Ottawa announces crackdown on ‘bad actors’ abusing the temporary foreign worker program

But advocates say Ottawa’s promises fall short of protecting migrant workers from exploitation. “It’s not about a few bad apples,” Chris Ramsaroop said. “The entire system is rotten to the core.”

“Abuse and misuse of the TFW program must end,” Canadian Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault said Tuesday. “Bad actors are taking advantage of people.”

Canadian Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault announced Tuesday that the government is cracking down on fraud in Canada’s temporary foreign worker program.

The temporary foreign worker (TFW) program has ballooned over the years, with much higher use by non-agricultural sectors, such as fast food restaurants and health care providers. With the increased use, there have been mounting allegations that the program is being abused by some employers.

Boissonnault met with business groups on Tuesday and pledged more stringent oversight, including the potential implementation of “a refusal to process applications” which would prevent employers in certain areas and industries from using the temporary foreign worker (TFW) program at all, according to a statement from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

The TFW program is intended as a “last resort for employers to fill jobs for which qualified Canadians are not available,” according to ESDC.

However, demand has skyrocketed over the last five years.

Employers were given the green light to hire 239,646 temporary foreign workers in 2023, according to data from ESDC — more than double the number in 2018 when 108,988 TFW positions were approved.

Critics have repeatedly warned that labour gaps that could be filled by Canadian residents are being filled by a precarious and vulnerable workforce.

The workers’ temporary work permits tie the employee to a single employer, making it challenging for the worker to switch jobs or speak out against abuse in the case of exploitation as it could cost the worker their job and legal status in Canada.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller has accused Canadian businesses of being “addicted” to cheap foreign labor and said the program helps drive down wages.

Monetary penalties issued to businesses failing to comply with the rules of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program rose to $2.1 million in the fiscal year ending March 31, according to ESDC data released in June — a 36 percent increase compared with a year earlier.

“Abuse and misuse of the TFW program must end,” Boissonnault said. “The health and safety of temporary foreign workers in Canada is a responsibility I take very seriously. Bad actors are taking advantage of people and compromising the program for legitimate businesses. We are putting more reforms in place to stop misuse and fraud from entering the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.”

Advocates argue that the minister’s promises fall short of adequately protecting migrant workers from exploitation.

Chris Ramsaroop, an activist with Justicia for Migrant Workers, said without permanent status, the threat of deportation still hangs over any worker who complains about abusive conditions, making workers vulnerable and hostage to their employers’ demands.

“These steps are meaningless and they’re going to be ineffective,” Ramsaroop said. “Workers are still employed under tied work permits and this is the foundation of why workers are being abused.”

Although the federal government conducts investigations of employers using the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, employers are given notice before the inspection takes place. Last year, more than 2,100 inspections were carried out and nearly 200 companies were penalized for violating the rules of the program.

However, only 12 employers were banned from the program, compared to the previous fiscal year, when seven employers were banned.

“It’s not about a few bad apples,” Ramsaroop said. “The entire system is rotten to the core.”

In April 2022, Ottawa changed the TFW regulations again allowing employers to hire up to 30 percent of its workforce with migrants to help fill a record number of job vacancies.

But under pressure to lower the number of temporary residents in the country, the federal government in March said it would reduce the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers a business can hire back down to 20 percent with an exception for construction and healthcare sectors.

But the government is not shrinking the 20 percent cap, saying instead that it will enforce “consistent application” of it, including more rigorous oversight in high-risk areas that are remote or prone to abuse

Boissonnault also said he’s considering raising the $1,000 fee employers must pay when applying for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to ESDC for approval, demonstrating a need for a foreign worker to fill a position for which no Canadian worker or permanent resident is available.

However, his statement included few details beyond promising more scrutiny of applications and during inspections.