Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal government is making changes to Canada's temporary foreign worker (TFW) programs to reduce the use of temporary foreign workers in Canada, it announced today.
Federal government adds more rules to discourage use of temporary foreign workers
Improvements to temporary foreign worker program recommended: CFIB
Reading Time: 2 minutes Temporary foreign workers (TFWs) may help alleviate persistent labour shortages in Canada’s agricultural sector, but adjustments to the system would increase efficiencies and create better alignment with the practical needs of agri-businesses, according to new research from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) that includes several recommendations for policy makers. “While government is reviewing […] Read more
Meat industry calls on federal gov to ease foreign worker limits
Reading Time: 2 minutes Meat industry groups are asking the federal government to reinstate a program that expanded industry hiring limits for temporary foreign workers (TFWs) and lengthened the validity of paperwork needed for hiring, citing work shortages and impact on food prices.
Senate proposes third-party Commission to address systemic TFW issues
Reading Time: 3 minutes An independent agency is needed to coordinate temporary and migrant labour policy, says a Senate committee report released yesterday.
Canadian Meat Council decries TFW changes
Industry group says ending special measures for sector is 'premature'
Reading Time: 2 minutes Incoming changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program will add to the sector's already significant labour challenges, the Canadian Meat Council says.
Agriculture workers not mentioned in TFW rule changes
Food processing sees foreign worker limit reduced by ten per cent; construction, healthcare exempted
Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal government announced Thursday that, effective May 1, some sectors would be allowed no more than 20 per cent of their workforces to be made up of temporary foreign workers (TWFs) brought in via the low wage stream—down from 30 per cent since 2022.
UN rapporteur calls Canada’s TFW system ‘breeding ground for modern slavery’
Tomoya Obokata says government needs to better protect worker rights and provide better residency path
Reading Time: 3 minutes A United Nations special rapporteur on modern slavery has called out Canada’s temporary foreign worker (TFW) programs, including those in the agriculture sector. Tomoya Obokata, who was appointed by the UN’s Human Rights Council, spoke in Ottawa Sept. 6 following a 14-day visit to Canada. He called the programs “a breeding ground for contemporary forms […] Read more
Pilot plan to cut red tape for reliable TFW employers
Farm employers can apply starting next month
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s temporary foreign worker (TFW) program is set to give farms a head start in an express lane expected to cut the annual paperwork for that program’s most “trusted employers.” Federal Employment and Workforce Development Minister Randy Boissonault last week launched a three-year pilot meant to “help to address labour shortages and reduce the administrative […] Read more
Changes to TFW program to expand worker availability
Workplace LMIAs now valid for 18 months
Reading Time: 3 minutes The federal government is boosting the availability of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to ag and other understaffed sectors under a list of policy changes announced Monday. Employment and Workforce Development Minister Carla Qualtrough announced what’s called the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program Workforce Solutions Road Map, which the government said “marks the next step in […] Read more
Foreign workers to lose some travel exemptions in March
Reading Time: 2 minutes Temporary foreign workers (TFWs) travelling to Canada won’t need to quarantine in a government-supervised hotel when they get here – for now — but by mid-March, Ottawa will put more stringent measures in place. Starting Feb. 22, non-essential travellers and essential workers arriving in Canada will be tested for COVID-19 upon their arrival. Non-essential travellers […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
