New reforms to the temporary foreign worker program.
Posted Jun 20, 2014 04:26:45 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Employment Minister Jason Kenney has announced a long list of changes to the government’s controversial temporary foreign workers program.
He said the measures are “bold, broad, ambitious and balanced” and that they will put Canadians first in line for available jobs.
Employers in places with high unemployment won’t be allowed to apply for temporary foreign workers in the lowest wage and skill groups in the accommodation, food service and retail sectors.
The government is also putting a cap of 30 per cent on the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers an employer can hire at each worksite, and said that the cap will drop to 10 per cent by July of 2016.
Employers will also be required to re-apply every year for approval to hire low-wage temporary foreign workers, instead of every two years.
The government is also lifting its freeze on hiring temporary foreign workers in the food-services sector.
