It was called a “balanced package of reforms,” but it looks a lot more like a strict crackdown on the temporary foreign workers program.
And some of the changes require unilateral changes to federal-provincial immigration agreements that will curtail use of the permits. Five provinces, including B.C., have annexes to immigration agreements that allow for exemptions from certain provisions under which permits are issued.
They have the effect of making the permits easier to get, because B.C. and the other provinces can propose exemptions from labour-market impact assessments for certain occupations and pilot projects.
It’s only been used in B.C. to allow Microsoft to open a training centre in Vancouver. That isn’t affected, but in the future, such employers won’t get exemptions from the process.
Documents backing up the major overhaul say: “The purpose of these annexes was never to create a scenario where employers could hire temporary foreign workers without seeking to hire Canadians first. However, over time, there has been a significant increase in the number of temporary foreign workers … and a number of cases have come to light where companies have used these provisions to bring in temporary foreign workers without giving Canadians the first chance at available jobs.”
So Ottawa has given notice that it is changing the existing agreements. More employers will be subject to the rigorous new labour market impact assessment. And any new federal-provincial deals will be much more limited in scope.
The annexes are just one of several major changes that will dramatically curtail the issuance of permits for low-wage, low-skill jobs.
Although there was a spate of reports of abuses in the past several months, including some in Victoria, the number of cases is relatively paltry considering the tens of thousands of permits issued. The problem seems to be that it’s a hot-button issue that draws intense interest and doesn’t reflect well on the Conservative government. A contributing factor is the substantial increase in the number of permits issued over the past several years.
So major changes have been made. They include:
• A much more rigorous process for employers to establish the need to hire foreigners. They will have to file information on the number of Canadians that applied for jobs, the number interviewed and the reasons why they weren’t hired. They must also attest that they know Canadians on a job site can’t be laid off or have their hours cut if TFWs are on the job.
• New caps on the numbers allowed will be coming in over the next few years. There will be allowances for those now above the cap, but it will be ratcheted down, and the 10 per cent target may be lowered further. That will cut the number of low-wage TFWs by 50 per cent all by itself.
• Although the moratorium on permits in the restaurant industry is relaxed, TFW permits will not be issued for entry-level jobs in food services, accommodation or retail in areas where the unemployment rate is over six per cent. That will affect several regions of B.C.
• The entire cost of the program is shifting to user-pay. One fee is skyrocketing from $275 to $1,000 per worker, and a new $100 fee is being added.
Along with the new restrictions, there is a massive increase in enforcement. The number and scope of inspections will be hiked to the point where one in four businesses will be checked every year. Inspectors can make warrantless visits and compel employers to produce documents. They can also compel banks to produce payroll documents. The public blacklist will be expanded and every employer who gets a permit will be publicly listed. Given the interest and negative publicity, that could make applicants leery of considering the option.
B.C. officials are still poring over all the impacts. The long-range effect will be a tightening of the labour market, particularly in regions where major growth is expected. The high-wage TFWs that are still welcome for projects such as liquefied natural gas create a demand for more service-sector jobs.
Enticing Canadians to fill them will eventually involve paying them more.
