Government considering blocking low-wage temporary foreign workers

Employment and Workforce Development Minister Randy Boissonnault will tell business associations Tuesday that the government is considering a refusal of temporary foreign worker (TFW) applications under its low-wage stream, his office told CBC News.

This applies to jobs that pay below the median hourly wage in each province and territory. This varies by jurisdiction, ranging from $24 per hour in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, to $39.24 per hour in the Northwest Territories.

«I've been clear over the last year, 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,» Boissonnault said in a statement.

«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 TFW program.»

More than $2 million in fines were issued under the TFW program in the 2023-24 fiscal year. This represents a 36 per cent increase over the prior year.

Immigration, lawyers, agencies and consultants have been raising the alarm over bogus labour market impact assessments (LMIA) being sold for tens of thousands of dollars.

These documents are what employers submit to the federal government when looking to hire a TFW to show they could not find a qualified Canadian within 28 days to fill a job. The standard processing fee for this file is $1,000 and is supposed to be covered by the employer.

At the meeting with industry associations, Boissonnault's office says the minister outlined a number of measures that are being implemented to curb abuse of the system.

This includes applying stricter oversight in «high-risk areas» when processing LMIAs,