Further reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Changes give government authority to perform inspections, refuse permits

Minister of employment and social development and minister for multiculturalism Jason Kenney and citizenship and immigration minister Chris Alexander announced further changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).

The reforms — results of the federal government’s ongoing review of the TFWP — were announced in late 2013.

Regulatory and administrative changes to the program will give the government authority to conduct inspections to ensure employers are meeting the conditions of the program and allow the government to ban non-compliant employers from the program for two years.

“These changes are part of a larger reform of the program that demonstrates our government’s commitment to protect foreign workers from the risk of abuse and exploitation,” Alexander said. “One of the goals of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is to deal with labour shortages on a temporary basis, and these reforms will help ensure that the program is used as intended.”

The newly announced reforms will also strengthen criteria for assessing Labour Market Opinion (LMO) and work permit applications. These changes will provide the government with authority to revoke or suspend LMOs, to refuse to process LMO applications, and to revoke or refuse to process work permits.

“We are taking action to ensure that Canadians are always first in line for available jobs,” Kenney said of the recent reforms.

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