Reading Time: < 1 minute The era of an “unlimited supply of cheap labour” in Canada is over, says Immigration Minister Marc Miller.
According to a report from Global News, Miller said employers may need to start offering higher wages to Canadian workers while speaking to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Wednesday.
Immigration minister calls era of “unlimited supply of cheap labour” at an end
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.
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
Grain, seed corn growers get access to seasonal worker program
Maple syrup also added to national commodity list
Reading Time: 2 minutes Growers of grains, oilseeds and seed corn and maple syrup producers may be able to get in on the federal Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) for the 2021 season. Federal Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough announced Nov. 27 the national commodity list (NCL) would be expanded to include seed corn, oil seed, grains and maple syrup […] Read more
Health minister calls treatment of some farm workers a ‘national disgrace’
Ministers discussing changes to Canada's TFW program
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — The treatment of migrant workers in Canada by some farmers is disgraceful and the federal government is seeking to fix the problem, the country’s health minister told a parliamentary committee on Friday, as farms battle COVID-19 outbreaks among their employees. Outbreaks of coronavirus infections have killed three people and infected hundreds […] Read more
Mexico to stop sending workers to Canadian farms hit by COVID-19
Assurances of worker safety sought, FARMS says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico will stop sending temporary workers to Canadian farms that have registered a coronavirus outbreak and that do not have proper worker protections, Mexico’s labour ministry said on Tuesday, although it will not completely suspend the program. The decision came after a coronavirus outbreak in Ontario hit at least 17 […] Read more
Laid-off foreign workers may get conditional clearance for other jobs
Workers allowed to start new jobs while permits are processed
Reading Time: 2 minutes Approved temporary foreign workers (TFWs) whose jobs disappeared before they could begin work in Canada this spring can now get much quicker approval to start at other workplaces, including farms, where the workers are needed. The federal government said Tuesday it will, effective “immediately,” temporarily waive its rule requiring a TFW to receive federal approval […] Read more
New Brunswick ag groups rip province’s ban on foreign workers
Risk during pandemic 'simply too great,' premier says
Reading Time: 2 minutes New Brunswick farmers who employ temporary foreign workers (TFWs) are calling for the provincial government to reverse its new COVID-19-related ban on entry of TFWs who haven’t yet arrived. The provincial government on Tuesday updated a mandatory order under its pandemic state of emergency to restrict TFWs from entering the province. The new restriction doesn’t […] Read more
Increased federal support for TFWs welcomed
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa — The Canadian Horticultural Council says Monday’s federal announcement offering $50 million to help cover the extra costs associated with importing foreign workers this year is welcomed support. “We are finding that there are a lot of increased costs this year with COVID-19 and bringing in the employees, so having the extra money will […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
