000 to $50,000 or even $60,000 for these positive LMIAs,” Manan Gupta, president of Brampton, Ont.-based Skylake Immigration, told CBC News.
Employers who wish to hire TFWs must submit a Labour Market Impact Assessment to the federal government showing that they have been unable to find a qualified Canadian to fill the position within 28 days. The standard processing fee for this file is $1,000, to be paid by the employer.
Canadian companies will be allowed to fill about 240,000 jobs with temporary foreign workers in 2023, more than double the number five years ago. CBC’s Paula Duhacek examines the polarizing opinions and experiences behind the soaring numbers.
Gupta said these fraudulent LMIAs are sold to give individuals a higher score in Canada’s Express Entry immigration system.
While agriculture remains the sector employing the most TFWs, several other sectors have also seen significant increases in the number of TFWs they employ since 2018, including nursing assistants, food service support and construction.
“If you look at the numbers, a lot of these stories of abuse are coming from the food and restaurant industry, the hospitality industry and even the supply chain industries because a lot of those industries are able to show decision makers that they have a severe shortage of skilled labor,” Gupta said.
While the total amount of fines imposed under the TFW has increased due to enforcement actions, Gupta said increased enforcement is the best way to weed out bad actors.
“The government recognises there are many loopholes and abuses. Only time will tell what will happen and what enforcement action the government ultimately takes,” Gupta said.
Boissonneau’s office said that in a meeting with industry groups, the minister outlined a number of measures the government has introduced or is considering to curb abuse of the system.
These include applying greater scrutiny in “high-risk areas” when processing LMIAs, potentially increasing LMIA application fees, and enforcing a “consistent application” of the rule that TFWs may not make up more than 20% of a company’s workforce.
Restaurants Canada was one of the trade groups at the meeting, and CEO Kelly Higginson said that before the COVID-19 pandemic, about 1 per cent of its members’ workforce were TFWs, but that figure has risen to 3 per cent since the pandemic began.
A report by a trade union group argues that British Columbia’s construction industry is overly reliant on temporary foreign workers, which it says is bad for local wages and the rights of foreign workers. Liam Brittain reports that one foreign worker in Vancouver is calling for more rights and a chance to become Canadian.
She said temporary foreign workers are not an employment priority for the restaurant industry overall, but are essential in areas where tourism is a key economic driver.
“At this point, I think the minister’s office is very cognizant of the need for this stream within a geographically identified area. Without the TFW program, we would be at a huge disadvantage. Tourists and residents would not be able to access their local coffee shops as frequently,” Higginson said.
“There will be other important services that residents want and need to make their communities vibrant and attractive to support the local economy.”
Higginson added that restaurants are a $115 billion industry in Canada and the policy change could have a profound effect on the tourism economy.
Higginson said that overall, Restaurants Canada is “very supportive” of stricter oversight of the LMIA.
“A strange operator [doesn’t] “Play by the rules…the fact is, they have no place in our industry and we support tough penalties for these people,” she said.
The number of approved TFW applications has increased significantly in recent years: 239,646 were approved last year, more than double the 108,988 approved in 2018. For 2022, 222,847 applications were approved, an increase of more than 89,000 from the previous year.
According to a report released in May by Statistics Canada, one in 10 temporary foreign workers earned less than $7,500 a year in 2019.
