Latest news with #TemporaryForeignWorker
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Revised Canadian policy eases job transitions for foreign workers
In a significant move aimed at better utilizing the skills of temporary foreign workers already within the country, the Canadian government has introduced a new temporary public policy. This initiative that was signed on March 4, comes into force from May 27. It allows foreign nationals in Canada to change jobs more quickly, even before their new work permit application is fully processed. Previously, foreign workers seeking to switch employers or occupations often faced lengthy delays, sometimes several weeks, while awaiting a new work permit. This waiting period led to financial instability for workers and frustration for Canadian employers keen to fill urgent labour and skills gaps. Now, temporary foreign workers already in Canada, who have a job offer either through the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program or the International Mobility Program can begin their new roles more quickly The Canadian government acknowledges that temporary foreign workers play a vital role in the Canadian economy. However, circumstances can arise where an existing employment contract is no longer viable. This could be due to various reasons, such as a new role with the same employer, layoffs, workplace conflict, or simply the pursuit of better compensation or professional growth opportunities with a different company. "It is imperative to better utilize the skills and training of the temporary foreign workers already here," states a recently updated post on the website of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). "This policy offers workers a viable and timely alternative to change employers if they need to do so" adds the post. Speaking to the TOI, Kubeir Kamal, a regulated Canadian immigration consultant (RCIC) said, 'The temporary public policy from IRCC, allows temporary foreign workers, including many from the Indian community, to change employers without needing a new work permit while their application is processed. This would specifically apply to the closed work permit holders in Canada.' 'Indian workers, who form a significant portion of Canada's temporary foreign workforce (over one lakh work permits were issued to Indian nationals in 2022), often hold employer-specific (close) work permits in sectors like IT, healthcare, caregiving, and agriculture. This policy allows them to switch jobs without waiting for a new permit, reducing downtime and enabling pursuit of better opportunities, such as higher-paying roles or positions with career advancement,' he added. Meanwhile, Jamil Jivani, a member of the Canadian Parliament from the Conservative party, apparently acting suo moto, has launched a petition to end the TFW Program. He blames it for high immigration numbers, taking jobs from Canadians, lowering wages and putting an additional burden on infrastructure. The re-elected Liberal party in August last year had announced restrictive measures for hiring temporary foreign workers. These included a cap on the number of TFWs that can be hired, and reduction in the duration of employment for workers hired under the low-wage stream to one year, from two years.
Economic Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
After housing and job crisis, Canadian MP launches petition to end temporary foreign worker program
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani started a petition to end the Temporary Foreign Worker program. He said the TFW program is a big reason immigration is too high, and it's taking jobs from Canadians and lowering wages, as per reports. In a social media video, Jivani blamed high immigration for doctor shortages, crowded hospitals, housing problems, and fewer jobs for Canadians. He said people can see these problems everywhere like not enough hospital beds, hard to find a doctor, houses are too few, and jobs are scarce. Jivani said in Parliament it's hard to have a 'sensible conversation' about immigration now. He said his petition doesn't include farm workers. He wants a different program for seasonal farm jobs. One reason for this petition is high youth unemployment. In April, unemployment for 15 to 24-year-olds was 14%, as per the Statistics Canada's May 2025 jobs report. Last year, the federal government already said they will cut back the number of TFWs. They said they won't process TFW applications in cities with more than 6% unemployment, according to a Canadian Press report. From 2025 to 2027, the plan is to allow 82,000 temporary workers into Canada each year. Employment Minister Patty Hajdu responded by pointing out that Jivani is not in the Conservative shadow cabinet. She said if Jivani had been briefed by his party, he'd know they already reduced the TFW program. Hajdu also said the government is talking to labour and industry groups for more changes. She said the TFW program does NOT replace Canadian workers and is important for farms and tourism, as per reports. Jivani seems to be doing this petition on his own. He doesn't have an official role as an immigration or jobs critic in the party. The actual Conservative critics for immigration and employment are Michelle Rempel Garner and Garnett Genuis. The Conservative Party has not commented yet, as mentioned in The Canadian Press report. Q1. What is Jamil Jivani's petition about?He wants to end the Temporary Foreign Worker program in most sectors.Q2. Is the foreign worker program still being run by the Canadian government? Yes, but they are limiting it in cities with high unemployment.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
After housing and job crisis, Canadian MP launches petition to end temporary foreign worker program
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani started a petition to end the Temporary Foreign Worker program . He said the TFW program is a big reason immigration is too high, and it's taking jobs from Canadians and lowering wages, as per reports. In a social media video, Jivani blamed high immigration for doctor shortages, crowded hospitals, housing problems, and fewer jobs for Canadians . He said people can see these problems everywhere like not enough hospital beds, hard to find a doctor, houses are too few, and jobs are scarce. Jivani said in Parliament it's hard to have a 'sensible conversation' about immigration now. He said his petition doesn't include farm workers. He wants a different program for seasonal farm jobs. One reason for this petition is high youth unemployment. In April, unemployment for 15 to 24-year-olds was 14%, as per the Statistics Canada's May 2025 jobs report. Last year, the federal government already said they will cut back the number of TFWs. They said they won't process TFW applications in cities with more than 6% unemployment, according to a Canadian Press report. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Dental Implant Bagong Silang Cost Might Be More Affordable Than Ever! Dental implant | Search Ads Learn More Undo From 2025 to 2027, the plan is to allow 82,000 temporary workers into Canada each year. Employment Minister Patty Hajdu responded by pointing out that Jivani is not in the Conservative shadow cabinet. She said if Jivani had been briefed by his party, he'd know they already reduced the TFW program. Hajdu also said the government is talking to labour and industry groups for more changes. She said the TFW program does NOT replace Canadian workers and is important for farms and tourism, as per reports. Jivani seems to be doing this petition on his own. He doesn't have an official role as an immigration or jobs critic in the party. The actual Conservative critics for immigration and employment are Michelle Rempel Garner and Garnett Genuis. The Conservative Party has not commented yet, as mentioned in The Canadian Press report. Live Events FAQs Q1. What is Jamil Jivani's petition about? He wants to end the Temporary Foreign Worker program in most sectors. Q2. Is the foreign worker program still being run by the Canadian government? Yes, but they are limiting it in cities with high unemployment.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pilots' union calls WestJet's use of Temporary Foreign Worker program 'problematic'
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is calling out WestJet Airline Ltd.'s use of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, and the government's approval of the company's application, to fill vacancies during what the industry says is a pilot labour shortage. Tim Perry, who leads the Canadian arm of the group, said the pilots union is deeply concerned that WestJet is citing an inability to attract Canadian pilots to its airline as the rationale for hiring temporary foreign pilots. 'Their request to hire foreign pilots is problematic and short-sighted and will cause irreparable damage to labour relations,' he said on Friday. The pilots union said WestJet's management team has failed to address the issue of career progression and job security for pilots within the company. It said there are more practical solutions to attracting and retaining skilled professional pilots that do not involve utilizing the program. ALPA, which represents 95 per cent of professional Canadian pilots, reached a collective bargaining agreement with WestJet in May 2023, bumping its pilots' pay by 24 per cent over four years. At the time, several North American airlines were also set for negotiations with pilots amid labour shortages. The group said there should be considerations required when assessing highly skilled, licensed, unionized workers employed under terms set out through collective bargaining. Flair cancels summer Nashville route as state blames trade war Ottawa lays out path for pensions to invest in Canada's airports 'As we have said before, ALPA Canada supports legal immigration, which includes a stable pathway to citizenship, with labour mobility rights. However, we do not support the status of these employees in Canada when it is under the control and subject to the whims of an employer,' Perry said. • Email: dpaglinawan@ Sign in to access your portfolio
Al Jazeera
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Canada's temporary foreign worker scheme ‘inherently exploitative': Amnesty
Montreal, Canada – Canada has failed to take meaningful action to address systemic abuses in a decades-old foreign worker programme, subjecting thousands of labourers to an 'inherently exploitative' system, Amnesty International says. In a 71-page report released on Thursday, the rights group outlined a wide range of abuses linked to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), from wage theft to excessive work hours, racist abuse and violence. Many of the violations are related to the labourers' 'closed' work permits, which tie them to their employers and leave them open to exploitation, Amnesty said. Workers typically do not speak out due to a fear of reprisals. 'Exploitation, discrimination and abuse are integral features, not bugs, of the Temporary Foreign Worker program,' Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada's English-speaking section, said in a statement. 'Cosmetic changes are not enough. Our leaders must implement the reforms required to bring the program in line with Canada's human rights obligations – and, ultimately, to respect the rights of workers.' Launched in the 1970s, Canada's foreign worker programmes have come under increased scrutiny in recent years as former and current labourers denounced their treatment. In 2022, a group of workers from Jamaica wrote a letter likening conditions on farms in Ontario, Canada's most populous province, to 'systematic slavery'. A year later, a United Nations special rapporteur said the TFWP schemes 'make migrant workers vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery, as they cannot report abuses without fear of deportation'. 'Like throwing away rubbish' Tens of thousands of foreign workers come to Canada each year through the TFWP, which the government says aims to fill gaps in the labour market. They work in low-wage industries such as agriculture – including on farms or at food-processing plants – and as in-home caregivers, among other jobs. In 2021, temporary foreign workers accounted for 18 percent of the workforce in Canada's agricultural sector and 10 percent in the accommodation and food services sector, a study released late last year found. Migrant workers – many of whom have been coming to Canada for years or even decades – also have limited pathways to permanent residency in the country. 'In its current design, the TFWP is inherently exploitative,' Amnesty International said in Thursday's report. The group also said the scheme is 'inherently discriminatory, as it entrenches instances of discrimination and disproportionate impacts of human rights violations on racialized 'lowskilled' workers based on their race, gender, class and national origin'. Francisco, a Mexican worker who spoke to Amnesty International using the pseudonym, said: 'The employer gets what he wants, but when [the worker] is no longer useful to him … He simply sends [the worker] back. 'And I feel that it is like throwing away rubbish and saying it's no longer useful.' Inspections and fines The Canadian government has previously defended the 'closed' work permits as a necessary measure to ensure it knows which employers are employing foreign workers and where they are working. Last year, amid a growing backlash over immigration and a housing crisis, the government also announced plans to reduce the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada, including those in TFWP streams. Meanwhile, Employment and Social Development Canada, the country's labour ministry, said in mid-January that it had increased penalties for employers who fail to comply with the rules. The ministry said it conducted 649 inspections between April and the end of September of last year, 11 percent of which found employers to be non-compliant. It also issued $1.46m (2.1m Canadian dollars) in fines and banned 20 employers from the TFWP. 'Workers in Canada deserve and expect to feel safe and protected in the workplace. That's why we're taking steps to further protect temporary foreign workers and hold bad actors accountable,' said Steven MacKinnon, the Canadian minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. 'Employers must follow the rules, and we will continue to take decisive action to protect workers' rights and wellbeing while growing our economy.' But Amnesty International stressed in its report that TFWP abuses 'cannot be attributed to a few unscrupulous employers, nor can they be understood as isolated incidents'. It urged Canada to move beyond 'narrow, piecemeal measures' to make 'systemic policy changes', including the abolition of 'closed' work permits. 'This system should be urgently replaced with an open visa system that can fully protect racialized workers from labour exploitation and discrimination,' Amnesty said.
