Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - March 2013
Canada is admitting more temporary foreign workers than ever before, according to the latest government statistics.
With a record 213,516 temporary workers admitted into the country in 2012, experts are divided over the implications of such heavy reliance on low-skilled foreigners.
Canadian immigration policy has undergone many drastic changes in recent years, with the government aiming to help out employers who are unable to find the labour that they need in order to continue their economic growth. At the same time, demographic shifts are resulting in lower numbers of workers entering the workforce.
The shortages have been felt not just in low-skilled occupations, but also in other sectors across the board. Low-skilled work, however, requires no recertification process and need not rely on foreign credential recognition services. Bringing in temporary workers has been both a cost- and time-effective strategy for many of Canada�s top companies, including Tim Hortons.
However, recent documents have shown that even the Canadian government is becoming troubled over the increased reliance upon the program. According to a report from the Toronto Star, an internal government paper displayed concerns that companies are �using migrant workers to address �long-term, structural labour gaps� instead of short-term needs.�
A recent plan by B.C. mining company to hire 200 Chinese workers has been under review by both the Minister of Human Resources and Prime Minister Harper himself.
The difficult part is convincing Canadians that such jobs could not be filled by Canadian workers, many of whom have been out of work since the recent global economic recession began. However, employers argue that such work (especially with lower wages) is not appealing to most Canadians, and the temporary foreign worker program allows for employee retention, as the workers� visas are tied to a specific company.
Advocates argue that such a rule has led to abuses in the past, and that more should be done to help temporary workers learn and fight for their rights. They also believe that temporary workers should be eligible for permanent residency.
Source: Ottawa Citizen
