Monthly Archives: September 2016

Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers -TFWP- in Numbers

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In 2014, more than 360,000 people had their temporary work permit take effect, a 64 per cent increase compared with 2004. An additional 212,000 international students had their study permit take effect, with many of them eligible to work in Canada temporarily.

Ahead of a major parliamentary committee report on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) set for release this month, a new report by Conference Board of Canada’s National Immigration Centre provides a comprehensive overview of the state of Canada’s foreign worker population.

The report, A Primer on Canada’s Foreign Workers, suggests that while Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program population has declined in recent years, Canada’s overall foreign worker population is rising and may continue to increase.

“Workers entering Canada under the TFWP make up only a slice of Canada’s diverse foreign worker population, which includes International Mobility Program workers, international students, those awaiting permanent residence in Canada, and refugee claimants. All these individuals are able to work in Canada on a temporary basis,” said Michael Bloom, Vice-President, Industry and Business Strategy, The Conference Board of Canada. “Ensuring that foreign worker programs benefit Canada is a matter of reconciling the needs of federal, provincial, and territorial governments, industry, and Canadians and foreign workers.”

Highlights

  • In 2014, more than 360,000 people had their temporary work permit take effect, a 64 per cent increase compared with 2004. An additional 212,000 international students had their study permit take effect, with many of them eligible to work in Canada temporarily.
  • The TFWP accounted for one-quarter of individuals who were granted a temporary work permit in 2014.
  • Canada could see its foreign worker population continue to rise as a result of more international students entering the country and recently negotiated free trade agreements.

In 2014, more than 360,000 people had their temporary work permit take effect, a 64 per cent increase compared with 2004. Most temporary work permits signed between 2004 and 2014 were exempt from a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), the test used by the federal government to determine what effect the hiring of a foreign national might have on the Canadian labour market. The number of TFWP permits signed has declined over the past two years likely due to a combination of Canada’s economic conditions and TFWP policy reforms.

TFWP accounted for only 26 per cent of individuals who were granted a temporary work permit in 2014. Despite possible reforms to the TFWP, Canada could still see its overall foreign worker population increase in the future due to rising levels of international students arriving to Canada. International students make up a significant share of foreign workers eligible to participate in the Canadian labour market. In 2014, close to 212,000 international students had their study permit signed compared with just over 126,000 in 2004. This number could increase further as federal, provincial, and territorial governments encourage more foreign nationals to study in Canada.

Recently negotiated free trade agreements by Canada could also up the number of foreign nationals eligible to work in Canada under the International Mobility Program, which does not have LMIA requirements. The Canada and European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) both contain labour mobility provisions. If ratified, they could result in more Canadians working abroad, and more foreign workers arriving to Canada.

“Balance is the key to a well-designed and well-executed TFWP,” said Dr. Bloom. “The government has a legitimate role to monitor the TFWP to ensure domestic workers are given priority in the labour market. Employers across Canada would like enough flexibility to fill their temporary employment needs when domestic workers are unavailable to do the job. The Canadian public wants assurance that foreign workers are supplementing, rather than supplanting domestic workers. And protections must be in place to ensure temporary foreign workers are treated fairly by employers.”

The report also highlights the need for more complete information on the Canadian labour market to support evidence-based policy decisions on Canada’s foreign worker programs. While certain sectors, such as agriculture, face genuine labour shortages, as shown by federal government data, and require TFWs to fill labour market vacancies, it is difficult to determine whether other sectors are facing similar labour shortages due to limitations in Canada’s labour market data.

Canadian Immigration Minister Wants to “Substantially” Increase Immigration

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Immigration Minister John McCallum says that before he can 'substantially increase' Canada's immigration levels beyond record levels, he will have to take his plan to cabinet and convince Canadians it's the right thing to do.

Immigration Minister John McCallum says that before he can ‘substantially increase’ Canada’s immigration levels beyond record levels, he will have to take his plan to cabinet and convince Canadians it’s the right thing to do.

If Immigration Minister John McCallum gets his way, Canada will significantly increase immigration beyond its current record level as a IRiway to fill the country’s labour needs.

Pointing to an aging population and looming labour shortages, McCallum made the pitch in Manila during a speech to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines on Friday.

“So why not substantially increase the number of immigrants coming to Canada? And that is, I think, I hope, what we are about to do,” McCallum said, according to a transcript of his remarks obtained by CBC News.

Earlier in the week, McCallum was in Beijing, where he sought to open more offices where Chinese can apply for visas, in the hope of attracting more high-skilled workers.

The Trudeau government is already seeking to admit between 280,000 and 305,000 new permanent residents in 2016 — a record increase from the 260,000 to 285,000 newcomers the previous Conservative government had planned to welcome by the end of 2015.

Key to the Liberal government’s larger plan to promote innovation and grow the economy is McCallum’s three-year immigration plan, which he intends to unveil this fall.

McCallum said no final decision on immigration has been made and that he has to get his cabinet colleagues on board with his new plan and convince Canadians it’s the right thing to do.

“But the direction in which I would like to go is to increase substantially the number of immigrants,” McCallum said Friday.

Reducing ‘barriers’ to immigration

The express entry system launched under the previous Conservative government promised transformative changes to Canada’s economic immigration policy.

McCallum will ease some of the rules to make it easier for international students to come to Canada and become permanent residents.

He is also reviewing what is known as a labour market impact assessment (LMIA) — a document all employers need to hire foreign nationals over Canadian workers — and could do away with it in some instances.

Businesses have said it is the biggest flaw with express entry, a requirement the previous government borrowed from the temporary foreign worker program.

“So we’re going to make it easier for international students, we’re going to reduce some of the barriers in our immigration system … we don’t think that every immigrant needs to go through what we call a labour market impact assessment process. We think it can be simplified. We think there are some rules which are no longer necessary,” McCallum said.

“Now, we have to convince Canadians of this. But I think it’s a good idea.”

Review to come on TFW program

The Liberal government also tasked a parliamentary committee with a review of the controversial foreign worker program, but Parliament adjourned before the report was tabled. It will now be made public in the fall.

McCallum, who worked as a chief economist at one of Canada’s Big Five banks and a professor of economics before he entered politics, also acknowledged he has his work cut out for him.

“Not every Canadian will agree. But I think with our mindset of welcoming newcomers in the beginning, with the facts of the labour shortages, aging population, we have a good case to make, and I think we will be able to convince a higher proportion of Canadians that this is the right way for Canada to go.”

Philippines is currently the top source country for permanent residents in Canada, according to data published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada as of May 31.

The immigration minister also said that processing times for reuniting families from the Philippines has dropped “dramatically” to 12 months, “cut in half in just a year.”

The Liberal government promised during last fall’s federal election campaign to reduce processing wait times in all categories.

Source: Susana Mas, CBC News