Region will see reduction in temporary foreign workers with new rules coming

There are stricter rules coming for companies in Canada applying for the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program starting Sept. 26.

In the region, it will mean less applications for the program will be accepted as the unemployment rate sits at 7.1 per cent. One of the new rules being implemented by the federal government is to not process applications in census metropolitan areas that have a current unemployment rate of six per cent or higher.

They also plan to cap the number of TFW that can make up an employer’s total workforce to 10 per cent from the previous 20 per cent cap. The government also plans to reduce how long a TFW can stay here from two years to one.

Jenn Pfenning, director of human resources, operations and marketing for Pfenning’s Farm is also the president of the National Farmers Union. Pfenning’s Farm has hired TFW in the past. Pfenning told 570 NewsRadio she is optimistic about the changes, as she argued the government is heading in the right direction.

“There’s a lot of nuance needed in these conversations, and it’s less about individuals and more about the overall structures of the program,” she said. “Ultimately, what is needed is a comprehensive overhaul of how we bring people to Canada to ensure that their labour, skills, and contributions to our economy and society are recognized in a just and equitable pathway to permanent residency and citizenship if they choose that.”

The new rules are for applications submitted to the low-wage stream. Applications for the low wage stream are defined by the federal government as being below the provincial or territorial median hourly wage. In Ontario, a Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey found the median hourly wage to be $28.39 per hour.

The Vice President of the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, Art Sinclair, said he is curious if the change in rules will leave employers with enough employees, as he said many have been left scrambling to hire since the pandemic ended.

“One of the biggest concerns is ensuring the employers still have the employees available to keep their operations functional,” said Sinclair. “They lost employees during the pandemic, and then when the pandemic left and a lot of the restrictions were lifted by the Government of Ontario and a lot of businesses reopened, they didn’t have their employees left because the employees took jobs in other sectors.”

He argued there is still concern locally about whether the hospitality and tourism sector can secure the people they need with these tighter measures.

“From our perspective I think what we’re looking at is, are employers going to be able to source the employees that they need right now. There are some concerns obviously, but the TFW program has been in place for a long time,” said Sinclair.

According to records out of the University of Toronto, the TFW program first launched in 1973 with the idea of recruiting highly specialized workers to fill employment vacancies.

The changes were announced in a news release from Aug. 26 from the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, Randy Boissonnault, aiming to “weed out TFW Program misuse and fraud.”