Canada is proposing stricter rules for employers and will provide more protections for Temporary Foreign Workers.
Employees come to Canada through two immigration programs:
- Temporary Foreign Worker Program;
- International Mobility Program.
Through TFWP, companies can hire non-Canadians for those jobs in which there is no availability of Canadian(citizens or permanent residents) workers. And through the International Mobility Program, foreigners can get a job in Canada and compete with Canadian workers for jobs.
The main difference between the TFWP and IMP is that there is no requirement for an LMIA for the former. An LMIA is a document that an employer must submit if he or she wants to hire foreign employers. LMIA proves that the employer tried to hire Canadian workers before opening the job for foreign workers.
Temporary Foreign Workers are not able to use their rights and are sometimes bound to face major problems.
- Temporary foreign workers know little about their rights;
- They do not get proper access to healthcare in Canada;
- Employers hire temporary foreign workers through other companies and they do not comply with ban rules on foreign workers;
- TWFs are charged “recruitment fees” by employers or recruitment agencies;
- TWFs do not raise concerns about the work environment as they fear retaliation.
All these things make temporary foreign workers vulnerable in a new country. Therefore, Canada has now decided to make stronger rules for them and strengthen the existing rules.
- The Government of Canada has made it mandatory for all employers to provide a document to each TFW that lists their rights. They have to post this information in the public space of their office.
- Employers must provide an agreement listing the working conditions and wages to the worker as well as to the government.
- Employers are encouraged to provide a working environment that is free of abuse.
- The Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) can stop the processing of an LMIA if it suspects any non-compliance.
- The government will create new requirements for authorizing LMIAs.
The government will reduce the response time for the Notice of Preliminary Findings from 30 days to 15 days. So, this will pave the way for quicker resolution regarding the non-compliance concerns.
And strengthening the rules for illegal recruitment fees will ensure that no employee is tricked.
Also, employers hiring temporary foreign workers will have to make all the efforts to provide them the required healthcare. For example, setting up some healthcare services for the workers including a phone to call emergency healthcare.
In addition, employers should provide some private health insurance to employees under the TFWP.
The government of Canada acknowledges that these new regulations will add more expenses to businesses.
However, these changes are crucial for the betterment of employees, employers, and the government. And it is the government’s responsibility to provide stronger protections to TWFs.
