Most Canadians support permanent immigration pathways for temporary foreign workers

Most Canadians support permanent immigration pathways for temporary foreign workers | Canada Immigration News (cicnews.com)

 

 

The majority of Canadians agree that temporary immigrants are essential to the agricultural sector.

 
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The majority of Canadians want to see temporary workers in the agricultural sector become permanent residents, according to a new survey.

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Government of Canada provides further details on new vaccine requirements

 

From: Transport Canada

News release

October 29, 2021                       Ottawa                Transport Canada       

Requirements effective October 30

As the Government of Canada announced on August 13, travellers in the federally regulated air and rail sectors will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19. After extensive consultations, Transport Canada issued the final orders and guidance to airlines and railways to implement the vaccination requirements for travellers which are effective at 3 AM (EDT) October 30, 2021. The vaccination requirements will apply to all travellers 12 years of age plus four months who are:

  • Air passengers flying on domestic, transborder, or international flights departing from certain airports in Canada; and
  • Rail passengers on VIA Rail and Rocky Mountaineer trains.

Travellers will need to show airlines and railways proof of vaccination. For a short transition period until November 29, 2021, travellers have the option to show proof of a valid COVID-19 molecular test in order to board. Airlines and railways will be responsible for confirming the vaccination status of travellers. In the aviation mode, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) will also support operators by confirming vaccination status.

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Government of Canada proposes new regulations to improve protection of temporary foreign workers

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News release

July 26, 2021              Gatineau, Quebec              Employment and Social Development Canada

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for further action by the Government of Canada and its partners to improve the protection of temporary foreign workers. Year after year, these workers come to Canada to support our agriculture and agri-food industry and contribute greatly to Canada’s food security. Their hard work and expertise has been instrumental over the years and especially during the pandemic, and they deserve to be safe.

Today, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, and the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marco Mendicino, announced proposed new regulations to help prevent the mistreatment or abuse of temporary foreign workers during their stay in Canada. They outlined 14 regulatory amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Temporary Foreign Workers), with three key objectives:

  1. Improving protections for temporary foreign workers by mandating employers to provide temporary foreign workers with information about their rights in Canada; prohibiting reprisal by employers against workers who come forward with complaints; and, putting into regulation key requirements for all employers to provide reasonable access to health-care services, and for employers to provide health insurance when needed. The proposed changes would also prohibit the charging of recruitment fees to workers, and hold employers accountable for the actions of recruiters in this regard.
  2. Improving the Government’s ability to prevent bad actors from participating in the program by providing authorities that will strengthen the assessment of applications from new employers and deferring the processing of a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) if non-compliance is suspected.
  3. Strengthening the Government’s ability to effectively conduct inspections. This includes reducing the prescribed timelines and involving third parties (e.g., banks and payroll companies) to provide documents to support inspections.

In addition to today’s announcement, the Government of Canada has launched new features on Job Bank that enable temporary foreign workers to search for jobs from eligible employers. These features will help workers, and the migrant worker organizations that support them, connect with employers through a trusted source.

The pandemic has further highlighted the need to better identify misuse of the program that puts workers in vulnerable situations and to better support workers seeking help. As part of the Government’s strengthened efforts to better support employers and workers for the 2021 season, new data capabilities leveraging payroll data are being deployed to better identify cases of fraud and misrepresentation, and improvements were made to the temporary foreign worker tip line, with the addition of live agents able to offer services in multiple languages. Since launching the enhanced tip line in March, more than 400 callers have been assisted in submitting their report of abuse, referred to other appropriate departments, or had general questions about their rights in Canada answered.

These changes complement other federal government actions introduced this year to better support temporary foreign workers. Budget 2021 announced $49.5 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, to support community-based organizations in the provision of migrant worker-centric programs and services, such as on-arrival orientation services and assistance in emergency and at-risk situations, through the new Migrant Worker Support Program. Budget 2021 also announced $54.9 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, to increase inspections of employers and ensure temporary foreign workers have appropriate working conditions and wages. Additionally, the Government launched a $35-million Emergency On-Farm Support Fund that supports employers who provide accommodations to upgrade and improve living quarters to ensure workers are safe and healthy.

Quotes

“The health and safety of temporary foreign workers continues to be a key priority for the Government of Canada. While we have made progress, there continues to be gaps. We know that temporary foreign workers need better information about their rights, and better health and safety protections. Workers also need to be protected from reprisal if they come forward with a complaint, and bad actors need to be prevented from participating in the program. Through these enhanced regulatory amendments, the Government is working towards providing stronger worker protection and ensuring greater employer compliance.”
- Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough

“The Government of Canada takes the safety and dignity of foreign workers very seriously. Everyone deserves a work environment where they are safe and their rights are respected. These amendments will help us further improve worker protection and strengthen our ability to ensure employers follow the rules governing both the International Mobility Program and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.”
- Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marco E. L. Mendicino

Quick facts

  • The proposed regulations were pre-published on July 10, 2021 in the Canada Gazette Part 1. Canadians, employers and stakeholders were invited to provide comments within 30 days.   

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CCIS helps Brooks area ag workers through COVID

 

SANDRA M STANWAY
Brooks Bulletin

The Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS)through Brooks and County Immigration Society (BCIS)recently handed out 115 food hampers to temporary foreign workers that have been affected by COVID 19.
CCIS was funded by the federal government to support agricultural workers who were affected by the virus and although the program is nearing the end, CCIS continues to help.
“We’re still trying to see what we can continue to support now that the program is done,” said Jessica Juen, program coordinator at CCIS.
She said some people who were working the agricultural sector were laid off because some businesses closed or their hours were reduced.
There are between 800 and 1,000 temporary foreign workers in the area from Philippines, Mexico, Thailand, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago.
Although the province is expected to substantially open on July 1 because the threshold of 70 per cent of Albertans have received at least one vaccine, less than 50 per cent of city/county residents have been vaccinated.

Source: https://brooksbulletin.com/ccis-helps-brooks-area-ag-workers-through-covid/

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MIGRATION AND PRECARITY

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The number of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) in Canada surged for two decades prior to 2014, at which time Canada introduced immigration reforms aimed at curtailing their economic …

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New pathway to permanent residency for over 90,000 essential temporary workers and international graduates

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News release

April 14, 2021—Ottawa—Today, the Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced an innovative pathway to permanent residence for over 90,000 essential workers and international graduates who are actively contributing to Canada’s economy.

These special public policies will grant permanent status to temporary workers and international graduates who are already in Canada and who possess the skills and experience we need to fight the pandemic and accelerate our economic recovery.

The focus of this new pathway will be on temporary workers employed in our hospitals and long-term care homes and on the frontlines of other essential sectors, as well as international graduates who are driving the economy of tomorrow.

To be eligible, workers must have at least 1 year of Canadian work experience in a health-care profession or another pre-approved essential occupation. International graduates must have completed an eligible Canadian post-secondary program within the last 4 years, and no earlier than January 2017.

Effective May 6, 2021, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will begin accepting applications under the following 3 streams:

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