In January 2021, the Government of Canada announced the extension of the benefits for foreign workers’ family members, including tourism industry employers to get internationally qualified and diversified employees. Now from January 2023, a temporary 2-year measure will be starting. This will facilitate spouses and working children within three phases. Canada has filed over 645,000 work permits between January and October 2022—nearly 4 times more than the 163,000 issued over the same period in 2021.
The 3 phases are discussed to be as follows:-
- In the first phase, the family member of the employer is able to apply for an open work permit coming to Canada through the high wage stream of the temporary foreign worker program and the international mobility program.
- 2nd phase directs to expand the measure of workers from the low-wage stream of the temporary foreign worker program.
- And the 3rd phase added a consultation with agricultural partners and stakeholders to evaluate the operational feasibility of enlarging the measure to family members of agricultural workers.
The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship said- “Everywhere I go, employers across the country continue to identify a lack of workers as their biggest obstacle. Today’s announcement will help employers find the workers they need to fill their labor gaps by expanding work permits to family members at all skill levels, resulting in family members of over 200,000 foreign workers being able to work in Canada. Our government is going to continue helping employers overcome labor shortages, while also supporting the well-being of workers and uniting their families.”
Also, Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance quoted- “Labour is the number 1 challenge facing Canada’s tourism sector as we position ourselves for post-pandemic growth. Today, our government is bringing in innovative, family-based solutions to resolve this issue and help our tourism partners grow to meet the global demand for Canadian experiences from coast to coast to coast.”
