Canada modified key measures for employers hiring TFWs within the Temporary Foreign Workforce Solutions Road Map. The Minister of Employment, Official Languages and Workforce Development announced these changes recently. These changes will eventually enable employers to use the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to combat critical labor shortages.
Canada modified key measures for employers hiring TFWs
The following changes have come into effect in the Temporary Foreign Workforce Solutions Road Map:
- Employers within the significant sectors might continue to recruit 30 percent of the workers under lower-wage job positions through the TFWP. These sectors include Food and Wood Manufacturing, Construction, Hospitals, Facilities related to Nursing and Residential Care, and Product Manufacturing related to furniture.
- An employment duration limit of two years for job positions in the provincial and territorial minimum wages.
- The validity of LMIA will also be 12 months and not 18 months.
- From January 1, 2024, employers will need to conduct yearly reviews of the wages of temporary foreign workers. This will ensure whether they provide wages equivalent to the income in a specific region for a given profession.
The above special initiatives come into play by August 30, 2024. This will provide them with the provision to alter these measures according to the labor market requirements and economic priorities.
Although Canada managed to address the labor shortage to some extent after the pandemic phase, the point is that it can’t rely on its native population to fill the acute labor gap. Several sectors discussed above still undergo a labor crisis and need foreign workers to combat this issue.
TFWP’s employer demand has risen by 40 percent compared to the previous year. Hence, the job vacancies will remain persistent from now on.
Defining the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
The Temporary Foreign Worker Program enables IRCC to confront domestic labor shortages with immigration as the chief factor. This program comprises various streams that further assist Canadian firms in recruiting foreign nationals. These streams include the following:
- The Live-In Caregiver Streams;
- High and Low Wages Foreign Worker’s Stream;
- Agricultural Streams
Employers in Canada will need to possess a Labour Market Impact Assessment as this is a formal procedure through which the Canadian government evaluates if they are not missing out on any potential Canadian citizen or PR holder for the same job position.
The Canadian employer shall be able to recruit a foreign worker if they happen to attain a positive or neutral LMIA. However, there might also be a situation where the LMIA disagrees with foreign recruitment. In that case, the application will face rejection.
In addition, LMIA-specific work permits allow one to work under a single employer only in a particular industry.
Besides this, the Canadian government demands that Canadian employers adhere strictly to the TFWP standards. These standards include the rights of workers, wages, and working conditions. The TFWP also offers a safety program for vulnerable workers who fall under it. In addition, IRCC has introduced the Recognized Employer Pilot to make amends to the LMIA process. This Pilot will allow those with excellent track records under the program to benefit from these changes. It is also because these workers consistently help fill the job vacancies.
Do you have any queries on Canadian immigration through the TFWP? Get in touch with our immigration representatives at MakeHomeCanada by writing to us at [email protected].
