Ottawa resserre davantage que Québec le recours aux travailleurs temporaires à bas salaire

2024/08/28 Leave a comment

Quebec comparison:

Ottawa va resserrer l’accès aux travailleurs étrangers temporaires à bas salaire davantage que Québec. Le premier ministre Justin Trudeau a annoncé trois changements en ce sens lundi matin, en marge de la retraite du cabinet fédéral, qui constituent un retour aux règles d’avant la pandémie.

Cette annonce suit celle faite par le premier ministre François Legault la semaine dernière, mais elle couvre plus large, tant géographiquement que pour les plafonds dans chaque industrie.

Québec va geler pour six mois l’accès au Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires (PTET) dès le 3 septembre, mais seulement pour l’île de Montréal. Les resserrements d’Ottawa entreront quant à eux en vigueur le 26 septembre et s’ajoutent à ceux déjà annoncés le printemps dernier, a évalué plus tard en matinée le ministre de l’Emploi, Randy Boissonnault.

Les mesures fédérales vont s’appliquer sans une fin déterminée : la révision du programme continue, précise plutôt le cabinet du ministre.

Les grands secteurs exemptés du resserrement fédéral seront les mêmes que ceux choisis par Québec : construction, santé, transformation alimentaire et du poisson. L’agriculture fait l’objet d’un autre volet du programme, et elle est donc également exclue.

Le « bas salaire » est défini par province selon le salaire médian, et est fixé à 27,47 $ l’heure pour le Québec.

Selon le taux de chômage

Les assouplissements ayant suivi la pandémie ont bien servi la communauté d’affaires, mais « l’économie d’aujourd’hui est différente », a dit M. Trudeau, citant l’inflation qui diminue et le chômage qui augmente.

C’est d’ailleurs le taux de chômage qui servira à déterminer les zones métropolitaines qui ne pourront plus participer au programme. Le gouvernement du Canada refusera de traiter les études d’impact sur le marché du travail (EIMT), la première étape pour les entreprises qui embauchent à l’étranger, qui concernent les villes où le taux de chômage est de 6 % ou plus.

D’après ce critère, et selon le taux de chômage au 1er juillet 2024, les villes de Laval et de Gatineau seraient exclues du programme, mais Québec ne les a pas mentionnées dans son annonce.

« Nous n’avons plus besoin d’autant de travailleurs étrangers temporaires. Nous avons besoin d’entreprises qui investissent dans la formation et les technologies, pas qui augmentent leur dépendance à une main-d’oeuvre à bas coût », a déclaré le premier ministre Trudeau. Il est temps d’investir dans les travailleurs canadiens, a-t-il rétorqué à « ceux qui se plaignent de la pénurie de main-d’oeuvre ».

C’est l’une des « pièces du casse-tête » pour faire passer de 7 % à 5 % la proportion totale d’immigrants temporaires par rapport à la population, a quant à lui déclaré le ministre de l’Immigration, Marc Miller, lors d’un point de presse tenu avec deux autres ministres, dont M. Boissonnault. D’autres mesures restent à annoncer, ont-ils précisé.

Cette proportion est d’environ 6,6 % au Québec, ce qui représente 597 000 immigrants temporaires, selon les dernières estimations de Statistique Canada.

Des plafonds différents

Le deuxième changement important constitue un autre retour en arrière : les employeurs pourront embaucher jusqu’à 10 % de leur effectif total dans le cadre du programme, comme c’était le cas de 2014 à 2022. La limite actuelle est de 20 % dans la plupart des industries.

La santé et l’agriculture ne connaissent pas de plafond à l’échelle du Canada.

Au Québec, les secteurs de la fabrication de produits en bois, de meubles et de produits connexes ainsi que les services d’hébergement et de restauration sont encore affichés à 30 % en raison de certaines exemptions.

Il y a en outre 267 professions exemptées de ces plafonds dans la province, dont une partie sont à bas salaire. Cette liste de professions s’est élargie dans les dernières années, à la demande du gouvernement Legault. L’an dernier, en dehors de l’agriculture, ce sont 63 % des dossiers de travailleurs temporaires au Québec qui sont passés par ce traitement simplifié, sans que le poste soit d’abord affiché pour les travailleurs locaux.

Le cabinet de M. Boissonnault a néanmoins confirmé que les changements s’appliqueraient au Québec, tout en disant vouloir « travailler en étroite collaboration avec le gouvernement du Québec ».

Enfin, le dernier changement annoncé lundi concerne la durée maximale d’emploi, qui passera de deux ans à un an à l’échelle du Canada.

D’autres mesures demandées

Le volet des postes à haut salaire du même programme est aussi sous la loupe du gouvernement, dans le cadre d’un examen général accéléré qui va durer 90 jours. Le cabinet discutera du nombre de résidents permanents et des possibilités d’adapter les cibles, a aussi avancé le premier ministre Trudeau.

« Le fédéral suit l’exemple de notre gouvernement, soit de réduire le nombre de travailleurs étrangers temporaires là où de la main-d’oeuvre est disponible », a quant à elle écrit sur X la ministre provinciale de l’Immigration, Christine Fréchette.

Comme la semaine dernière, elle a exhorté Ottawa à agir sur les autres résidents non permanents, en particulier sur l’autre grand programme de travail temporaire, le Programme de mobilité internationale.

Ce retour aux règles prépandémiques n’est pas sans rappeler la réforme de 2014 du même programme de travailleurs étrangers temporaires. Le fédéral déplorait alors qu’un programme de « dernier recours » n’eût pas connu assez de limites et que certains employeurs aient, « au fil du temps, bâti leur modèle d’entreprise en fonction du [PTET] ».

Dominer l’ordre du jour

Pour Catherine Xhardez, professeure de science politique à l’Université de Montréal, ce n’est pas un hasard si les deux ordres de gouvernement agissent sur les mêmes « rouages » : « Ce sont comme des boulons qu’on peut resserrer. Et c’est le PTET qui en a le plus, même s’il y a des forces contraires sur la question à savoir si on veut les resserrer ou non. »

Le gouvernement est « sous pression populaire et économique », décrit-elle, et veut montrer qu’il agit, tant à Québec qu’à Ottawa. Les deux « jouent sur ce qu’ils peuvent », le levier étant toujours les EIMT. « C’est sûr qu’il y a un effet de communication, de vouloir se mettre à l’agenda pour montrer qui avance en premier », analyse la politologue.

Les autorités ont desserré ces rouages de l’immigration temporaire durant la pandémie, tant pour relancer l’économie que pour rattraper la baisse migratoire des années 2020 à 2022. Toutefois, c’est une addition de petites mesures, « sans vision globale », qui ont été mises en places, « sans qu’on se rende compte à quel point les chiffres étaient importants », voit-elle. Il y a bel et bien eu « un recours massif pas toujours très raisonné », selon elle.

L’immigration a contribué à relancer l’économie, ont souligné MM. Boissonnault et Miller en conférence de presse. La réplique viendra donc rapidement d’un acteur important de la politique d’immigration, souligne Mme Xhardez : les employeurs.

Les employeurs catastrophés

Le Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ) n’a en effet pas tardé à réagir à cette nouvelle annonce, à l’image du mécontentement affiché la semaine dernière. « Une nouvelle tuile s’abat sur les entreprises cette semaine. Elles auront peu de temps pour s’adapter, car les changements annoncés entreront en vigueur d’ici un mois », a déclaré Karl Blackburn, président et chef de la direction du CPQ.

Les dernières prévisions économiques étant « optimistes », dit-il, la demande en travailleurs pourrait repartir à la hausse. Ce programme n’est qu’un « dernier recours », à cause de la « paperasse et des procédures » qu’il représente, indique-t-il.

Le CPQ propose par ailleurs qu’on « facilite le maillage avec les entreprises » pour développer des compétences correspondant au marché du travail, notamment celles des demandeurs d’asile.

Source: Ottawa resserre davantage que Québec le recours aux travailleurs temporaires à bas salaire

Computer translation:

Ottawa will tighten access to low-wage temporary foreign workers more than Quebec. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced three changes in this direction on Monday morning, on the sidelines of the retirement of the federal cabinet, which constitute a return to pre-pandemic rules.

This announcement follows the one made by Prime Minister François Legault last week, but it covers more widely, both geographically and for the ceilings in each industry.

Quebec City will freeze access to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (PTET) for six months as of September 3, but only for the island of Montreal. The Ottawa tightening will take effect on September 26 and are in addition to those already announced last spring, assessed Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault later in the morning.

Federal measures will apply without a specific purpose: the revision of the program continues, says the Minister’s office instead.

The major sectors exempted from federal tightening will be the same as those chosen by Quebec: construction, health, food processing and fish. Agriculture is the subject of another part of the program, and it is therefore also excluded.

The “low salary” is defined by province according to the median salary, and is set at $27.47 per hour for Quebec.

According to the unemployment rate

The relaxations that followed the pandemic have served the business community well, but “today’s economy is different,” said Mr. Trudeau, citing declining inflation and rising unemployment.

It is also the unemployment rate that will be used to determine the metropolitan areas that will no longer be able to participate in the program. The Government of Canada will refuse to deal with labour market impact studies (LMIAs), the first step for companies that hire abroad, which concern cities where the unemployment rate is 6% or more.

According to this criterion, and according to the unemployment rate as of July 1, 2024, the cities of Laval and Gatineau would be excluded from the program, but Quebec did not mention them in its announcement.

“We no longer need so many temporary foreign workers. We need companies that invest in training and technology, not that increase their dependence on a low-cost workforce, “said Prime Minister Trudeau. It’s time to invest in Canadian workers, he replied to “those who complain about the shortage of labor”.

This is one of the “pieces of the puzzle” to increase the total proportion of temporary immigrants in relation to the population from 7% to 5%, said Immigration Minister Marc Miller at a press briefing with two other ministers, including Mr. Boissonnault. Other measures remain to be announced, they said.

This proportion is about 6.6% in Quebec, which represents 597,000 temporary immigrants, according to the latest estimates by Statistics Canada.

Different ceilings

The second important change is another step backwards: employers will be able to hire up to 10% of their total workforce under the program, as was the case from 2014 to 2022. The current limit is 20% in most industries.

Health and agriculture do not have a ceiling across Canada.

In Quebec, the manufacturing of wood products, furniture and related products as well as accommodation and catering services are still displayed at 30% due to certain exemptions.

There are also 267 professions exempt from these ceilings in the province, some of which are low-wage. This list of professions has expanded in recent years, at the request of the Legault government. Last year, outside agriculture, 63% of temporary worker files in Quebec went through this simplified treatment, without the position being first posted for local workers.

The office of Mr. Boissonnault nevertheless confirmed that the changes would apply to Quebec, while saying he wanted to “work closely with the government of Quebec”.

Finally, the last change announced on Monday concerns the maximum duration of employment, which will increase from two years to one year across Canada.

Other measures requested

The high-wage positions part of the same program is also under the government’s scrutiny, as part of an accelerated general review that will last 90 days. The cabinet will discuss the number of permanent residents and the possibilities of adapting the targets, Prime Minister Trudeau also said.

“The federal government is following the example of our government, namely to reduce the number of temporary foreign workers where manpower is available,” Provincial Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette wrote on X.

Like last week, she urged Ottawa to take action on other non-permanent residents, in particular on the other major temporary work program, the International Mobility Program.

This return to pre-pandemic rules is reminiscent of the 2014 reform of the same temporary foreign workers program. The federal government then deplored that a “last resort” program had not known enough limits and that some employers have, “over time, built their business model according to the [PTET]”.

Dominate the agenda

For Catherine Xhardez, professor of political science at the Université de Montréal, it is no coincidence that the two levels of government act on the same “cogs”: “They are like bolts that can be tightened. And it is the PTET that has the most, even if there are opposing forces on the question of whether we want to tighten them or not. ”

The government is “under popular and economic pressure,” she describes, and wants to show that it is acting, both in Quebec City and Ottawa. The two “play on what they can”, the lever is always the LMIAs. “It is certain that there is a communication effect, of wanting to put yourself on the agenda to show who advances first,” analyzes the political scientist.

The authorities loosened these workings of temporary immigration during the pandemic, both to revive the economy and to make up for the decline in migration from 2020 to 2022. However, it is an addition of small measures, “without a global vision”, that have been put in place, “without us realizing how important the figures were,” she sees. There was indeed “a massive recourse not always very reasoned”, according to her.

Immigration has helped to revive the economy, stressed Mess. Boissonnault and Miller at a press conference. The reply will therefore quickly come from an important player in immigration policy, stresses Ms. Xhardez: employers.

Employers devastated

The Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ) was indeed quick to react to this new announcement, like the discontent displayed last week. “A new tile is falling on companies this week. They will have little time to adapt, as the announced changes will take effect within a month, “said Karl Blackburn, President and CEO of the CPQ.

The latest economic forecasts being “optimistic”, he says, the demand for workers could rise again. This program is only a “last resort”, because of the “paperwork and procedures” it represents, he says.

The CPQ also proposes to “facilitate networking with companies” to develop skills corresponding to the labour market, in particular those of asylum seekers.

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Government officers told to skip fraud prevention steps when vetting temporary foreign worker applications, Star investigation finds

2024/08/28 Leave a comment

Sigh….

As the Trudeau government promises to crack down on a temporary foreign worker program it admits has been abused, a Star investigation has revealed the government is fast-tracking applications by directing processing officers to skip crucial steps designed to prevent fraud. 

Beginning in January 2022, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) directed staff to apply “streamlining measures” when evaluating the legitimacy of applications by employers who want to hire temporary foreign workers.

According to internal ESDC documents obtained by the Star and interviews with a current ESDC employee, routine checks meant to ensure the system is not abused by unscrupulous employers have been suspended in an effort to process applications faster.

Those checks include contacting employers to confirm they actually applied to hire a worker, verifying that lawyers and consultants applying on behalf of employers are in good standing with their regulator, and clarifying the overtime, vacation and benefits promised to the worker.

“This really shows a complete contradiction between the public-facing government policies and how the program is actually run,” said Catherine Connelly, a professor at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business who has been studying the temporary foreign workers program for more than a decade who examined the internal ESDC documents.

“On one hand, we’re told the government will crack down on everything, and then on the other hand, we see from the documents that this is clearly a rubber stamp,” she said. “If the government is not going to do even basic checks, how can the public have any confidence in anything?”…

Source: Government officers told to skip fraud prevention steps when vetting temporary foreign worker applications, Star investigation finds

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The sudden rise of temporary foreign workers in entry-level office jobs

2024/08/28 Leave a comment

Another example of how the program was mismanaged:

Temporary foreign workers are no longer a rare presence in entry-level office roles.

Last year, employers were approved to hire more than 3,500 administrative assistants via the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, up from just 112 of those roles approved in 2016, according to figures published by the federal government. In addition, companies were authorized to hire nearly 2,000 administrative officers in 2023. (The TFW program accounts for a small share of foreign labour in Canada, so it’s likely that other pathways are being tapped for admin workers, too.)

The TFW program has soared in use over the past few years, including more recruitment of low-wage workers in hospitality, construction and other fields. But this trend has brought greater scrutiny to the program, particularly as the unemployment rate has risen and some groups — notably young people and recent immigrants — have struggled to find jobs.

The federal government has said it’s trying to scale back the TFW program, and earlier this week, it announced a pause in using it to hire certain low-wage workers in the Montreal region.

Source: The sudden rise of temporary foreign workers in entry-level office jobs

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Travailleurs étrangers temporaires: Ottawa va resserrer les règles et les critères d’admissibilité 

2024/08/27 Leave a comment

The most comprehensive report I have seen so far (no doubt various commentaries will emerge in coming days). As the saying goes, better late than never but the Liberal government’s (mis)management of immigration has to rate as one of its biggest policy failures, substantively and in political terms.

But this policy reversal, one among a number, has the advantage that it demonstrates that restrictions cannot be automatically portrayed as xenophobic, nor can criticism of any proposed immigration restrictions in the Conservative 2025 platform be labelled as such by the Liberals and NDP.

We should expect to see the impact starting in October, with the final quarter numbers providing a good indication of their effectiveness:

Le premier ministre Justin Trudeau a annoncé lundi des changements au Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires (PTET) lundi matin, alors que le cabinet ministériel effectue sa retraite à Halifax. 

« Nous allons réduire l’utilisation du programme pour faire entrer des travailleurs étrangers temporaires faiblement rémunérés », a-t-il dit. 

« Nous regardons également les modifications au volet des postes à haut salaire. » 

Le premier ministre a justifié cette décision en expliquant qu’en raison de l’inflation, la situation n’était plus la même qu’il y a deux ans et que le Canada n’avait plus autant besoin de main-d’œuvre étrangère. Il a ajouté que le temps était à la formation et à l’investissement dans la technologie, et non plus à une dépendance croissante à la main-d’œuvre étrangère, parfois « exploitée » et « maltraitée ». 

Il a invité les entreprises à engager leur personnel parmi la population canadienne. « À ceux qui se plaignent de la pénurie de main-d’œuvre, voici mon message : il n’y a pas de meilleur moment pour investir et pour embaucher des travailleurs canadiens. » 

Les domaines de la santé, de la construction et de la sécurité alimentaire sont exemptés des nouvelles mesures du PTET qui seront appliquées dès le 26 septembre.

Selon les changements mis de l’avant, les employeurs ne devront pas dépasser un apport de travailleurs étrangers temporaires équivalent à 10 % de leur effectif. Ce seuil s’appliquera aux postes à bas salaires seulement.

Les travailleurs embauchés dans cette proportion pourront être employés pour une période maximale d’un an plutôt que de deux.

Par ailleurs, Ottawa signale qu’il ne traitera pas les études d’impact sur le marché du travail qui sont nécessaires pour justifier l’embauche de travailleurs étrangers temporaires si ces demandes sont faites pour des postes à bas salaire dans des zones métropolitaines où le taux de chômage est d’au moins 6 %.
Selon le ministre de l’Emploi, Randy Boissonnault, les changements entraîneront une réduction d’environ 65 000 travailleurs étrangers temporaires.

« Le PTET a toujours été conçu pour s’ajuster à l’économie et c’est ce que nous faisons : nous regardons les données économiques et nous y répondons », a-t-il affirmé.

Un « premier pas »

M. Trudeau a présenté l’annonce de lundi comme une « première étape » en réponse à l’importante hausse d’immigrants temporaires. 

Cet automne, nous allons présenter, pour la première fois, un plan de niveaux d’immigration qui ne parle pas juste de résidents permanents, mais aussi de résidents temporaires, qu’il s’agisse de travailleurs étrangers ou d’autres [catégories d’immigration].

 le premier ministre Justin Trudeau

L’objectif est de « s’assurer que l’ensemble a le plus de sens possible en fonction des besoins des Canadiens et de notre économie », a fait valoir le premier ministre. 

Les niveaux pancanadiens annuels de nouveaux résidents permanents – 485 000 en 2024 et 500 000 en 2025 ainsi qu’en 2026 — incluent des cibles chiffrées de dossiers à être approuvés par Ottawa dans des programmes économiques et de regroupement familial, par exemple, mais pas pour les volets d’une immigration dite « temporaire » et marquée, selon Statistique Canada, par une croissance fulgurante depuis 2022. 

« Je pense que l’époque des voies d’entrée au Canada qui ne sont pas plafonnées en vient à être révolue. C’est une question de planification et de prévision appropriées », a déclaré le ministre de l’Immigration, Marc Miller.

Parmi les nouveaux arrivants non permanents exclus des cibles actuelles, on compte les étudiants internationaux et les travailleurs étrangers qui peuvent vouloir, à plus long terme, élire domicile au Canada. On y retrouve aussi tous les demandeurs d’asile se trouvant déjà au pays qui attendent, face à de longs délais, une décision de la Commission de l’immigration et du statut de réfugié du Canada (CISR) sur leur requête ou la conclusion de leur appel après avoir essuyé un refus. 

En tout et pour tout, Statistique Canada évalue qu’il y avait 2 793 594 résidents non permanents partout au pays au deuxième trimestre de 2024. Au Québec seulement, l’agence estime qu’il y en avait 597 140, mais la CISR, qui s’en remet à une définition moins large et une méthodologie différente, en dénombrait plutôt 388 959, a précisé l’équipe du ministre fédéral de l’Immigration, Marc Miller. 

Ottawa a signalé en mars qu’il prévoit réduire le nombre de résidents temporaires à 5 % de la population au cours des trois prochaines années, contre 6,2 % au moment de l’annonce. 

M. Miller a ouvert la porte lundi à ce qu’Ottawa considère de réduire ses cibles de nouveaux résidents permanents dès 2025. « Je dirais que toutes les options sont en ce moment sur la table », a-t-il dit.

Des annonces au Québec

Le Québec, qui détient certains pouvoirs en matière d’immigration, a aussi annoncé récemment des changements au PTET. 

À compter du 3 septembre, le gouvernement imposera un moratoire de six mois concernant les demandes et les renouvellements en lien PTET sur l’île de Montréal. Le gouvernement de François Legault a présenté l’initiative comme une façon de protéger le français. 

Cette décision visera des emplois dont le salaire offert est inférieur au revenu médian du Québec, soit 57 000 $ par an ou 27,47 $/heure. Le gouvernement prévoit des exceptions qui touchent les secteurs de la santé, de l’éducation, de la construction, de l’agriculture et de la transformation alimentaire. 

Le premier ministre Legault a aussi indiqué qu’un projet de loi sera déposé cet automne afin de donner au gouvernement le pouvoir de limiter le nombre d’étudiants étrangers dans certains établissements d’enseignement « où il y a eu des abus ». 

Depuis plusieurs mois, Québec réclame au fédéral une baisse « significative et rapide » du nombre d’immigrants temporaires sur son territoire, plaidant que la province a dépassé sa capacité d’accueil. 

Source: Travailleurs étrangers temporaires Ottawa va resserrer les règles et les critères d’admissibilité

Translation:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFTP) on Monday morning, as the ministerial cabinet is retiring in Halifax.

“We will reduce the use of the program to bring in low-paid temporary foreign workers,” he said.

“We are also looking at the changes to the aspect of high-wage positions. ”

The Prime Minister justified this decision by explaining that because of inflation, the situation was no longer the same as two years ago and that Canada no longer needed foreign labor as much. He added that the time was for training and investment in technology, and no longer for a growing dependence on foreign labor, sometimes “exploited” and “mistreated”.

He invited companies to hire their staff among the Canadian population. “To those who complain about the labor shortage, here is my message: there is no better time to invest and hire Canadian workers. ”

The areas of health, construction and food safety are exempt from the new PTET measures that will be applied from September 26.

According to the changes put forward, employers will not have to exceed a contribution of temporary foreign workers equivalent to 10% of their workforce. This threshold will apply to low-wage positions only.

Workers hired in this proportion may be employed for a maximum period of one year rather than two.

In addition, Ottawa reports that it will not deal with labour market impact studies that are necessary to justify the hiring of temporary foreign workers if these applications are made for low-wage positions in metropolitan areas where the unemployment rate is at least 6%.

According to the Minister of Employment, Randy Boissonnault, the changes will result in a reduction of about 65,000 temporary foreign workers.

“The PTET has always been designed to adjust to the economy and that’s what we do: we look at economic data and respond to it,” he said.

A “first step”

Mr. Trudeau presented Monday’s announcement as a “first step” in response to the significant increase in temporary immigrants.

This fall, we will present, for the first time, an immigration level plan that is not just about permanent residents, but also about temporary residents, whether foreign workers or other [immigration categories].

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

The objective is to “ensure that the whole makes the most sense possible according to the needs of Canadians and our economy,” said the Prime Minister.

The annual pan-Canadian levels of new permanent residents – 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025 and 2026 – include quantified targets of files to be approved by Ottawa in economic and family reunification programs, for example, but not for the components of so-called “temporary” immigration and marked, according to Statistics Canada, by meteoric growth since 2022.

“I think the days of entry routes into Canada that are not capped are over. It is a question of appropriate planning and forecasting, “said Immigration Minister Marc Miller.

Among the non-permanent newcomers excluded from current targets are international students and foreign workers who may want, in the longer term, to take up residence in Canada. It also includes all asylum seekers already in the country who are waiting, in the face of long delays, for a decision by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) on their request or the conclusion of their appeal after being refused.

In all, Statistics Canada estimates that there were 2,793,594 non-permanent residents across the country in the second quarter of 2024. In Quebec alone, the agency estimates that there were 597,140, but the IRB, which relies on a smaller definition and a different methodology, counted 388,959, said the team of the Federal Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller.

Ottawa reported in March that it plans to reduce the number of temporary residents to 5% of the population over the next three years, from 6.2% at the time of the announcement.

Mr. Miller opened the door on Monday for Ottawa to consider reducing its targets for new permanent residents by 2025. “I would say that all the options are currently on the table,” he said.

Announcements in Quebec

Quebec, which has certain immigration authorities, has also recently announced changes to the PTET.

As of September 3, the government will impose a six-month moratorium on PTET-related applications and renewals on the island of Montreal. The government of François Legault presented the initiative as a way to protect French.

This decision will target jobs whose salary offered is lower than Quebec’s median income, i.e. $57,000 per year or $27.47/hour. The government provides for exceptions that affect the health, education, construction, agriculture and food processing sectors.

Prime Minister Legault also indicated that a bill will be tabled this autumn to give the government the power to limit the number of foreign students in certain educational institutions “where there have been abuses”.

For several months, Quebec City has been demanding from the federal government a “significant and rapid” decrease in the number of temporary immigrants on its territory, arguing that the province has exceeded its reception capacity.

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There’s a values-based case against Canada’s immigration policy. Conservatives should make it

2024/08/26 Leave a comment

While the header conjures images of value tests and “barbaric cultural practices”, the main argument is in favour of permanent rather than temporary immigration, with “a vision of mutual obligation, not temporary expediency,” as much about citizenship as immigration:

As former federal deputy minister Tim Sargent set out this week in a DeepDive for The Hub, Canada’s immigration policy has undergone a fundamental shift over the past decade or so. It’s not just that the number of newcomers has significantly increased, but the composition of who is entering the country has changed too.

Our self-image of Canada’s immigration system as being hyper-focused on skills and human capital is no longer supported by the evidence. Among the more than 470,000 newcomers who came through the permanent resident stream last year, only about 40 percent were selected according to economic criteria. The majority were the immediate family members of economic immigrants, family members of those who have already immigrated, or refugees.

And even that only tells part of the story. Non-permanent residents—including temporary foreign workers and international students—are now a bigger share of Canada’s annual population growth. In 2023 alone, nearly 805,000 non-permanent residents were added to the population. Sargent estimates that there are now 2.8 million non-permanent residents in the country—of which just under 2 million are entitled to work.

What’s the upshot here? Less than half of those entering Canada’s much-vaunted permanent resident stream are being selected based on economic criteria and more than two-thirds of the total annual intake aren’t even entering as permanent residents. We increasingly have an immigration system that’s shifted away from the country’s long-term economic interests and towards temporary migration to fill low-skilled jobs and subsidize post-secondary institutions.

The Left and Right have begun to talk about these developments in different ways. Conservatives have rightly tended to focus on the basic economics of an influx of low-skilled labour and its downward pressures—including on employment and wages—on Canadian workers. Progressives, by contrast, have played up the poor conditions and risk of exploitation for temporary migrants themselves.

Conservatives shouldn’t limit themselves to economic critiques here. They should be prepared to make values-based arguments too.

Large-scale temporary migration is incompatible with how conservatives think about society as a web of reciprocal relations between neighbours and family. The late British rabbi Jonathan Sacks frequently referred to society as a “home that we build together.” Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper used to describecitizenship ceremonies as “joining the Canadian family.”

These metaphors of family and home convey something much richer than a mere transactional relationship between migrants and a society in which the former sells his or her labour to the latter. They reflect a Burkean conception of society in which we’re equal parts of a multi-generational partnership. The Canadian family can and should welcome new people to join it. But it shouldn’t really be in the business of temporarily hiring people to do its landscaping or deliver its food or care for its children.

This richer, more textured understanding of immigration is reflected in Canada’s birth-on-soil policy. We grant citizenship based on birthright rather than blood because we envision making long-term commitments to newcomers and their families and expect them to make similar commitments to our society. It’s a vision of mutual obligation, not temporary expediency.

The Trudeau government’s abandonment of this vision has done serious harm to Canadian immigration policy. It’s probably the government’s single biggest policy failure. The Conservatives are right therefore to criticize it. But they shouldn’t merely rely on numbers and facts to prosecute their case. They can draw on the conservative traditions of family and home to present a better image of immigration and its relationship to our society.

Source: There’s a values-based case against Canada’s immigration policy. Conservatives should make it

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Canadian residents face the longest waits in the world for U.S. visas

2024/08/26 Leave a comment

Of note:

Canadian residents who require a visa to visit the United States face the longest wait times in the world.

A CBC News analysis of wait times for appointments to obtain U.S. tourist visas shows that while wait times in countries like India and Mexico have been improving since November 2022, wait times in Canada have been getting worse.

Six of the 10 longest wait times around the world were recorded at the U.S. embassy and consulate offices in Canada that offer visa appointments.

Currently, those who apply for a B1/B2 visitor visa appointment in Ottawa or Quebec City face the longest wait times in the world — 850 days. Halifax is not far behind at 840 days, followed by Calgary at 839 days. Getting a visa appointment in Toronto takes 753 days, while in Vancouver it’s 731 days.

Wait times can fluctuate from day to day. Earlier this month, Toronto had the longest wait time in the world — 900 days.

The other locations with the longest current wait times are Istanbul, Turkey (774 days), Bogota, Colombia (677 days), Guatemala City, Guatemala (645 days) and Hermosillo, Mexico (576 days).

Source: Canadian residents face the longest waits in the world for U.S. visas

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Immigration experts say Trump’s ‘mass deportations’ pledge could cause surge in illegal border crossings into Canada if he wins back the White House 

2024/08/26 Leave a comment

Opinions of note, generally reasoned and realistic:

…Michael Barutciski, a lawyer and associate professor of international studies at York University’s Glendon College, says the situation will depend on how the Canadian government responds to Trump and his immigration policies.

“If there’s a general sense that people who are not legally in the U.S. will be removed or deported, it’s logical that anyone unsure about their status in the U.S. will think it might make sense to go north to Canada,” Barutciski said.

Barutciski noted that the key question is: “What does the government do?” which he sees as “an indication of how this potential flow will be handled. Will it be stopped or will it be encouraged?”

He warned that “If Canada sends a welcoming signal—tweets about how everyone is welcome here—we’ll get tens of thousands, maybe 100,000 or even millions.”

Christian Leuprecht, a professor at the Royal Military College and Queen’s University and a Munk senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, also said a Trump presidency could result in an uptick at Canada’s southern border but does not think it would go beyond the tens of thousands.

“The bulk of people who presented irregularly at the border [during Trump’s first term] were people who always intended to cross into Canada and were not fleeing the Trump administration,” he said.

That being said, he explained that if Trump is re-elected, “the small portion of people fleeing the Trump administration would likely increase, but that increase would not be particularly significant, possibly in the thousands, possibly in the tens of thousands.”

Like Barutciski, Leuprecht said the way the Canadian government handles the situation will impact our borders. He said there is a risk the Trudeau government will forgo the rule of law in an attempt to turn the border issue into an American-style wedge for domestic political gain.

“The risk is not actually masses of people showing up on the border here, because Canada can simply invoke the rule of law and say that the better part of 90 percent of the people who would show up would not qualify,” he said. “The risk here is that the Trudeau government will actually violate its own provisions and the rule of law for political reasons so that he can use it as a wedge issue.”

The Trump refugee narrative “is one that the current federal government loves to propagate.”i

Muzaffar Chishti, a lawyer and senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, an American non-partisan pro-immigration think tank, casts doubt on the American government’s ability to deport people en masse.

“There are legal impediments that the former president seems generally unaware of. There are constitutional provisions of habeas corpus and due process of law, which strongly impede removing anyone without sending them to a court,” he said.

“Second, there are operational realities—they are not all in one place, not in a camp where you could just extract them. They are intermingled in communities across the country, and getting them out is very, very operationally difficult. Third, there will be a political backlash. Almost all of them are employed, and if they are taken out of their jobs. There could be outcries even from Trump’s own base.”

Chishti also noted that he doesn’t think that the goal of a potential second Trump administration would necessarily be to successfully deport 11 million people, it would rather be “to instill a sense of fear,” which one assumes would discourage other border crossers.

“I think people who respond to that instinct of fear may want to move to Canada. There’s a real possibility of that happening,” he said, given Canada’s reputation as being more receptive to asylum seekers.

What about the Safe Third Country Agreement?

In March 2023, Canada and the U.S. modified the Safe Third Country Agreement so that individuals could no longer make asylum claims from unofficial ports of entry, closing the loophole used by asylum seekers.

However, experts consulted by The Hub said the new March 2023 deal is not a silver bullet and could lead to new problems.

Leuprecht said those who qualify under the exemptions will take advantage and apply, leading to an increase in legal asylum claims.

“We will see a small increase in people who have a legitimate claim to refugee or asylum status, who will present at ports of entry,” he said.

He is also concerned that those without legitimate asylum claims will attempt to cross into Canada illegally at unsupervised, unofficial ports of entry, similar to how illegal immigrants enter the United States from Mexico.

“We will see a small increase in human smuggling across the border.”

Chishti echoed this sentiment, which he said will be a concern of the Canadian government.

“If there is a Trump administration, you could see much more of a commercial enterprise, where you’ll have criminal ranks getting involved,” he said.

“That, I think, will create a sense of chaos and disorder when you will see people being caught in the woods, you know, trying to sneak through, and then you will see the people’s private farms being encroached on, and all that.”

He added that this “is the kind of disorder that creates a political backlash.”

…Experts told The Hub it was crucial for Canada to be prepared and take a series of actions to promote the rule of law and orderly legal immigration, in light of a possible second Trump administration.

“We actually have to start controlling the border with more resources,” said Barutciski. “More border control sends the signal that there are rules to get into Canada.”

“Don’t give off the image to the earth that the integrity of the system has been undermined. That you’re generous and that you don’t really control this. You can’t continue like that.”

He also urged Canada to address its immigration policy issues regardless of who wins the U.S. election. “The current numbers and the way people are coming here is not sending a good signal. It’s a system that is losing credibility. Even if Kamala Harris wins and Trump isn’t President, Canada still has a very difficult situation.”

Leuprecht said Canada needs to be willing to deport those who are not in this country for the right reasons. “We want to make sure we send the right message: “[That] Canada is not the country to go to unless you have a legitimate claim and that you will be deported if you show up here if you do not qualify under the rules.”

He noted that this “would be a significant change in narrative, because, in Canada, we traditionally do not deport people, even when they don’t qualify under the rules. The deportation numbers are tiny in Canada.”

Chishti meanwhile stressed that Canada must do its best to avoid a chaotic situation like the one the U.S. has faced at its southern border.

“The sense of disorder never works, even if it’s a small number of people,” he said. “People like immigrants, but they don’t like chaotic scenes about immigrants, because it creates a sense that we no longer have control.”

Source: Immigration experts say Trump’s ‘mass deportations’ pledge could cause surge in illegal border crossings into Canada if he wins back the White House

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ICYMI: Concerns mount over new federal immigration policy that would grant permanent residency to low-wage workers 

2024/08/26 Leave a comment

Valid concerns:

Economists and policy experts are expressing growing concern over a potential new federal immigration program that would immediately grant permanent residency to temporary residents who are in low-wage jobs.

The program, if launched, would target people who already have Canadian work experience in what Ottawa classifies as TEER 4 and TEER 5 occupations – delivery service drivers, caregivers, food production workers and retail staff, to name a few.

TEER stands for Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities, and it is a job categorization system the government uses for immigration purposes. TEER 4 and TEER 5 workers typically have a high school diploma or little or no formal education at all.

….This is perhaps exactly why Ottawa is thinking of introducing a new path to permanent residency for low-wage workers, Prof. Skuterud and Toronto immigration lawyer Ravi Jain both say.

“The easiest way to deal with this problem is to create a new pathway to permanent residence,” Prof. Skuterud said. “But it’s not smart policy. It will more likely suppress wages and undermine public support for immigration.”

Source: Concerns mount over new federal immigration policy that would grant permanent residency to low-wage workers

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Le Devoir Éditorial | Sur la question de l’immigration, la stratégie des petits pas

2024/08/24 Leave a comment

Worth reading. Money quote: “Le dossier de l’immigration demande qu’on l’aborde avec franchise, lucidité, bienveillance et mesure. (The immigration file requires that it be approached with frankness, lucidity, benevolence and measure.)”

Lassé peut-être de vociférer son message à Ottawa sans être réellement entendu, le gouvernement du Québec a joint le geste à la parole cette semaine en annonçant deux mesures censées permettre de réduire le flux d’immigration temporaire. Un moratoire de six mois sur le programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires à bas salaire, dans la région de Montréal ; et un projet de loi destiné à limiter le nombre d’étudiants étrangers par établissement d’enseignement.

Cette stratégie des petits pas ne contribuera pas à faire fléchir de beaucoup les tendances. Mais dans cette joute que se livrent sans résultats Québec et Ottawa sur le dossier migratoire, ce petit geste fait foi de grand symbole.

« Le fédéral ne manque pas une occasion de dire qu’il faudrait que [le Québec] donne l’exemple », a expliqué mardi le premier ministre François Legault, flanqué de sa ministre de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration, Christine Fréchette. Québec a donc décidé de donner l’exemple. Responsable de 180 000 des 600 000 immigrants temporaires sis au Québec, le gouvernement de François Legault tente depuis des mois de convaincre Ottawa de l’aider à juguler les entrées, car, selon lui, elles exercent une « pression énorme » sur les services publics, la crise du logement et l’avenir du français à Montréal. Le moratoire et le projet de loi tout juste annoncés constituent l’exemple qu’offre Québec au fédéral, sur qui reposent les 420 000 autres entrées.

Les mesures annoncées ne changeront pas le portrait de manière radicale. Québec concède que le moratoire sur le programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires à bas salaire (sous la barre des 27,47 $ l’heure) ne viserait, dans la région montréalaise ciblée, que 3500 personnes, sans plus. Quant au projet de loi visant à mieux encadrer l’entrée d’étudiants étrangers dans certains établissements, il cherche à faire diminuer le flot que représentent ces 120 000 étudiants, mais on ne sait pas de combien.

Ce geste symbolique constitue « un premier pas ». Qu’il ait des répercussions mathématiques importantes ou non, il vient confirmer une fois de plus l’encroûtement du dossier de l’immigration dans la joute Québec-Ottawa. Il révèle aussi une certaine mauvaise foi : le Québec a beau plaider aujourd’hui l’urgence nationale et faire porter le poids de plusieurs maux aux nouveaux arrivants, il ne faut pas reculer bien loin dans le temps pour constater qu’il a lui-même contribué au problème, puis a sciemment choisi d’en ignorer les incidences.

Novembre 2021. Le Devoir titre : « Québec veut stimuler l’immigration temporaire ». Sous la plume de notre journaliste spécialisée Sarah R. Champagne, une première phrase qui parle d’elle-même : « Québec presse Ottawa de faire sauter les plafonds de l’immigration temporaire. » Il y a donc moins de trois ans, l’urgence était tout autre : il s’agissait de rehausser les seuils de travailleurs étrangers temporaires dans 71 métiers et professions à bas salaire.

Les temps ont changé. Les chiffres confirment que, de 2021 à 2024, les migrants temporaires sont passés de 300 000 à 600 000. Une « explosion » que le système ne peut prendre en charge, fait valoir le premier ministre. « Ça fait mal à nos services publics [éducation et santé], ça fait mal à notre crise du logement, ça fait mal à l’avenir du français. » Même s’il se veut le plus « factuel » possible, le premier dirigeant du Québec use d’une rhétorique pour le moins glissante en laissant entendre que les engorgements que subit notre système sont le fait des nouveaux arrivants. C’est regrettable. « Je sais qu’il y en a que ça choque quand je dis ça, mais c’est factuel. »

Le gouvernement a raison d’agir pour ne pas aggraver une situation déjà sous haute tension. Il est également en droit de fouetter Ottawa pour obtenir un peu plus de soutien dans ce dossier — la régulation du nombre de demandeurs d’asile et une meilleure répartition de leur entrée sur le territoire canadien, le Québec en accueillant en ce moment plus de la moitié. Mais il est très discutable de tout faire porter sur les épaules du fédéral sans concéder sa propre part de responsabilité.

Où étaient le sentiment d’urgence et la pression intolérable sur les systèmes publics quand, au printemps 2023, en pleine étude des crédits de son propre ministère, la ministre Fréchette a choisi de rejeter la demande de l’opposition d’étendre la réflexion sur l’immigration au Québec aux travailleurs temporaires, aux étudiants étrangers et aux demandeurs d’asile, préférant se restreindre à l’immigration permanente seulement ? Où est la préoccupation pour l’avenir du français à Montréal quand on sait que la demande explose en francisation, signe d’une volonté d’intégration, mais que les budgets et l’offre sont en diminution ? Pourquoi avoir refusé de nommer la crise du logement quand il était encore temps d’agir pour en atténuer les effets ?

Gare aux envolées catastrophistes qui pourraient faire peser (trop) lourd sur les épaules des principaux intéressés. Ceux-ci ne sont coupables de rien d’autre que d’avoir voulu savoir s’il faisait bon vivre au Québec. Le dossier de l’immigration demande qu’on l’aborde avec franchise, lucidité, bienveillance et mesure.

Source: Éditorial | Sur la question de l’immigration, la stratégie des petits pas

Tired perhaps of shouting its message in Ottawa without really being heard, the Quebec government joined the gesture to the floor this week by announcing two measures supposed to reduce the flow of temporary immigration. A six-month moratorium on the low-wage temporary foreign workers program in the Montreal area; and a bill to limit the number of foreign students per educational institution.

This strategy of small steps will not help to bend trends much. But in this joust that Quebec and Ottawa are taking place without results on the migration file, this small gesture is a great symbol.

“The federal government does not miss an opportunity to say that [Quebec] should set an example,” explained Prime Minister François Legault on Tuesday, flanked by his Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, Christine Fréchette. Quebec has therefore decided to set an example. Responsible for 180,000 of the 600,000 temporary immigrants in Quebec, François Legault’s government has been trying for months to convince Ottawa to help it curb entries, because, according to him, they exert “enormous pressure” on public services, the housing crisis and the future of French in Montreal. The moratorium and bill just announced are the example that Quebec offers to the federal government, on which the other 420,000 entries are based.

The measures announced will not radically change the portrait. Quebec concedes that the moratorium on the low-wage temporary foreign workers program (below $27.47 per hour) would target, in the targeted Montreal region, only 3,500 people, no more. As for the bill to better regulate the entry of foreign students into certain institutions, it seeks to reduce the flow represented by these 120,000 students, but it is not known how much.

This symbolic gesture is “a first step”. Whether it has significant mathematical repercussions or not, it confirms once again the encrusting of the immigration file in the Quebec-Ottawa joust. It also reveals a certain bad faith: although Quebec today advocates national urgency and carries the burden of several evils on newcomers, we must not go far back in time to see that it himself contributed to the problem, then knowingly chose to ignore its implications.

November 2021. Le Devoir headlines: “Quebec wants to stimulate temporary immigration”. Under the pen of our specialized journalist Sarah R. Champagne, a first sentence that speaks for itself: “Quebec urges Ottawa to blow up the ceilings of temporary immigration. So less than three years ago, the urgency was quite different: it was a question of raising the thresholds for temporary foreign workers in 71 low-wage trades and professions.

Times have changed. The figures confirm that, from 2021 to 2024, temporary migrants increased from 300,000 to 600,000. An “explosion” that the system cannot support, argues the Prime Minister. “It hurts our public services [education and health], it hurts our housing crisis, it hurts the future of French. Even if he wants to be as “factual” as possible, Quebec’s first leader uses a slippery rhetoric to say the least by suggesting that the congestions that our system undergoes are caused by newcomers. It’s regrettable. “I know it’s shocking when I say that, but it’s factual. ”

The government is right to act so as not to aggravate a situation already under high tension. He is also entitled to whip Ottawa to get a little more support in this file – the regulation of the number of asylum seekers and a better distribution of their entry into Canada, with Quebec currently welcoming more than half. But it is very questionable to put everything on the shoulders of the federal government without conceding its own share of responsibility.

Where was the feeling of urgency and intolerable pressure on public systems when, in the spring of 2023, in the middle of a study of her own ministry’s appropriations, Minister Fréchette chose to reject the opposition’s request to extend the reflection on immigration in Quebec to temporary workers, foreign students and asylum seekers, preferring to restrict herself to permanent immigration only? Where is the concern for the future of French in Montreal when we know that demand is exploding in francization, a sign of a desire for integration, but that budgets and supply are decreasing? Why did you refuse to name the housing crisis when there was still time to act to mitigate its effects?

Beware of catastrophic flights that could weigh (too) heavily on the shoulders of the main interested parties. They are not guilty of anything other than wanting to know if it was good to live in Quebec. The immigration file requires that it be approached with frankness, lucidity, benevolence and measure.

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Aftab Ahmed: I speak English. Stop asking.

2024/08/24 Leave a comment

…There is also an obvious inconsistency in how language proficiency is treated for permanent residency versus citizenship. Those seeking citizenship are not required to retake the language test if they have passed it once, even if their test results have expired. Permanent residency applicants, however, must retake the test if their results are no longer valid, despite having lived and worked in Canada. This variation further weakens the logic of the current system.

There are simple solutions to this issue: First, remove the two-year validity rule. Second, remove the language proficiency requirement for those who have studied or worked in Canada for a reasonable period. Define that period. Third, for those arriving on a work permit without a certified letter from a recognized international post-secondary institution that provides education in English or French, language testing would be necessary.

Some argue that a steady flow of international students is vital for economic growth, given the billions they contribute to the higher education sector and the labour force. Others claim the influx worsens the housing crisis. Whatever the federal government’s target for permanent residents from this pool may be in the coming years, it is absurd to think someone could study in Canada without knowing one of the official languages. The same principle should apply if they have studied and then worked here. The current system is poor policy….

Source: Aftab Ahmed: I speak English. Stop asking.

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