Canada Proposes Major Changes to Temporary Foreign Worker Regulations

Major changes are about to happen towards temporary foreign workers as the Canadian government is proposing a stricter rule for employers and impose more protections for the employees. Currently, there are two paths on how temporary workers can come to Canada. First of which is through the International Mobility Program (IMP) which allows foreigners to work in Canada at jobs where there might be a Canadian available to do the job. The other path is the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) that helps companies hire employees who are non-Canadian for jobs that Canadians and permanent residents are not willing to do.

The Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a form used by employers to complete when seeking to hire through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). Through this, employers need to show that they did try to look for a Canadian to fill in the job but could not find one. This form is the major difference between a job under TFWP and IMP as TFWP requires an LMIA while IMP does not.

Even with the existence of the LMIA, employees under temporary foreign workers seem to often not understand and use their rights. Major concerns are:
1. Some employers are found to be non-compliant with regulations avoiding bans on hiring TFWs. (i.e. hiring through other companies they own)
2. Most TFWs are unaware of their rights or what they mean.
3. Several TFWs do not have proper access to health care.
4. They are being charged illegal ‘recruitment fees’ by their recruiters or employers.
5. They fear reprisal if they raise concerns about working conditions. These fears have caused employees to not report abuse.

With all these rising concerns, the Canadian government has decided to propose changes that aim to strengthen the protection for all temporary health workers. In connection to this, the Canadian government requires all employers to provide a paper document that outlines all the rights of the temporary foreign workers and all information must be posted in a public spot in their workplace.

Here are the changes that the Canadian government plan to implement:
1. They plan to make all employers provide an employment agreement to both the worker and the government to confirm that the employee will work in the same job, working conditions, and wages, as stated in the employment offer.
2. They want to make it clear that the employer will provide a workplace free of abuse. For the government, reprisal is also considered abuse. This will allow the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to pause the processing of an LMIA once an employer is guilty of non-compliace with existing regulations.
3. They want to create new requirements for granting LMIAs that will include: taking reasonable efforts that the workplace is free of abuse; showing that the employer respects all federal and provincial employment rules; and not allowing an affiliate or alter-ego of an ineligible employer to hire TFWs.

These changes may affect businesses as they may impose greater costs however expenses are said to be minimal. These changes will be a great clarity for both employers and employees as well as the Canadian government and all temporary workers will now be able to enjoy their protections.