HUMA - Temporary Foreign Workers

Key messages

• Temporary workers play an important role in many sectors of the economy, including agriculture and the health sector.
• Temporary workers, as with all others entering Canada from overseas, are subject to mandatory quarantine for 14 days from the day upon which they enter Canada. There are few exceptions to this requirement.
• My Department has a number of measures in place to facilitate the arrival and continued ability to work of temporary workers in Canada.
• Ensuring the protection of temporary foreign workers in Canada is a top priority. This Government is working with a number of partners to ensure the safety of temporary foreign workers in Canada during this global pandemic.
• Temporary foreign workers have the same rights to workplace protections under applicable federal, provincial and territorial employment standards and collective agreements as Canadians and permanent residents.

Supplementary messages

• Temporary foreign workers play a vital role in our economy by helping employers fill jobs when no Canadians or permanent residents are available, and by bringing unique skills and expertise to companies seeking a competitive advantage.
• Work permits are a demand-driven area; there are no set levels or limits on the number of temporary foreign workers admitted to Canada in a given year.
• The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) provides temporary income support to workers who have temporarily stopped working or lost their job as a result of COVID-19.
• Temporary foreign workers are eligible for the benefit, subject to the same eligibility criteria as Canadians and permanent residents (such as the requirement to have earned a minimum of $5,000 in Canada in 2019 or the last 12 months).
• The ‘supply meets demand’ nature of Canada’s temporary foreign worker programs ensures employers have access to the labour they require to sustain and grow their businesses.
• In order for foreign workers to be productive, they must feel safe working in Canada. The Government of Canada takes foreign worker protection seriously and has implemented a number of measures to ensure workers are treated fairly while in Canada.

Facilitative Measures for Temporary Workers

• For temporary workers already in Canada, IRCC has introduced several measures to help clients affected by the disruption in services and travel due to the coronavirus outbreak.
• IRCC has taken steps to encourage and support foreign workers to apply for work permit extensions and is providing more time to submit documentation or to complete biometrics.
• Many workers, who seek to extend their work permit, benefit from “implied status”, which enables individuals to remain legally in Canada while awaiting a decision on their application. Moreover, many temporary workers may continue to work while on implied status if they continue to comply with the conditions of their expired work permit.
• Additional special measures have been introduced to facilitate work permit issuance to those overseas applying to work in the agriculture and health sectors:
• Biometrics requirements are being waived for work permit applicants where enrolment is not possible due to travel restrictions or visa application centre closures; and,
• Work permit applications for these workers are being prioritized.
• A public policy has also been put in place that will allow foreign workers in Canada with a new job offer and accompanying Labour Market Impact Assessment (where required) to start work right away while their work permit application is processed. This will help ensure labour mobility.

Employer Compliance and Worker Protection

• To help ensure public health, new regulations have been put in place that require foreign workers to abide by their quarantine or isolation requirements upon arrival in Canada, and for their employers to support them during this time, including by paying wages.

Government Supports for Vulnerable Workers

• Financial Supports: Foreign workers who remain in Canada and have lost their job, or are unable to return to their home country, may be eligible for the various benefits the Government has launched in response to the pandemic, including the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.
• Settlement Supports: Permanent residents and protected persons, including former temporary foreign workers who have attained permanent resident status, are eligible to receive a broad range of IRCC-funded services to help them settle and integrate into the Canadian labour market and society. Further, some temporary residents are eligible to receive limited settlement services as part of select regional immigration pilots, including the Atlantic Immigration Pilot.
• For example, eligible vulnerable workers have access to English and French language training as well as a range of employment-related services, including targeted supports for vulnerable groups such as visible minority newcomer women.
• IRCC-funded service provider organizations have extensive experience supporting newcomers overall as well as providing specialized services to address barriers and meet the needs of individuals that may experience increased marginalization and potential vulnerabilities.

New Brunswick

• In support of the New Brunswick government’s decision to bar the entry of foreign workers, IRCC has paused all New Brunswick-destined work permit applications.
• Many of the foreign workers who are not able to travel to New Brunswick were destined for jobs in the seafood processing industry. Stakeholders in this industry are working to see if any of the affected foreign nationals could be matched with jobs in other provinces. IRCC stands ready to support these moves by facilitating processing of the work permit applications.
• IRCC has been sending notifications to foreign workers with updates on measures relating to working in Canada throughout the pandemic. This notification will advise clients to check provincial websites before traveling to confirm if there are any additional restrictions on travel.

Supporting facts and figures

• In 2019, IRCC issued work permits to approximately 405,000 foreign nationals.
• 75% of these work permit holders were authorized to work in Canada without the need for a labour market test under the International Mobility Program.
• 25% of these work permit holders required a labour market test under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
• This total does not include other sources of temporary labour, such as international students and refugee claimants, who also have certain rights to work.
• Work permits issued grew by 20% from 2018 to 2019. Growth in the number of work permits issued each year is primarily the result of an increasing number of open work permits issued under the International Mobility Program (e.g., for post-graduate students, youth exchanges under International Experience Canada, and spouses of skilled workers or students).
• As of December 31, 2019, there were approximately 848,000 valid work permits in circulation. It is not known how many of these individuals were actually in Canada at the time international travel restrictions were put in place.
• 78% of all work permits in circulation as of December 31, 2019, were open work permits, meaning that the work permit holder could work for any employer in Canada. Open work permit holders can change jobs at any time without the requirement for a new work permit.
• Close to 100,000 work permits will expire by the end of May. It is not known if these permit holders are still in the country and whether or not they have been affected by COVID-related travel restrictions (some international flights to and from Canada continue to operate).

Background

Canada’s two temporary foreign worker programs:

• The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (administered by Employment and Social Development Canada) helps employers who are unable to fill labour market needs where Canadians or permanent residents are not available. This program includes agricultural workers and other workers who require a Labour Market Impact Assessment. Approximately 95,700 foreign nationals (out of 405,000) were issued a work permit in 2019 under this program. Over 56,000, or 59%, of these permits were issued to agricultural workers. Other occupations under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program include caregivers and some high-skilled foreign nationals (including graphic designers and computer engineers) under the Global Talent Stream.
• The International Mobility Program (administered by IRCC) facilitates the entry of foreign nationals under international agreements (e.g., trade agreements), where their employment is deemed to create significant social, economic, or cultural benefit to Canada, or where the work creates reciprocal opportunities for Canadians and permanent residents to work abroad. This program exempts applicants from a Labour Market Impact Assessment. Approximately 307,000 foreign nationals (out of 405,000) were issued a work permit in 2019 under this program. 32% or 98,000, of these permits were issued under the post-graduate work permit program. Other populations who receive work permits under the International Mobility Program include International Experience Canada participants, spouses of skilled workers and students, and work permits issued pursuant to trade agreements including the Canada-United States-Mexico Trade Agreement.

Medical support:

• Employers hiring temporary foreign workers to work in agriculture and other low wage jobs under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program are required to provide workers who are not eligible for provincial or territorial health coverage with equivalent private health insurance.
• In addition to provincial coverage, under the primary agriculture stream, key countries such as Mexico, Caribbean countries, Guatemala and Honduras purchase a package of private life, short-term disability, and health insurance for their workers.
• Employers under the International Mobility Program are encouraged to set up medical insurance and workers’ compensation benefits for their workers when they arrive in Canada as required by their province or territory and in line with any commitments listed in the offer of employment.
• While the eligibility criteria and waiting periods for provincial and territorial health insurance vary by jurisdiction, some provinces are temporarily extending coverage for COVID-19 related medical services to all residents of their province and waiving the waiting period.