Temporary Foreign Worker News

Posted on May 9, 2013 by admin

Canada Immigration Minister Jason Kenney calls for tighter rules, higher standards for foreign workers

By admitting too many foreign workers who can’t meet Canadian standards, the government has been part of an underemployment problem, says the federal immigration minister.

But in launching new reforms to what has become a “dysfunctional” system, Jason Kenney says help is on the way.

On May 4, his department will require foreign applicants to include an assessment of their education to measure whether their degrees and diplomas are relevant to or close to the Canadian standard.

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Has Canada become addicted to foreign workers?

No company flaunts its Canadian credentials more than Tim Hortons. Marketing has transformed the coffee-and-doughnut colossus into a commercial embodiment of the virtues and values Canadians hold dear.

Yet the beloved icon has been a major beneficiary of a profound shift in immigration policy that some say is transforming the country’s labour market: Canada’s growing reliance on — some might say addiction to — temporary foreign workers.

The numbers are startling. In the past decade, the number of temporary foreign workers living in Canada has more than tripled.

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Temporary foreign workers flood into Canada

No company flaunts its Canadian credentials more than Tim Hortons. Marketing has transformed the coffee-and-doughnut colossus into a commercial embodiment of the virtues and values Canadians hold dear.

Yet the beloved icon has been a major beneficiary of a profound shift in immigration policy that some say is transforming the country’s labour market: Canada’s growing reliance on – some might say addiction to – temporary foreign workers.

The numbers are startling. In the past decade, the number of temporary foreign workers living in Canada has more than tripled. As of last Dec. 1, more than 338,000 resided here. Canada admitted 213,516 temporary foreign workers in 2012 alone – by a large margin, the most ever. Between 2002 and 2011, the number of foreign students with work permits soared to 60,000 from just 6,800.

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Temporary Foreign Worker News

Posted on February 20, 2013 by admin

Bell wants solution to controversy over temporary foreign worker permits

Jobs Minister Pat Bell says he wants to help resolve the controversial temporary foreign workers issue involving an underground coal mine in northeast British Columbia before he leaves politics in May because of a rare aneurysm.

The Liberal cabinet minister said Monday the discovery of a low-pressure aneurysm that requires him to undergo regular heart checkups is forcing him out of politics after 12 years.

Bell, 55, said the aneurysm that was detected last September and confirmed in early December is likely due to genetics and was not brought on by stress.

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Brain drain continues as Irish snap up 6,350 Canadian work visas over four days

Canadian working visas were snapped up in record time by thousands of hopeful Irish immigrants last week.

Applications for more than 6,300 Canadian work visas were submitted over four days at the opening of the 2013 International Experience Canada (IEC) last Tuesday.

The program allows those aged 18 to 35 to work legally in the country for up to two years.

Increased demand for the IEC program resulted in the quota being filled in four days. In comparison, last year the visa allocation was not reached until the end of May.

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Canada Immigration: How a decade of policy change has transformed the immigration landscape

Looking back on Canada’s last decade of immigration, two trends are obvious:

One is the exponential growth of temporary foreign workers. Tens of thousands of migrant workers fill the endless labour shortage in jobs and places of which Canadians typically have no interest.

Second is the federal government’s stepped-up effort on border control, from a crackdown on fraudulent marriages to fake visa students, illegitimate citizens and bogus refugees — all under the pretext of national security in light of global terrorism.

While the Seasonal Agricultural Worker and Live-in Caregiver programs have long provided a staple stock of foreign migrant workers in Canada, the temporary foreign workforce is now also seen on factory assembly lines, in food processing plants and other service industries.

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Temporary Foreign Worker News

Posted on January 24, 2013 by admin

Federal Skilled Worker Program Will Reopen in May 2013

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has announced that the new selection system for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) will take effect on May 4th, 2013. At that time, the program will begin accepting applications for review. In addition to the long-awaited announcement, important new details about the program have been revealed, helping to paint a fuller picture of what Canadian immigration will look like in the coming year.

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Canada simplifies work visa norms

As per the news, the nation has reduced the requirement of work experience.

Canada work experience reduced—In a move meant to lure more and more foreign workers to come and work in Canada, the government has announced that Canada work experience has been brought down to 12 months for applicants to CEC(Canadian Experience Class) program.

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Will Tories Fix Temp Foreign Worker Program?

Social justice lawyer Fay Faraday says it’s time for Canadians to insist on sweeping reforms of the federal Foreign Temporary Workers Program to protect workers from the kinds of abuses reported on in the three previous articles in this series. “It’s a systemic problem and we will keep hearing those horror stories until we do something about it.”

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Temporary Foreign Worker News

Posted on January 16, 2013 by admin

UAE residents expected to apply for Canada visas after ban lifted

The Canadian government announced plans to start accepting applications from next month under the Federal Skilled Workers (FSW) programme. Skilled workers can be chosen as permanent residents based on their education, work experience, knowledge of English and/or French.

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Why B.C. Needs Skilled Foreign Workers

There has been a lot of media attention lately surrounding the use of foreign trade workers in our province. Whether it was bringing in workers from overseas to work at a Northern B.C. mine or the recent decision to suspend a “fast-tracking” process within the Provincial Nominee Program, provincial immigration affairs and industry hiring practices are a hot topic.

What we need to keep in mind, however, is that our province needs skilled foreign workers to mitigate a labour shortage that is putting our economic growth at risk, and we must not allow gut reactions to specific cases dictate public opinion or guide public policy decisions with far-reaching, future implications.

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Ottawa to play matchmaker for foreign workers

The next step in the Harper government’s transformation of Canada’s immigration system will turn Ottawa into an online matchmaker, connecting would-be migrants with employers who want to hire them.

In a year-end interview, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney described the coming Web-based “Expression of Interest” system – to be in place by 2014 – as the culmination of more than five years of reform. It will be an invitation-only route for economic immigrants where prospective arrivals advertise their skills and qualifications on a Canadian government database that will be perused by employers looking to hire more than just temporary workers.

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Temporary Foreign Worker News

Posted on December 21, 2012 by admin

Skilled trades stream targets 3,000 foreign workers in 2013

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has unveiled details of a new program intended to speed the arrival to Canada of foreign tradespeople whose skills are in demand. Kenney said the Skilled Trades Stream will help address serious labour shortages in some regions of the country, including remote regions such as Northern Ontario, and will help grow the economy.

Keith Sashaw: Why B.C. Needs Skilled Foreign Workers

There has been a lot of media attention lately surrounding the use of foreign trade workers in our province. Whether it was bringing in workers from overseas to work at a Northern B.C. mine or the recent decision to suspend a “fast-tracking” process within the Provincial Nominee Program, provincial immigration affairs and industry hiring practices are a hot topic.

Canada should boost immigration levels starting 2014: report

OTTAWA — After seven years of stagnating numbers, Canada should start boosting immigration levels starting in 2014, according to an internal government review obtained by Postmedia News.

The study, dubbed a “Literature review and expert advice to inform Canada’s immigration levels planning,” suggests immigration levels should begin increasing six per cent a year to approximately 337,000 in 2018, after which levels should plateau until 2021, the end of the review period.

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Temporary Foreign Worker News

Posted on December 8, 2012 by admin

Skilled foreign workers are vital to the construction industry

Media attention surrounding the use of foreign workers at a northern B.C. mine and the suspension of a “fast-tracking” process within the Provincial Nominee Program has thrown provincial immigration affairs and industry hiring practices into the spotlight. While the sequence of events has inflamed public opinion, we cannot deny the fact that our province needs skilled foreign workers to mitigate a labour shortage that is putting our economic growth at risk.

Tim Harper: We need foreign workers, they need fair treatment

The day Canadians decide en masse that they will relocate to northern Alberta or northern British Columbia to take available jobs, we can have a proper debate in this country over the need for the Temporary Foreign Worker program.

Until that fanciful day arrives, let’s accept that this program fills a huge void in the Canadian labour market in 2012.

More foreign students invited to apply for residency in Canada

In a move that could benefit some Caribbean nationals, Canada’s Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has invited more foreign students and temporary foreign workers to apply to stay in the country in 2013. Under new immigration rules, up to 10,000 foreign students and temporary foreign workers will be allowed to apply for permanent residency, an increase from 6,000 last year.

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Temporary Foreign Worker News

Posted on December 3, 2012 by admin

Advocates urge discussion, not discrimination in foreign worker debate

The use of temporary workers from China at a northern B.C. coal mine has sparked a court fight, duelling versions of events, a federal review and a great deal of discussion.

And that’s good, says Victor Wong of the Chinese-Canadian National Council.

But the issue around HD Mining International Ltd.’s decision to bring in the foreign workers for its Murray River coal mine near Tumbler Ridge also highlights an “anti-China bias” that threatens to descend into plain, old-fashioned racism, he said.

Charging Alberta foreign workers illegal fees nets charges

Two women have been charged after illegal fees were collected from foreign workers in exchange for employment in Canada.

“The Alberta government is committed to ensuring that foreign workers are treated fairly,” said Service Alberta Minister Manmeet S. Bhullar.

Canada and Mexico working to eliminate visa requirement for Mexican visitors

OTTAWA – The federal government is working with Mexico to eliminate the requirement that Mexicans must obtain a visa to visit Canada, but Ottawa will only do so if it can be sure it won’t be flooded with more bogus refugee claims.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper discussed the visa issue – along with a number of trade and economic matters – on Wednesday during a meeting in Ottawa with incoming Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto, who will be officially sworn in Dec. 1.

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Temporary Foreign Worker News

Posted on November 25, 2012 by admin

Protection from human trafficking key for Canada’s migrant workers, say students

Migrant workers in Canada are often victims of slave labour conditions, says a group of Carleton University students who insist more needs to be done to ensure workers aren’t pulled into human trafficking schemes.

“It surprised us just how systemic the abuse is,” said Teodora Tellieva, a student at Carleton’s Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs, of migrant workers. “The control over every aspect of workers’ lives is incredible.”

English and experience were job requirements for coal mine: affidavit

VANCOUVER – A lawyer for the federal government says Ottawa will not voluntarily share the labour market information sought by two unions that want a judicial review of the decision to grant hundreds of temporary work permits for a northern B.C. coal mine.

Training begins for Temporary Foreign Workers

The first group of temporary foreign workers who have come to Tumbler Ridge to work at the Murray River Mine have spent the last week training.

But their future is uncertain as Human Resources and Skills Development Minister Diane Finley has issued a statement saying that the government is not happy with the way the process has played out. “Our government believes that Canadians must always have first crack at job opportunities in Canada,” says Finley. “We are not satisfied with what we have learned about the process that led to permission for hundreds of foreign workers to gain jobs at the Dehua Mines subsidiary in British Columbia.”

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Temporary Foreign Worker News

Posted on November 17, 2012 by admin

Canada to make it easier to temporary foreign workers to qualify for permanent residence

Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney has announced changes to the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) that will benefit temporary foreign workers who wish to apply for permanent residence in Canada. Minister Kenney announced it on his Twitter, saying “The new 1 year threshold for high-skilled temporary foreign workers to qualify for CDN Experience Class will start January, 2013.”

Some Canadian businesses rely heavily on (permanent) temporary foreign workers

News that a consortium of mostly Chinese companies will seek permission to use exclusively Chinese labour for underground work in four proposed B.C. coal mines has blown the lid off a simmering debate over the dramatic increase in the use of Canada’s temporary foreign worker program.

Temporary foreign workers: Filling labour gap or depressing wages?

News that a consortium of mostly Chinese companies will seek permission to use exclusively Chinese labour for underground work in four proposed B.C. coal mines has blown the lid off a simmering debate over the dramatic increase in the use of Canada’s temporary foreign worker program.

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Temporary Foreign Worker News

Posted on November 12, 2012 by admin

Canada looks to lure foreign workers

EDMONTON, Canada — With a daughter to feed, no job and $200 in the bank, Detroit pipe fitter Scott Zarembski boarded a plane on a one-way ticket to this industrial capital city.

He’d heard there was work in western Canada. Turns out he’d heard right. Within days he was wearing a hard hat at a Shell oil refinery 15 miles away in Fort Saskatchewan. Within six months he had earned almost $50,000. That was 2009. And he’s still there.

B.C., federal governments launch TFW recruitment fee investigation

Allegations that recruitment agencies are charging exorbitant fees to temporary foreign workers (TFWs) for the opportunity to work in British Columbia have prompted investigations from the provincial and federal governments.

In an Oct. 22 letter to Pat Bell, minister of jobs, tourism and innovation, the president of the British Columbia Federation of Labour, Jim Sinclair, cited recent allegations that recruiting companies in China, allegedly acting on behalf of B.C. mining companies, were charging recruiting fees as high as $12,500 per person.

Coal mine looked for Chinese workers at lower pay, union tells court

VANCOUVER – A mining company that has hired hundreds of temporary workers from China for its northern B.C. coal mine advertised those jobs in Canada for $10 to $17 less than what is paid for similar work at a nearby mine, a lawyer representing two unions told a federal court judge on Friday.

HD Mining also advertised specifically for workers who speak Mandarin, Charles Gordon said in arguing for the unions’ interest in taking the decision to grant those permits to court.

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