Canada Issues New Rules to Strengthen the Temporary Worker Program

March 24, 2011POEA MARKET UPDATE NO. 08-11CANADA ISSUES NEW RULES TO STRENGTHEN THE TEMPORARY WORKER PROGRAMCitizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney recently announced that the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWP) will be better protected after new safeguards take effect on April 1, 2011. Improvements to the TFWP will ensure that the program continues to be fair to employers and maintain its focus on alleviating temporary labour shortages. The regulatory improvements to the TFWP include the most significant changes to the program in many years which are the following:1. A more rigorous assessment of the genuineness of the job offer;2. A two-year period of ineligibility of hiring temporary workers for employers who fail to meet their commitments with respect to wages, working conditions and occupation; and CAIHTE3. A four-year limit on the length of time some temporary foreign workers may work in Canada before returning home.The TFWP is driven by employer demand and aimed at filling identified labour shortages where no suitable Canadian workers or permanent residents are available. It is jointly managed by Citizenship and...