Some temporary foreign workers’ time in Canada limited
New changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker program are designed to protect temporary foreign workers but will also limit their time in Canada: temporary foreign workers who have worked in Canada for four years will not be allowed to work in Canada until another four-year period has passed.
Among the new rules, employers who are unable to provide proper wages or working conditions will receive a two-year ban on hiring temporary foreign workers, and their names will be made public.
The history of the employer will be looked at much more closely, ensuring that they have a history of following employment and Temporary Foreign Worker Program laws. Another change is that the government will be looking much more closely at the genuineness of the job offer.
Employers will be required to sign a contract with their employees that covers wages, conditions and duties involved with the job, and all recruiting costs, airfare and medical coverage must be handled by the employer.
Some exemptions for four-year limit
The limit will not apply to seasonal farm workers under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program. The changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker program will come into effect on April 1.
This development is precisely what Canada does not need. The recession and our ageing demographics combine to put stress on our labor forces. The logic of this change for work permits is questionable. I wish this was all an April Fools joke.
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President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
