Following the recent crackdown on LMO, we will finally make drastic reforms to the work permit. However, the details of the “international mobility project” that has the most far-reaching impact on international students have not yet been announced. We will wait and see.
On Friday afternoon, Canadian Minister of Employment and Social Development Jason Kenny and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander held a press conference to announce the long-awaited reform of the foreign temporary project. The reform measures mainly include narrowing the scope of application of the project, strengthening the assessment of the labor market, and increasing penalties for violating enterprises.
According to the new regulations, in areas with an unemployment rate of more than 6%, low-wage, low-skilled jobs in the food, lodging, retail, and other industries cannot hire foreign temporary workers. For companies employing more than ten people in other regions, the proportion of foreign temporary workers in all employees must not exceed 10%.
For the purpose of doing this, Kenny uttered a word in response to the question raised by the first reporter. The reporter asked, how do you see the difficulties brought by these measures to the employment of foreign workers in small businesses? Kenny replied: That is his purpose. This set of measures was developed to make companies work harder to hire Canadian employees.
Increased transparency is another major purpose of this reform. The Ministry of Employment and Social Development, which is in charge of foreign temporary workers’ projects, will announce the number of foreign temporary workers that can be recruited for each type of work every quarter, and announce the list of enterprises that are allowed to recruit foreign temporary workers.
From the foreign labor project, the “international mobility project”
An additional International Mobility Programs from the existing foreign temporary workers project is headed by the Department of Immigration. The work permit of foreign students and the attraction and employment of high-end international talents will be included in this project. The new foreign temporary workers project is only for low-paying jobs.
The so-called low wage refers to the median hourly wage in each province. Wages will replace the previous occupational classification and become an important criterion.
More stringent assessment of employer demand and the labor market
The Labour Market Impact Assessment will replace the past “labor market submissions”. According to the new assessment rules, companies that need to hire foreigners for a position must provide the number of Canadians who have come to apply for the position and have access to the interview, and give reasons for not hiring them. Employers must also declare that they understand the rules and cannot dismiss Canadians or reduce their working hours in workplaces where foreign workers are employed.
The new employment assessment will be changed from once every two years to once a year. The cumulative residence time of foreign temporary workers in Canada will also be reduced.
Reduce the proportion of foreign workers in stages
The number of foreign-employed workers who employ low-wage employees in ten or more enterprises cannot exceed 10%. Enterprises that exceed the standard must reduce this ratio to 20% by July 1, 2015, and reduce to the prescribed ratio before July 1, 2016.
The federal government may further reduce the proportion of foreign temporary workers in the future. It is estimated that this alone will reduce the number of foreign temporary workers in the country by half in the next three years.
Foreign farm workers and home caregiver are not subject to a 10% ratio, and the employment market assessment can be conducted every two years according to the old rules.
Strengthen market research and help for job seekers in Canada
The government will create a new employment services department that will facilitate Canadian job seekers and, on the other hand, allow officials responsible for reviewing applications for foreign temporary workers to quickly understand how many Canadian job seekers are looking for similar jobs.
Statistics Canada will conduct two new surveys: a quarterly “vacancy survey” and an annual “national wage survey”.
Strengthen supervision and increase punishment for violating enterprises
Companies that abuse foreign temporary workers will be fined up to $100,000.
The government will hire more inspectors, increase the reporting hotline, and establish a complaints website. The Ministry of Employment and Social Development will also regularly publish a “blacklist” of violating enterprises.
In order to avoid increasing the burden on taxpayers, the cost of the job market impact assessment will increase from 275 Canadian dollars to 1000 Canadian dollars. Kenny said that the increased costs of implementing new measures should be paid for by companies using foreign temporary workers.
Lifting the freeze on foreign workers in the catering industry
The ban on freezing foreign temporary workers imposed on the catering industry in April this year was lifted. Employers in the food and beverage industry that have passed the LMO assessment prior to the freeze implementation can immediately hire foreign employees on the original application. Employers who did not apply before the freeze implementation will apply under the new regulations.