Housing Minister Sean Fraser said on Sunday the federal government would curb the number of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) entering the country after some researchers say the COVID-19 surge has led to higher unemployment among young people and immigrants.
Speaking to reporters in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, before the start of a Liberal cabinet meeting in neighboring Halifax, Fraser justified his government’s past decisions – decisions he made when he was immigration minister – to ease regulations on the TFW program as needed during a period of pandemic-related staff shortages.
But he acknowledged that this has changed as signs of stress emerge in the labour market.
Migrant and youth unemployment rates have risen to worrying levels in recent months. Federal Data.
“The landscape has changed. We don’t see the severe labour shortages that we had two years ago. When the economic landscape changes, the policy landscape has to change,” Fraser said.
“Looking forward, we should expect to see further changes to ensure that the programs we put in place to help grow Canada’s workforce create opportunities for Canadian workers first and foremost.”
Fraser declined to offer any specifics about how many TFWs will be admitted in future or what aspects of the program might change at a time when the government is concerned about the program’s explosion.
The minister said Canada can accommodate an increasing number of new permanent residents each year. Projected immigration numbers: 485,000 It plans to build homes in the UK in 2024 but acknowledged that a non-permanent immigration system that allows foreign workers and students to stay for short periods of time was putting further strain on already strained housing supply.
Fraser said the temporary foreign worker program has so far been run without strict caps, depending on how many employers want. The government can impose further restrictions to reduce the numbers, while being considerate to businesses that really need the program to build their workforce, he said.
Easing TFW regulations post-COVID
The agricultural sector has long relied on TFWs to grow and harvest the food that the nation eats and exports.
“We’ve seen this significant increase even though we no longer have the labor shortages that we had in the summer of two years ago, so we need to take a different approach,” Fraser said.
The number of non-permanent residents is growing at a rapid rate in the post-COVID era, after the federal government relaxed regulations on non-permanent residents (especially “low-wage” workers) and allowed Canadian universities to significantly increase their international students.
In the past three years, Number of non-permanent residents According to data compiled by Statistics Canada, the number of immigrants and workers (including TFWs, international students and asylum seekers) doubled from about 1.3 million in 2021 to about 2.8 million in the second quarter of this year.
Of these, 1.3 million are in Canada on a work permit, a category that also includes TFWs.
The number of workers in the low-wage TFW sector, which embraces workers in food service but also fields like construction and hospitals, is expected to grow from 15,817 in 2016 to 83,654 by 2023, according to federal data.
The reason the numbers are so much higher than in previous years is because the federal government Restrictions lifted The law will come into effect in April 2022 and will effectively ban employers in high-unemployment areas with unemployment rates of 6 percent or more from hiring low-wage foreign workers in certain occupations.
Ottawa too The proportion of low-wage workers has increased Companies can employ between 10% and 20% of their workforce, but some sectors, such as accommodation and food services, have a higher cap of 30%. In March, this cap was lowered again to 20%.
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.
As a result of the relaxed regulations, companies like Tim Hortons and convenience store chains are increasingly hiring workers from overseas to fill labor shortages, even in areas with high local unemployment, and foreign workers are increasingly filling entry-level administrative jobs.
A recent United Nations report called Canada’s TFW program, where foreign workers are attached to a specific program for a set period of time, a breeding ground for modern slavery.
Youth and immigrant unemployment rates rise
Researchers say the influx of low-wage foreign workers is having a negative impact on the employment prospects of immigrants and young people.
According to a recent financial report from the Bank of Canada, the unemployment rate for “new immigrants” is currently 11.6%, well above the overall unemployment rate of 6.4% recorded in June.
“The softening labor market is making it more difficult for new entrants to find work and join the workforce.” The central bank said in its July financial report.
Notably, Statistics Canada data shows that the unemployment rate for immigrants and black Canadian-born people is 11.9 per cent.
The unemployment rate for young people between the ages of 15 and 24 is even higher, at 13.5 percent, the highest in the past decade, according to federal government statistics.
“Younger Canadian workers are experiencing an exceptionally tough summer,” said Mike Moffatt, senior director of policy at the Smart Prosperity Institute, a think tank based at the University of Ottawa.
He pointed to the Canada Labour Force Survey, which showed the number of 15-19 year-olds who were working last month was the second-lowest on record, slightly higher than 2020, the year of pandemic lockdowns.
“Apart from 2020, when we had lockdowns, 2024 is the worst year on record for teenagers to get a summer job, whether that be as a convenience store cashier or ice cream salesman,” Moffat said in a recent post on the issue.
“Even though teenagers are currently facing difficulties in the job market, more temporary foreign workers than ever before are being allowed into the same jobs.”
A scathing United Nations report released last month slammed Canada’s temporary foreign worker system as a “hotbed of modern slavery” and cited wage theft, long working hours, limited breaks and physical abuse as examples of worker mistreatment.
In a recent interview with CBC Power and politicsMoffat said he would like to see the government eliminate the low-paid TFW flow altogether to restore some balance to the lower end of the labour market, where migrants and young people are competing with foreign workers who are sometimes willing to work for lower wages than others would expect.
Moffat will be one of the presenters at the federal cabinet meeting in Halifax and will have the opportunity to present directly to the prime minister.
