August Immigration Status, Policy Changes for Foreign Workers
7 Sep 2024
August was a month of big and small changes to policies for foreign workers. As we look at the various policy amendments, it's becoming increasingly clear what the Canadian government is trying to achieve as it reforms its immigration program. In this column, we'll recap August's immigration developments and look ahead to what's to come with the newly announced policy changes.
Last month, Express Entry held four general selection rounds and one category-based selection round. Overall, scores have been trending downward, a trend that was also seen in the BC PNP, with lower scores and higher invitations across the board. There is some optimism that concerns about high scores in immigration selection may be slowly being addressed.
The most notable news is the announcement of proposed reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program. On August 26, 2024, Randy Buasono, Canada's Minister of Employment, Labour Development, and Official Languages, announced reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker program in Canada. The program is designed to allow qualified foreign workers to fill jobs that cannot be filled by Canadians and permanent residents, and has played a positive role in the Canadian economy and labor market by alleviating labor shortages experienced by employers. However, there have been instances of abuse by some employers, and Canada has implemented a number of measures to improve this, most notably the gradual return to previous levels of the validity period for labor market impact assessments (LMIAs) and the cap on the percentage of temporary foreign workers introduced during the pandemic, starting in October 2023, to stabilize the labor market.
The key changes in the newly announced amendments include: First, discontinuing the processing of LMIAs in the low-wage sector. The Government of Canada will refuse to process labor market impact assessments (LMIAs) in low-wage sectors in census metropolitan areas with unemployment rates above 6%. However, exceptions will be made for seasonal and non-seasonal jobs in the food security sector (primary agriculture, food processing and fish processing) and construction and healthcare. Second, we will cap temporary foreign worker hiring at 10%. Employers can hire up to 10% of their total workforce through the TFW program. This percentage applies to low-wage sectors, which will be further reduced after the March 2024 reduction in the percentage of foreign workers hired. Exemptions will still be applied on the same basis. Third, the employment period for foreign workers will be reduced to one year. The maximum employment period for workers hired through the low-wage sector will be reduced from two years to one year, which will limit their work.
In addition, temporary visitors are restricted from applying for work permits in Canada. This was a temporary policy introduced in 2020 due to travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. It allowed foreign nationals in visitor status to apply for a work permit in Canada without leaving the country, and those who had a work permit in the previous 12 months could still work legally after changing to visitor status while waiting for a new work permit. The temporary policy was scheduled to end on February 28, 2025, but the Canadian government decided to end it earlier, on August 28, 2024. You can no longer apply for a work permit while in Canada as a visitor, and if you want to apply for a work permit, you must leave Canada to complete the application process.
August was a month dominated by policy announcements related to temporary workers, including tougher action against cases of LMIA abuse that resulted in harm to workers, and the premature end to the temporary Work Permit application system that was in place during the pandemic. These actions demonstrate that Canadian immigration policy requires a more thoughtful and fair process for issuing Work Permits. We can expect to see the injustices associated with hiring low-wage temporary workers to be addressed, and we can expect to see fairer opportunities and treatment for those seeking to work in Canada.
August was a month of big and small changes to policies for foreign workers. As we look at the various policy amendments, it's becoming increasingly clear what the Canadian government is trying to achieve as it reforms its immigration program. In this column, we'll recap August's immigration developments and look ahead to what's to come with the newly announced policy changes.
Last month, Express Entry held four general selection rounds and one category-based selection round. Overall, scores have been trending downward, a trend that was also seen in the BC PNP, with lower scores and higher invitations across the board. There is some optimism that concerns about high scores in immigration selection may be slowly being addressed.
The most notable news is the announcement of proposed reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program. On August 26, 2024, Randy Buasono, Canada's Minister of Employment, Labour Development, and Official Languages, announced reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker program in Canada. The program is designed to allow qualified foreign workers to fill jobs that cannot be filled by Canadians and permanent residents, and has played a positive role in the Canadian economy and labor market by alleviating labor shortages experienced by employers. However, there have been instances of abuse by some employers, and Canada has implemented a number of measures to improve this, most notably the gradual return to previous levels of the validity period for labor market impact assessments (LMIAs) and the cap on the percentage of temporary foreign workers introduced during the pandemic, starting in October 2023, to stabilize the labor market.
The key changes in the newly announced amendments include: First, discontinuing the processing of LMIAs in the low-wage sector. The Government of Canada will refuse to process labor market impact assessments (LMIAs) in low-wage sectors in census metropolitan areas with unemployment rates above 6%. However, exceptions will be made for seasonal and non-seasonal jobs in the food security sector (primary agriculture, food processing and fish processing) and construction and healthcare. Second, we will cap temporary foreign worker hiring at 10%. Employers can hire up to 10% of their total workforce through the TFW program. This percentage applies to low-wage sectors, which will be further reduced after the March 2024 reduction in the percentage of foreign workers hired. Exemptions will still be applied on the same basis. Third, the employment period for foreign workers will be reduced to one year. The maximum employment period for workers hired through the low-wage sector will be reduced from two years to one year, which will limit their work.
In addition, temporary visitors are restricted from applying for work permits in Canada. This was a temporary policy introduced in 2020 due to travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. It allowed foreign nationals in visitor status to apply for a work permit in Canada without leaving the country, and those who had a work permit in the previous 12 months could still work legally after changing to visitor status while waiting for a new work permit. The temporary policy was scheduled to end on February 28, 2025, but the Canadian government decided to end it earlier, on August 28, 2024. You can no longer apply for a work permit while in Canada as a visitor, and if you want to apply for a work permit, you must leave Canada to complete the application process.
August was a month dominated by policy announcements related to temporary workers, including tougher action against cases of LMIA abuse that resulted in harm to workers, and the premature end to the temporary Work Permit application system that was in place during the pandemic. These actions demonstrate that Canadian immigration policy requires a more thoughtful and fair process for issuing Work Permits. We can expect to see the injustices associated with hiring low-wage temporary workers to be addressed, and we can expect to see fairer opportunities and treatment for those seeking to work in Canada.