Businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors should be aware that federal government recently made a few updates to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program including: tighter enforcement of the 20 per cent cap on temporary foreign workers; stricter oversight in high-risk areas during Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) processing and inspections; and potential LMIA fee increases and regulatory changes regarding employer eligibility.
“More concerning however was Minister (Randy) Boissonnault’s (Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages) warning that he is considering eliminating future applications under the low-wage stream of the program. While many of these elements are proposals for now, his tone and possible change in policy direction could hurt retailers who use temporary foreign workers. RCC is actively engaged with other stakeholders to oppose these changes due to their potential impact on retailers facing labour shortages,” said the Retail Council of Canada.
In a statement, Restaurants Canada said it supports the federal government’s announcement that it is considering new regulations aimed at enhancing the integrity of the Temporary Foreign Worker program and is seeking long-term solutions to address the labour shortage.
It said the restaurant industry was devastated during the COVID pandemic with many workers leaving due to the uncertainty of steady employment. The use of the TFW program was necessary to allow the industry to reopen and recover following the lifting of public health restrictions. As a result, the percentage of the restaurant industry’s workforce made up of TFWs increased from one per cent pre-COVID to three per cent post COVID (made up primarily of cooks and supervisors). Restaurants Canada is expecting use of the program to continue to steadily decline over the next year.
Today, the foodservice industry has 73,000 job vacancies, but the organization said its focus now is on longer-term solutions, specifically providing opportunities for newcomers such as refugees and asylum seekers to fill the gaps permanently. There are currently more than one million of these individuals without work in Canada.
“Our priority is not TFW’s, but to provide unemployed newcomers, already in Canada, with employment opportunities in our industry,” said Kelly Higginson, President and CEO of Restaurants Canada. “These individuals are facing significant barriers to employment, and we have asked Minister Boissonnault’s office to help facilitate matching and training for these individuals. This kind of program would represent a win-win-win scenario for governments, newcomers and the restaurant industry.”
“There is a place for the TFW program, particularly in areas without the population to support services, such as seasonal tourist destinations. Now the government’s attention needs to turn to supporting the more than one million newcomers already in Canada without a job.”
The federal government said Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker program is designed as an extraordinary measure to be used when a qualified Canadian is not able to fill a job vacancy. When an employer hires a temporary foreign worker, they are required to provide a healthy and safe workplace, and to treat employees with dignity and respect.
Recently, Boissonnault said the TFW Program 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.
“I’ve been clear over the last year; abuse and misuse of the TFW program must end. The health and safety of temporary foreign workers in Canada is a responsibility I take very seriously. Bad actors are taking advantage of people and compromising the program for legitimate businesses. We are putting more reforms in place to stop misuse and fraud from entering the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.”
