In early August, Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, convened representatives from Canada’s largest business associations with one clear message: the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) cannot be used to circumvent hiring talented workers in Canada, and the federal government will take further action to weed out misuse and fraud within the system.

During the meeting, Minister Boissonnault outlined the following actions that are being implemented to reduce the use of temporary foreign workers in Canada:

• Enforcing consistent application of the 20 per cent cap policy for temporary foreign workers. This includes the policy for the “dual intent sub-stream,” which applies to temporary foreign workers who intend to apply for permanent residency. Employers using this stream will be subject to more stringent guidelines;
• Applying a stricter and more rigorous oversight in high-risk areas when processing Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) and when conducting inspections;  
• Considering LMIA fee increases to pay for additional integrity and processing activities; and,
• Looking to implement future regulatory changes regarding employer eligibility (factors such as a minimum number of years of business operations or history of lay-offs by the employer).

While the majority of employers use the program for its intended purpose, more work is required to protect the Canadian labour market and hold bad actors accountable. The Minister will closely monitor employer demand for the TFWP, as well as the employment rate, and is willing to take further tightening measures where required.

The Government is also working on modernizing the TFWP with a new foreign labour stream for Agriculture and Fish and Seafood Processing, as announced in the 2022 budget.

 

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