Document Details

2012-11-17

Vancouver Sun

Vancouver Sun

Six months ago, the federal government announced changes to the country's Temporary Foreign Workers program that had potential implications for the future of both immigration and work in Canada. The changes would fast-track the program in some cases and allow employers to pay workers less than other Canadians. With that program now under review, it is difficult not to conclude that some of those implications weren't fully considered before the policy changes were announced.

It is always less costly, politically and financially, for governments to do their homework and fix unintended potential problems ahead of time, whether through a white paper process or consultations, than to reform policy, or live with flawed policy, after the fact.

Still, the review of the rapidly growing program is welcome. The government should consider reforms - or at least enough resources - that make the program more difficult to abuse and better able to protect workers.

It will be necessary to bring temporary foreign workers to Canada at times to keep various sectors fully staffed, although it should not be seen as a long-term solution to labour needs. Temporary foreign workers have long helped with harvests across the country and, more recently, have been hired in the resource sector. Alberta, not surprisingly, has seen the fastest growth in the number of temporary foreign workers hired in recent years.

But the program has the potential to be misused and even abused by employers to take advantage of cheap help or to avoid labour laws. There must be checks in place to make sure it is used only when necessary and that workers involved are treated fairly and protected from unscrupulous employers. And it should be used sparingly.

It's often hard on the workers, who seldom have their families with them and are frequently taken advantage of. Nor does it offer the same benefits to Canadian society that immigration does. One danger of the country's growing reliance on temporary workers (the program has grown by 56 per cent since 2006) is that it creates an underclass of workers and reduces the need for long-term immigrants who could be of more benefit to Canada.

In last spring's budget, the federal government announced changes to the program that fast-tracks approval for temporary foreign workers from a 12-14 week approval process down to 10 days. It also allowed the workers to be paid 15 per cent less than the average wage paid to Canadian workers for similar work, but required employers to first seek Canadian workers for the jobs.

The controversy surrounding the hiring of Chinese nationals to work in B.C. coal mines highlights the potential flaws in the program, and led to the federal review. Two B.C. unions are seeking a court injunction to block the workers.

"It is clear to our government that there are some problems with the Temporary Foreign Workers Program," Human Resources Minister Diane Finley said in a statement last week. "We take these very seriously, and are currently reviewing the program."

Given the speed with which employers have been assured they can get approval to hire temporary foreign workers, it is difficult to see how they can prove they couldn't find Canadians to do the job. Nor is it apparent there is enough manpower for government oversight to make sure all other options have been exhausted and that employers are not abusing or misusing the system. In order to protect the temporary workers, their visas should not be tied to one employer, a situation that makes it difficult, or impossible, for them to complain about mistreatment or abuses.

The federal government has an opportunity to rethink its Temporary Foreign Workers program to make sure it serves Canadians when needed but doesn't become something it was not meant to be - the means to a large, vulnerable underclass of workers and the creation of a system that turns Canadian jobs into temporary foreign ones.

General relevance - all sectors

Policy analysis

Policymakers and Public awareness

Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, British Columbia, Other provinces, Federal, and Nova Scotia

Law, Management of human resources, and Political science

English