CANADIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

Canada is taking action to help protect foreign temporary workers

Friday, 16 October 2009

In the near future companies seeking to bring temporary foreign workers into Canada will be more closely watched and those not following the rules will be 'named and shamed' Citizenship and Immigration Canada has promised.

These new practices are being brought in to help protect temporary foreign workers as they play a crucial role in Canada's economy.

Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney has said of foreign workers, "we have a duty to them, employers and all Canadians, to ensure that the program is fair and equitable."

Some of the proposed changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program include a more thorough assessment of the authenticity of the job offer as well as limits to the length of a workers stay in Canada. There will also be a two-year probation period imposed for employers wishing to hire temporary foreign workers who have been found to have been treating temporary workers poorly, providing significantly different wages and working conditions for those workers. Any employers who have been prohibited from hiring temporary foreign workers will be listed on the Citizenship and Immigration website.

"The regulatory changes being proposed are the result of extensive consultations and address the most significant concerns identified through that process," said Minister Kenney.

A key part of the new regulations is to limit the length of time workers can stay and work in Canada before returning back to their home countries. After a cumulative total of four years of working in Canada a worker would be not eligible to work in Canada for six years after that. This reflects that the program is designed to address short-term labour shortages and is not a long term solution.

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