Committee makes foreign worker program recommendations

Toronto – Many of the recommendations from the federal Standing Committee on Human Resources and Persons with Disabilities to reform the temporary foreign worker program are consistent with those made by Restaurants Canada, the association said in a news release.

These include pathways to permanent residency that include timely processing; expedited LMIA process; more granular and improved labour market information; more cap flexibility; the ability to make minor modifications to contracts if both parties agree; better information sharing between federal government and provinces; and removal of the “cumulative duration” rule limiting the length of stay of TFWs. 

“The strength of the foreign worker program is that it brings much needed workers to communities where employers have no other options,” said Joyce Reynolds, Restaurants Canada’s executive vice-president of government affairs, in the release. “If these recommendations are adopted, more of these highly valued workers will be able to become permanent and full-fledged participants in the communities where they live and work.”
 
Restaurants Canada said it is puzzled by one recommendation to eliminate employer-specific work permits, as there is already flexibility for foreign workers to switch employers within their region and sector. This raises questions of how applications would be made and who would pay the fees and fares required for lower-skilled workers in particular.  

Read the Standing Committee’s report.