Changes to Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Here is a breakdown of the changes made to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Requiring employers to pay foreign workers at the prevailing wage

This replaces the wage flexibility employers used to enjoy in hiring foreign workers. The loss of this flexibility may make it more difficult for employers to justify hiring someone from abroad.

Suspending the Accelerated Labour Market Opinion Process

This program allowed employers who had previously issued a positive Labour Market Opinion (“LMO”) and who complied with all requirements to obtain a new LMO is just over a week. This program is no longer available so employers will have to go through the entire LMO process which can be lengthy. It also means they can’t hire foreign workers as quickly as before.

Government authority to suspend and revoke work permits

The government now has discretion to intervene where the foreign worker program is being “misused”. We don’t have a definition of “misused” yet, but I suspect this provision was aimed at the RBC scenario described above.

Adding questions to the LMO application to ensure outsourcing is not on the table

Employers will have to confirm that they are not using foreign workers to outsource jobs to a foreign country by training them in Canada. Again, this is aimed squarely at the RBC case above.

Ensuring there is a transition plan to hire Canadian workers

Employers will have to provide a plan on how they will transition from using foreign workers to Canadian workers over time. This is an administrative burden that some employers may not be able to address fully. For example, if there is a chronic shortage of Canadians with certain specialized skills, it is going to be tough to make a plan to transition to Canadian workers.

Fees for LMO’s and increasing fees for workers

In past, applying for an LMO was free. Not any longer. It’s going to cost employers to apply for an LMO with no guarantee it will be accepted. This could be a big disincentive. Work permit fees will also increase.

English and French as the only languages used as a job requirement