‘Abuse and misuse of the TFW Program must end!” Federal government responds to exploitation of workers

BY PAUL JUNOR

The announcement that the federal government will enhance regulations on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) may be too little, too late. According to Alberta Civil Liberties Association of Canada (ACIRC)’s website, it is a program operated by the federal government that allows Canadian employers to hire foreign nationals to fill temporary labour and skill shortages when Canadian residents aren’t available to do the job.

The program was a combination of four specific programs that evolved at different times and were categorized under the same title as they have common aspects. The crackdown by the federal government is intended to prevent abuse by employers particularly those in the fast-food and health-care sectors.

The TFWP includes the following four programs that arose at different times:

• Live in caregivers
  These workers are mostly women who came to Canada to take care of young children, people with special needs and the elderly. Up until recently, they had to live in the home with their employer, and after two years, had a stable path to permanent residency.
• Seasonal agricultural workers
  Persons from specific countries who came under a bilateral agreement to help with seasonal farming needs, like harvest, or planting. This program is quite unique as compared to other streams. Workers can only stay in Canada for a maximum of eight months and then they must leave Canada.
• Skilled workers
  From as early as 1973, it has been an integral part of the TFWP and geared to: entertainers, academics, and international corporation transferees in the past. It was intended that it would be able to ensure international corporate transfers and labour needs in the profession with specialized skilled sets.
• Low skilled workers
  These workers came to Canada as a last resort to ensure that labour shortages are filled in jobs that cannot be filled by Canadians who opt not to work in these sectors.

The following are four features that they have in common:

• Their permits are “closed” meaning that the TFW can only work for the employer listed on their work permit.
• Their work permits have a start and end date.
• Their employers have received government approval to bring in foreign workers.
• They are brought in because Canadian employers requested them.

The TFWP is currently divided into two fundament programs which include:

• International Mobility Program
  This program includes temporary workers who came into Canada through NAFTA, youth exchange program, or spouses of those who work or study in Canada.
• The Temporary Foreign Worker Program
  This can only be accessed once employers obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment.

Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Canadian Employment met with business groups on Tuesday, August 6^th, 2024, and promised there would be greater oversight of the TFWP. The article noted that there has been a significant increase from 109,988 TFW positions in 2018 to 139,646 in 2023 (according to statistics supplied by the Employment and Social Development Canada). This has resulted in critics of the program voicing concerns about it being used to fill positions in a precarious and vulnerable workforce rather than Canadians.

Minister Boissonnault states, “Abuse and misuse of the TFW program must end. The health and safety of temporary foreign workers in Canada is a responsibility I take very seriously. Bad actors are taking advantage of people and compromising the program for legitimate businesses. We are putting more reforms in place to stop misuse and fraud from entering the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.”

Chris Ramsaroop, a social justice advocate with the Justice for Migrant Workers is concerned that as long as workers lack permanent status, they will be vulnerable to being exploited by abusive employers. “These steps are meaningless and they’re going to be ineffective. Workers are still employed under tied work permits and this is the foundation of why workers are being abused.”

In 2023, there were 2,100 inspections, which resulted in almost 200 companies being penalized for infractions of the rules of the program, yet there were a mere twelve that were banned, compared to seven in 2022.

Ramsaroop concludes, “It’s not about a few bad apples. The entire system is rotten to the core.”