In a surprise statement, Premier David Eby called for the end of Canada’s temporary foreign worker (TFW) program — blaming Ottawa’s flawed immigration policies for filling up homeless shelters and food banks.
“The temporary foreign worker program is not working. It should be cancelled or significantly reformed,” Eby said during an unrelated announcement in Surrey, B.C., Thursday.
“We can’t have an immigration system that fills up our homeless shelters and our food banks. We can’t have an immigration system that outpaces our ability to build schools and housing. And we can’t have an immigration program that results in high youth unemployment.”
Poilievre calls for temporary foreign worker program to be scrapped
The TFW program allows Canadian employers to use foreign workers to fill temporary jobs when no Canadian workers can be found.
Eby, however, believes the TFW program is being exploited.
“Here in Surrey where I’m standing right now, serious concerns have been raised about fraud.”
In May, a Surrey immigration firm went public about its name being unwittingly used on forged Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs).
To be eligible to bring foreign workers in, employers in Canada must provide LMIAs to the federal government, to prove they tried to hire Canadians first but couldn’t.
Surrey immigration consultant raises concerns over fraudulent documents
Neera Agnihotri, whose firm was cited without authorization in forged LMIAs, said Thursday that fraud is “very common” and the TFW program has been exploited by recruiters and some immigration consultants.
In recent years, fraudsters have used fake LMIAs to prey on foreign workers who need copies of the documents if they want to apply for a temporary work permit. Some foreign nationals have been willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for them under the false promise it will allow them to legally live and work in Canada.
“Everybody has taken advantage. And the biggest culprit, it’s the government. You know exactly what’s happening right under your nose. What are you doing about it?” Agnihotri said.
David Mutz, who owns Abbotsford-based Berry Haven Farm, says temporary foreign workers are an “integral part” of the agriculture sector.
Both Eby and Poilievre showed support for a separate program that would allow farmers to continue to use seasonal workers from abroad to fill agriculture jobs.
Temporary foreign workers aren’t ‘main factor’ in high youth unemployment: economist
The Canadian Federation for Independent Business says reforms make sense, but scrapping the TFW program entirely “puts politics ahead of sensible policy.”
Carney says government is reviewing temporary foreign worker program
B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad wants B.C. to create its own immigration program so that sectors in need of foreign workers, like farms and tourism, can still get them.
“We need to take control of our own immigration in B.C., making those decisions on behalf of British Columbians, instead of those decisions being made over 4,000 kilometres away,” he said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government is reviewing the temporary foreign worker program and the immigration system as a whole.
Speaking from Toronto Wednesday, Carney said his government is putting policies in place so that immigration as a proportion of the population will decline from seven to five per cent in the coming years.
