The federal government is expected to announce details today of changes to the temporary foreign workers program that will require employers to do more to find Canadian workers so they don't have to look elsewhere.
The expected changes come after a CBC Go Public story earlier this month on use of foreign workers by Royal Bank which sparked public outrage and brought renewed focus on the temporary foreign workers program. The controversy dominated Parliament Hill and had the government defending the program but also promising changes to it so that it is not abused.
One of the reforms expected is that employers will have to demonstrate that they have a plan to recruit, train and hire Canadians first before they can be granted a permit to hire foreign workers. If they have to hire foreign workers they will then need to have a plan to show how they will eventually hire Canadians for those positions.
Another change to the program will be a fee imposed on employers who want to hire temporary foreign workers.
There could also be changes to the current rule that allows for some temporary foreign workers to be paid 15 per cent less than Canadians.
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Human Resources Minister Diane Finley are expected to announce the changes late Monday afternoon in Ottawa.
The government said in its March budget that it would make reforms to the program, and they are expected to be included in the government's budget implementation bill that is on notice. It could be introduced after question period in the House of Commons today.
Finley's department oversees the program and issues labour market opinions (LMO) on how hiring foreign workers would impact the Canadian job market. Employers are only given permission to hire temporary foreign workers if they can't find Canadians to fill the jobs and only if bringing in foreign workers won't have a negative impact on the Canadian labour market.
To receive a positive LMO employers have to show what efforts they have made to recruit and train Canadian residents and the potential benefits that hiring foreign workers could have on the Canadian economy. Some work categories are exempt from the LMO requirement. Professionals and business people, for example, who come to Canada as part of international agreements or workers who come as part of an exchange program, do not need a LMO.
The total number of temporary foreign workers has doubled in the last decade, to 338,189 workers.
Some labour economists have been calling for a review of the program to determine if it is adequately addressing labour shortages or whether it is undermining wages and job opportunities in Canada.
Erin Weir, a labour economist with the United Steel Workers Union said in an interview earlier this month that some companies go through the motions of pretending to hire Canadians in order to get a positive labour market opinion.
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