Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - November 2009
In recent years, labour shortages across the country have forced more and more employers to look to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to find the workers they need. However, this rapid expansion of the program has exposed inherent weaknesses while at the same time prevented policymakers from taking the time to examine and implement necessary reforms.
Canada’s immigration system was designed to favour individuals whose skills are most needed. The majority of skilled workers come here using the Federal Skilled Worker Program, which assesses applicants based on age, education, language and experience.
However many factors, including the popularity of this program as well as a lack of government resources, have resulted in a growing application backlog – an estimated 900,000 pending applications and up to six years waiting time.
For employers, six years can be too late when they need workers to meet their current demand. Furthermore, many would-be immigrants might not have the attributes necessary to qualify, most often lacking language skills or education levels. This is where the Temporary Foreign Worker Programs comes in.
An employer is able to obtain temporary work visas for foreign employees if they can prove to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada that there is a shortage – not a difficult task given the recent state of Canada’s labour market.
Suddenly a program that was once only commonly used for high skilled foreigners or agriculture and domestic care workers has boomed and become the go-to method for employers looking to find all sorts of positions, from the oil sands to factory lines to restaurants and hotels.
Statistics show that the rate of temporary foreign workers entering Canada has almost doubled since 2003. Last year alone, the total number of foreign workers who received temporary visas almost matched the number of new permanent residents coming through the traditional immigration system. At the end of 2008, over 250,000 temporary workers were in the country.
The undisputed figures display a remarkable growth in the program. Yet as the program becomes a more heavily utilized source of labour, more and more problems are exposed. In particular, problems with employer abuse, lack of monitoring and enforcement, and the resulting problem of illegal workers.
Certainly the majority of employers are not out to take advantage of low-skilled foreign workers, but all too often stories of abuse emerge. Many temporary foreign workers pay hefty recruitment and resettlement fees to come to Canada in the first place – up to $10,000 in some cases.
Once a worker arrives in Canada, they can find themselves working not only for lower wages than promised, but for longer hours and in illegally poor conditions. Luckily for employers trying to pull this scam, most foreign workers do not even know their rights in Canada.
Yet, even if they somehow do learn about rights granted to workers in this country, the likelihood of them fighting for those rights is usually slim-to-none, as being fired means losing status. Visas for temporary workers are tied to the employer. If the worker wants to work elsewhere, they not only have to apply for the necessary visa, they have to wait for that approval with no source of income in the meantime.
The temporary worker is even more vulnerable in times of recession. While most workers come to Canada in hopes of being able to remain here permanently, in times of financial hardship the foreign worker is usually first to be let go before Canadians or permanent residents.
The workers are often left no choice but to go back to their home country where they are often much worse off, facing poverty, debt, war, etc. Either that or try their luck at what is a growing underground labour market in Canada where low-skilled, non-status foreigners are being hired off the books.
Despite such awful treatment becoming a more frequent, and a more public reality, worker advocates assert that the government is doing little to amend the situation. It has yet to find an effective method of monitoring the program, and only recently suggested compiling an employer “blacklist” which critics say would have little tangible effect.
In its own documents, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada notes that it has “no authority to intervene in the employer-employee relationship or to enforce the terms and conditions of employment. It is the responsibility of the employer and worker to familiarize themselves with laws that apply to them and to look after their own interests.”
Is leaving the workers alone to “look after their own interests” really the best policy here? Realistically speaking, are there ways to improve the Temporary Foreign Worker Program? Open visas are one common suggestion. Workers would be able to leave an abusive employer and find new work. On the other hand, Canada’s biggest companies are fighting this move, and they have far more political sway than the foreign workers.
Advocates are also calling for amendments that would allow for low-skilled temporary workers to gain permanent status in Canada. However, the current government is headed in the opposite direction, proposing legislation that would ban workers from being in Canada more than four years.
If left alone, it looks very unlikely that the program will fix itself. Powerful corporations and small businesses rely heavily on everything functioning as is. Yet, the government may soon have no choice but to make some vast improvements, as the issue enters both Canada’s public conscious and conscience. More frequently stories of abuse are emerging and Canadians do not like it. The recent Auditor-General report had some strong criticisms for the program as well.
It is possible to find the workers that we need without cheating, manipulation, and exploitation. But to do this, we must not forget Canada’s reputation as a compassionate, responsible nation where one can pursue a better life. That reputation is what attracted the immigrants who built Canada in the first place, and will continue to attract the immigrants that will help us build a better future for Canada in the years to come.
Source: The Toronto Star
