The
Liberal government is stalling a planned reduction in the number of
temporary foreign workers employers can import.
Ron
Davidson, speaking for the Canadian Meat Council, welcomed the
decision, but said it does not solve the problem of chronic shortages
of workers willing and able to take jobs in packing plants.
Labour
Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk said the controversial temporary foreign
worker program needs an overhaul and will announce her plan for more
changes later this year.
"I
believe this is a prudent step to take as we work to develop a better
temporary foreign worker policy and fix some of the problems with the
program that emerged under the previous government," Mihychuk
said in a statement Thursday.
The
previous Conservative government started phasing in a cap on low-wage
temporary foreign workers — low-skilled employees paid less than
the provincial or territorial median hourly wage — in June 2014, as
part of reforms that also included disallowing use of the program in
regions of Canada with high unemployment rates.
Those
changes followed a series of controversies dogging the program,
including reports of fast-food franchise restaurants favouring
temporary foreign workers over local employees.
Employers
who first began hiring low-wage temporary foreign workers before the
cap came into effect will still be able to use it for 20 per cent of
their workforce.
Those
who started using the program after that point, or who are hiring
temporary foreign workers for the first time, are subject to a
10-per-cent cap.
All
the other program requirements — including having employers
ensuring that Canadians and permanent residents have the first
opportunities to apply for available jobs — will remain in place
while the cap is frozen.
These
changes do not apply to the seasonal foreign worker program many
farmers use.
