So, you are a temporary worker and would like to know about the recent extension in measures of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program? No worries, we have you! As a foreign worker, you should know about the temporary foreign workers rights in Canada.
Why the Extension?
The Government of Canada is set to extend some measures so it could tackle the labor shortages effectively. The news release came out on 27 March, 2023. The Employment and Social Development Canada published this news release.
The country is in the process of recovering from its labor shortages and so is inviting more and more skilled workers, semi- skilled workers, and low-wage workers to fill up the labor demand.
Some of the important sectors of Canada are in dire need of workers. And so, as a way of solution, the nation chose to propose a new immigration pathway under the Economic Mobility Pathway Pilot (EMPP).
The workforce needs of Canada compelled the country to find a solution so it could improve the program and meet the constantly rising demand of workers in the nation. In any way, hiring more foreign nationals is never going to mean that Canadian workers won’t have jobs. Actually, the number of workers that Canada needs as of now requires both Canadian workers as well as international workers.
All of this led Carla Qualtrough, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, to extend some temporary measures that were introduced during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The extension is happening via the TFWP Workforce Solutions Road Map.
Extension in Measures
The extension is happening so that both the employers as well as employees could have better stability in the workplace. Moreover, the measures that are further extended:
- The employers and employees could keep up the LMIA or the Labour Market Impact Assessment up to 18 months.
- These measures will allow employers in a few sectors to hire around 30% of the workforce via TFWP. These employees would be for low-wage positions.
- Employees in low-wage positions could maintain their employment for a maximum of 2 years.
The extension in measures will be in place until 30th October, 2023.
Moreover, Carla Qualtrough also announced that starting 3rd April, 2023, the primary path to submit LMIAs will change to the LMIA Online Portal. Why the transition to an online portal? Well, the submission of LMIAs will now be on an online portal so they could be easily processed.
