Ottawa agrees to pause low-wage stream of Montreal temporary foreign worker program – with several exceptions
2024/08/22 1 Comment
Exceptions are reasonable. The degree to which these restrictions are enforceable, or are enforced, remains to be seen. But, as some Quebec commentators have noted, major step in giving Quebec a larger say with respect to Temporary Foreign Workers:
Ottawa has approved a Quebec request to impose a six-month pause on new applications to the low-wage stream of the temporary foreign worker program in Montreal, with exemptions for several sectors.
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault announced the decision on Tuesday, saying the pause will not apply to the construction, agriculture, food-processing, education and social-services sectors.
Quebec Premier François Legault said the six-month pause would only apply to about 3,500 workers filling low-wage jobs on the Island of Montreal. During a Tuesday news conference, Mr. Legault presented this as a first step and acknowledged that it represents only a small fraction of Quebec’s temporary residents….
About Andrew
Multicultural Meanderings 
Because of the powers recognized as residing with Quebec in the Quebec-Canada Agreement on immigration of 1991, the TFWP process for approval of work permits in Quebec requires LMIAs from both the Quebec and federal governments and a Certificat d’acceptation du Québec prior to delivery of the federal work permit. This was not really a case of “permission” from Ottawa. Ottawa had no choice but to pause its own process given the Quebec decision to pause LMIA for some of the low-wage stream occupations on the Island of Montreal for six months. That being said, the measure will make no significant difference in numbers of non-permanent residents in the province and does nothing to address the concerns of the UN special rapporteur. And of course government press releases will always be worded in the most favourable light for the government or ministry concerned.