A list of recently implemented changes to the temporary foreign workers program

OTTAWA – Some measures the federal government has recently implemented under its revamped temporary foreign workers program:

— The authority to conduct on-site inspections to ensure employers are meeting the conditions of the program;

— The power to ban non-compliant employers from the program for two years and immediately add their names to a public “black list”;

—The authority to require employers who legitimately rely on temporary foreign workers to have a plan to “transition” to a Canadian workforce over time;

— The power to require employers pay temporary foreign workers at the prevailing wage by removing existing wage flexibility;

— Adding questions to the applications for temporary foreign workers aimed at ensuring the program isn’t being used to facilitate the outsourcing of Canadian jobs;

— Introducing fees for employers for processing applications, and increasing fees for work permits, so that taxpayers are no longer subsidizing these costs.