Canada to recover labour shortages with new TFWP measures

Canada has recently announced some new measures to improve the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program. The Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, announced a Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program Workforce Solutions Road Map on April 4. The decision came after Canada’s strong economic recovery which led to nationwide labour shortages.

Canada added 337,000 jobs in February 2022, bringing the unemployment rate to 5.5% which was the lowest since the start of the pandemic. The low unemployment rate resulted in an increasing need of employers to find workers. The Canadian government is focused on building a strong, resilient workforce in all sectors in order to support a continuous economic growth. The new TFW Program ensures that the country meets its current labour market needs.

Addressing labour shortages, improving worker proection, and growing a stronger workforce for today and tomorrow, particularly through pathways to permanent residency, are all important parts of this new initiative. As part of the TFW Program Workforce Solutions Road Map, five significant policy adjustments will be enacted in the next weeks to address current skills and labour shortages.

With immediate effect:

• To address seasonal peaks, businesses in seasonal industries such as fish and seafood processing would no longer be limited in the number of low-wage positions they can fill under the TFW Program. The Seasonal Cap Exemption, which has been in existence since 2015, is now permanent. Furthermore, the maximum annual duration of these posts would be expanded from 180 to 270 days.
• LMIAs (Labour Market Impact Assessments) will now be valid for 18 months, up from 9 months previously. (Before COVID-19, LMIAs were only valid for 6 months.)
• Workers in the High-Wage and Global Talent Streams will have their maximum employment period increased from two to three years. This extension will assist workers in gaining access to pathways to permanent residency, enabling them to be a part of the workforce for a longer period of time.

Effective April 30th:

• Employers in seven sectors with demonstrable labour shortages, such as Accommodation and Food Services, will be able to hire up to 30% of their employees for low-wage roles for a year through the TFW Program. Until further notice, all other employers will be able to hire up to 20% of their workforce under the TFW Program for low-wage occupations, an increase from the previous 10% cap for many employers.
• The present policy of automatically rejecting LMIA applications for low-wage occupations in the Accommodation and Food Services and Retail Trade sectors in regions with an unemployment rate of 6% or above will be removed.

Service Canada recently introduced a series of initiatives to reduce labour shortages by boosting capacity and expediting the processing of LMIA applications. It would also ensure that employers across the country hire TFWs in a timely manner. In all regions, including Quebec, this involves boosting staffing resources. Employers are encouraged to submit their applications online in order to speed up the process. The comprehensive checks carried out throughout the process to keep workers safe and protect labour market conditions will not be affected by these modifications.

All of these measures are taking place in unison with the government’s continuous efforts to improve worker rights. Minister Qualtrough also announced that in June 2022, she will host the first TFW Program Ministerial Consultative Roundtable to hear directly from worker representatives and other stakeholders on how to strengthen and improve the program for workers, companies, and communities. Because the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the necessity for safe and adequate employer-provided housing for TFWs, the first Roundtable will focus on housing accommodations.

Through the new Migrant Worker Support Program announced in Budget 2021, the government will invest $49.5 million over three years, starting in 2021-22. The investment will be used to support community-based organizations in providing migrant worker-centric programs and services, such as on-arrival orientation and assistance in emergency and at-risk situations.

The labour shortages in Canada are tighter than it was before the pandemic, with the job vacancy rate reaching an all-time high in the third quarter of 2021. Low-wage occupations account for much of the unmet demand. According to Statistics Canada, the following industries had the most vacancies in November 2021:

• Accommodation and Food Services – 130,070 vacancies
• Health Care and Social Assistance – 119,590 vacancies
• Retail Trade – 103,990 vacancies
• Manufacturing – 81,775 vacancies

Approximately 5,000 posts in the Global Talent Stream and 23,000 positions in the High-Wage Stream were approved by the TFW Program in 2021. Together, these initiatives account for around 21% of all LMIA posts allowed for that year.

Each year, between 50,000 and 60,000 foreign agricultural workers arrive in Canada, accounting for more than 60% of all foreign workers admitted under the TFW Program.

Thus, the new TFW program aims at recovering labour shortages in Canada and assists employers in hiring overseas workers faster and easier. It would also help foreign workers to move to Canada conveniently and contribute to its workforce for a stronger economic growth of the country.