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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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….

Source: Ottawa agrees to pause low-wage stream of Montreal temporary foreign worker program – with several exceptions

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‘Structural solutions not inflammatory conclusions’ required to fix foreign worker program: Senator Omidvar

2024/08/22 Leave a comment

More balanced than the special rapporteurs language and reasonable recommendations for the current and likely future government to consider, although finding the right balance between employers and workers remains a challenge:

…While the government and groups like the Canadian Chamber of Commercemay reject the UN rapporteur’s characterization of the program, the recent Senate report found similar abuses within the program. 

On May 21, the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science, and Technology released its own report on Canada’s migrant labour infrastructure, which it said is failing both workers and employers. 

Beginning its study in November 2022, the committee heard evidence and testimony from temporary foreign workers and employers, academics, policy experts, and government officials. Members also visited workplaces in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island on a fact-finding mission. 

While Obokata did not visit any farms or fisheries—as the Senate committee did—Omidvar said the Senators who worked on the report were able to come to their findings with “clear eyes,” having accounted for all perspectives. 

Fittingly, those perspectives informed the first of the committee’s recommendations to provide what Omidvar said are “structural solutions” to a program that has grown in a rapid, disorganized, and often piecemeal manner for decades.

In its report, the committee offered six recommendations, the first of which is the establishment and funding of a tripartite Migrant Work Commission, modelled after the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, that would include a commissioner representing migrant workers, employers, and the federal government. 

“Right now, there is no single place where either an employer or a migrant worker can go to address their issues,“ Omidvar explained. “In particular, there are not enough avenues of complaints for migrant workers that are nimble, effective, and worker-friendly.”

The second recommendation mirrors the UN report, but Omidvar said the committee recommends the full phase-out of closed work permits in the next three years, rather than immediately.

“You cannot go from extreme heat to extreme cold without creating severe cracks and fissures in the system,” Omidvar said, explaining that while the committee had identified closed work permits as an area of concern, the federal government would need time to negotiate with provinces to create regional, sector-wide permits to replace them.

Omidvar said the third most important recommendation is that workplace inspections be unannounced as a standard, adding that the current practice allows for unscrupulous employers to engineer a compliant workplace to give the illusion of compliance when inspectors arrive.

While Omidvar recognized that could also be true for the workplaces the committee visited—or at the very least, that only already compliant “good workplaces” would have even accepted their request for a visit—she said the workplaces she did see were undoubtedly having a positive impact on its workers and community.

At one seafood processing plant, Omidvar recalled speaking with employees who had arrived as temporary workers and successfully applied for permanent residency with the aid of sponsorship from their employer. She said that the new influx of residents had reinvigorated and revitalized the community with “new families, teachers, and parishioners” filling the local church every Sunday.

On the other side of the spectrum, Omidvar said the committee also met with migrant workers in closed-door meetings in other communities who detailed instances of abuse, including withholding access to health care. She explained that those abuses can be particularly problematic in rural and remote communities without nearby doctors or medical facilities.

Additionally, many of those workers said that there was a lack of clarity on the pathways to permanent residency, she noted. 

“They’re operating in a fog of information, and we need to make those pathways crystal clear,” Omidvar said, adding that Canada needs an annual migrant worker level plan, as it has for annual immigration. 

“The whole system post-COVID has been kind of bent out of shape with exceptions that we made to meet various needs,” Omidvar said. “Now, we need to get back to the drawing board and reconfigure this in a sensible, pragmatic, and doable manner that ensures the rights of migrant workers are paramount.”

Source: ‘Structural solutions not inflammatory conclusions’ required to fix foreign worker program: Senator Omidvar

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Canada to pause approval of temporary foreign workers for low-wage jobs in Montreal

2024/08/21 Leave a comment

Of note. Will be interesting to see the details of which groups most affected (e.g., fast food restaurants or personal support workers):

Canada will freeze the approval of new temporary foreign workers in low-wage jobs in the Montreal area starting in September, CBC News has learned.

A senior government source said the processing of Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications will be suspended for six months, starting on Sept. 3, for job offers with wages below $27.47 per hour — currently Quebec’s median hourly wage.

The decision is expected to be made public on Tuesday.

Premier François Legault and Quebec Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette are scheduled to make an announcement about the temporary foreign worker program tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Low-wage temporary foreign workers in Quebec must both be approved by the province and have their employer’s LMIA application approved by the federal Immigration Ministry.

Ottawa says the move is an attempt to “ensure the integrity of the temporary foreign worker (TFW) program” which is designed to be used when workers already in Canada aren’t able to fill vacancies.

Quebec Premier François Legault has been asking Ottawa to curb temporary immigration in the province for months.

Canada will freeze for six months the approval of new temporary foreign workers in low-wage jobs in the Montreal area starting in September, CBC News has learned. The announcement is expected Tuesday morning.

Source: Canada to pause approval of temporary foreign workers for low-wage jobs in Montreal

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Où sont passées les clés de notre système d’immigration ?

2024/08/19 Leave a comment

Good article in La Presse (translation below):

Aujourd’hui, le Canada perd la face sur la scène internationale.

La mécanique qui permet aux employeurs canadiens de faire venir des travailleurs étrangers à bas salaire crée un « terreau fertile » pour l’esclavage contemporain, déplorait le rapporteur spécial l’ONU, Tomoya Obokata, cette semaine1.

Le constat est dur. Mais il ne révèle qu’une partie du problème. En fait, le Canada a perdu le contrôle de l’immigration temporaire.

Au fil des ans, Ottawa comme Québec ont laissé émerger un système d’immigration à deux vitesses, dans la plus grande hypocrisie.

Devant les projecteurs, Québec impose des plafonds chiffrés et des critères précis pour l’immigration permanente. « En prendre moins, mais en prendre soin », clamait la Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) quand elle a été élue pour la première fois. 

Mais en coulisses, le gouvernement laisse entrer sans compter les résidents non permanents qui ont été trois fois plus nombreux à arriver au Québec (174 000) que les permanents (52 800), en 2023.

Devant les micros, Québec fait grand cas de l’augmentation des demandeurs d’asile. Il est vrai que la province fait plus que sa part et on se réjouit de voir Ottawa réfléchir à un plan pour mieux répartir l’effort à travers le pays. Mais Québec se garde bien de dire que la croissance dans les autres catégories de résidents non permanents (étudiants, travailleurs temporaires) a été encore plus forte (+44 %) que celle des demandeurs d’asile (+37 %) depuis un an.

Cela fait l’affaire des cégeps et universités sous-financés par l’État, qui ont trouvé là un filon pour regarnir leurs coffres et maintenir en vie des programmes en manque d’étudiants locaux. Cela fait aussi le bonheur des employeurs, qui veulent des bras pour accomplir des tâches ingrates au salaire minimum.

Mais pour l’ensemble de la société, c’est contre-productif.

Qu’à cela ne tienne, Québec et Ottawa ont accordé une série d’assouplissements, sans considérer leur effet cumulatif, qui a fait exploser l’immigration temporaire depuis 2015.

Ils ont en quelque sorte donné les clés de notre système d’immigration aux établissements d’enseignement et aux employeurs qui déterminent le nombre et le profil des étrangers qui arrivent chez nous, selon leurs besoins à eux.

Cela a fait dévier le système d’immigration de son objectif d’attirer des travailleurs qualifiés. Et c’est ainsi qu’on se retrouve avec un niveau de vie à la baisse, comme en témoigne le PIB par habitant, qui descend depuis plusieurs trimestres.

Le ministre fédéral de l’Immigration essaie maintenant de remettre le dentifrice dans le tube. En mars, Marc Miller a annoncé son intention de réduire d’environ 20 %, d’ici trois ans, le nombre d’immigrants temporaires qui atteint 2,8 millions au Canada.

Ce ne sera pas simple.

Va-t-on leur montrer la porte ? Il y a un risque que les non-résidents qui perdent leur permis restent au Canada quand même, sans papiers, un statut qui peut mener à des abus encore pires. Et cela ne réduirait pas le nombre d’étrangers sur le sol canadien… à moins de mettre en place un système de déportation à l’américaine. Franchement, ça ne serait pas chic.

Va-t-on leur accorder la résidence permanente en vrac ? Cela ferait en sorte que des immigrants temporaires qui n’ont pas le meilleur profil passeraient devant les candidats plus qualifiés. Pas fort. 

Remarquez, on pourrait aussi relever les plafonds d’immigration permanente pour leur faire de la place. Mais dans ce cas, on ne réduirait pas réellement la croissance de la population.

On le voit, il n’y a pas de solution magique pour diminuer rapidement le nombre de non-résidants déjà au Canada.

Voilà pourquoi il est crucial d’agir en amont, en resserrant les critères d’immigration temporaire.

Auparavant, les demandes d’immigration permanente étaient acheminées de l’étranger. Quand les immigrants étaient acceptés au Canada, ils entraient par la grande porte, avec des services structurés. 

Désormais, les étudiants et les travailleurs arrivent avec un statut temporaire, dans l’espoir de rester à long terme. On ne peut plus continuer avec ce système à deux étapes qui crée des frustrations et des goulots d’étranglement.

Il est crucial de mieux arrimer les immigrations temporaire et permanente, qui sont des vases communicants.

Il est aussi nécessaire de sevrer graduellement les employeurs de la main-d’œuvre étrangère à bas coût, une solution de dernier recours. C’est une chose de recruter des travailleurs saisonniers dans le secteur agricole. C’en est une autre quand le secteur manufacturier, la restauration ou le commerce de détail pourvoient avec des immigrants temporaires… des postes permanents.

Le recours trop facile à la main-d’œuvre bon marché peut avoir l’effet pervers de freiner les investissements en technologie et en machinerie qui permettraient d’améliorer la productivité du Québec, souligne un rapport de l’Institut du Québec2.

Il est temps de donner un bon tour de vis à l’immigration temporaire.

Québec, qui a favorisé abondamment le recours aux immigrants à bas salaire, a le devoir de présenter une vision d’ensemble, claire et logique. Il ne suffit pas d’attendre les mesures d’Ottawa pour ensuite crier à la victime en réclamant les pleins pouvoirs.

Source: Où sont passées les clés de notre système d’immigration ?

Today, Canada is losing face on the international scene.

The mechanism that allows Canadian employers to bring in low-wage foreign workers creates a “fertile breeding ground” for contemporary slavery, lamented the UN Special Rapporteur, Tomoya Obokata, this week1.

The observation is hard. But it only reveals part of the problem. In fact, Canada has lost control of temporary immigration.

Over the years, both Ottawa and Quebec City have allowed a two-speed immigration system to emerge, in the greatest hypocrisy.

In the spotlight, Quebec City imposes numerical ceilings and precise criteria for permanent immigration. “Take less, but take care of it,” said the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) when it was first elected.

But behind the scenes, the government lets in without counting non-permanent residents who were three times more likely to arrive in Quebec (174,000) than permanent residents (52,800), in 2023.

In front of the microphones, Quebec City makes a big case for the increase in asylum seekers. It is true that the province is doing more than its part and we are delighted to see Ottawa thinking about a plan to better distribute the effort across the country. But Quebec is careful not to say that growth in other categories of non-permanent residents (students, temporary workers) has been even stronger (+44%) than that of asylum seekers (+37%) over the past year.

This is the case of CEgeps and universities underfunded by the state, who have found there a vein to replenish their chests and keep programs alive in need of local students. It also makes employers happy, who want arms to perform ungrateful tasks at the minimum wage.

But for society as a whole, it is counterproductive.

Never mind, Quebec and Ottawa have granted a series of relaxations, without considering their cumulative effect, which has exploded temporary immigration since 2015.

They have somehow given the keys to our immigration system to educational institutions and employers who determine the number and profile of foreigners who arrive with us, according to their needs.

This has diverted the immigration system from its objective of attracting skilled workers. And this is how we find ourselves with a declining standard of living, as evidenced by GDP per capita, which has been falling for several quarters.

The Federal Minister of Immigration is now trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube. In March, Marc Miller announced his intention to reduce by about 20%, within three years, the number of temporary immigrants to reach 2.8 million in Canada.

It won’t be easy.

Will we show them the door? There is a risk that non-residents who lose their license will still remain in Canada, without papers, a status that can lead to even worse abuses. And this would not reduce the number of foreigners on Canadian soil… unless an American-style deportation system is set up. Frankly, it wouldn’t be chic.

Will they be granted permanent residence in bulk? This would ensure that temporary immigrants who do not have the best profile would pass in front of more qualified candidates. Not strong.

Note, we could also raise the permanent immigration ceilings to make room for them. But in this case, population growth would not really be reduced.

As we can see, there is no magic solution to quickly reduce the number of non-residents already in Canada.

This is why it is crucial to act upstream, tightening the criteria for temporary immigration.

Previously, permanent immigration applications were sent from abroad. When immigrants were accepted into Canada, they entered through the big door, with structured services.

From now on, students and workers arrive with a temporary status, in the hope of staying in the long term. We can no longer continue with this two-step system that creates frustrations and bottlenecks.

It is crucial to better stick up temporary and permanent immigration, which are communicating vessels.

It is also necessary to gradually wean employers of low-cost foreign labor, a solution of last resort. It is one thing to recruit seasonal workers in the agricultural sector. It is another when the manufacturing sector, catering or retail supply temporary immigrants… permanent positions.

The too easy use of cheap labor can have the perverse effect of slowing down investments in technology and machinery that would improve Quebec’s productivity, says a report from the Institut du Québec2.

It’s time to give a good turn of the screw to temporary immigration.

Quebec, which has widely favored the use of low-wage immigrants, has a duty to present an overall, clear and logical vision. It is not enough to wait for Ottawa’s measures and then shout to the victim by demanding full powers.

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John Ivison: How do the Liberals fix skyrocketing immigration? By lowering the entry standards

2024/08/17 Leave a comment

Beyond the header and the analysis, there is a need for a number of lower-skilled immigrants, both temporary and permanent. The question revolves around the level and the percentage of all immigrants and of course, many family class and refugees already provide a source of lower skilled levels, as does the Provincial Nominee Program in some cases.

Hopefully, the annual immigration plan will provide some clarity and not result in any further deskilling of economic immigrants as Skuterud fears.

But all too true about the aversion of the government to deport visa overstayers and undocumented migrants, noting correctly that “every single one has the potential to be a front-page Toronto Star sob story.”

…But the growth in college-level foreign student enrolments and the expansion of the low wage stream of temporary workers mean there are many migrants who would not meet the requirements of the skills-based points system.

Ottawa has now revealed its solution — that from this fall, it will create a new economic class of permanent residency candidates for people with high school education or less, who would not otherwise have qualified to stay.

Mikal Skuterud, a professor of economics at the University of Waterloo, said this is a first for Canada. He said he believes the measure is, at least in part, a “release valve” to address the bulging population of visa overstayers.

“Many of these non-permanent residents will never obtain skilled jobs and the current economic class selection system makes it difficult to prioritize applicants working in less-skilled jobs over high-skilled applicants. That’s the trade-off being made to avoid a growing undocumented population,” he said.

It is not clear yet how many of the 300,000 slots allocated for economic immigrants in 2025 will be filled from the new stream, but every one that is will be at the expense of a higher qualified person applying from abroad and going through the Comprehensive Ranking skills-based points system that has been the backbone of Canada’s successful immigration policy.

OECD data from 2021 showed that Canada was by far the most successful of its peers in picking immigrants with high levels of education — more than 70 per cent — compared to just 20 per cent with medium (high school level) education. That could soon change.

As Skuterud notes, there are going to be many frustrated foreign computer science graduates from Canada’s top universities who find their chances of coming to Canada permanently are now much reduced. “That’s not good if we’re genuinely concerned about labour productivity in this country,” he said.

The Immigration Department said no information is available on numbers or a timeline because “this initiative is at the proposal stage, with no certainty of being implemented.” But it is hard to see what else the government can do.

Ottawa obviously has no stomach to dramatically increase outflows of undocumented immigrants — deportations reached 16,205 in 2023 and every single one has the potential to be a front-page Toronto Star sob story.

The Liberals have already cut student visas by 35 per cent and limited the percentage of any given workforce that can be made up of low-wage foreign workers to 20 per cent from 30.

But these measures will take time to work — most students are here on multi-year visas and are eligible for a three-year work permit after graduation.

Against that background, turning temporary workers and students into permanent residents looks like a work of political genius.

But at a stroke, it undermines the integrity of a skills-based immigration system; reduces Canada’s ability to attract the best and brightest; and, rewards those who have overstayed their visa by providing them with an option to permanent residency.

“The deskilling of Canadian economic immigration continues,” said Skuterud.

No wonder the public is losing confidence.

Source: John Ivison: How do the Liberals fix skyrocketing immigration? By lowering the entry standards

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Keller: The temporary foreign worker program is a scam, and almost everyone is in on it

2024/08/17 Leave a comment

More from Keller:

…The Trudeau government appears to have finally grasped that handing out an unlimited number of temporary visas, leading to 2.8 million temporary residents, far outstrips the capacity of the permanent immigration system, even after doubling the immigration quota to 500,000 a year. That quota includes refugees, economic immigrants and family reunifications from overseas, leaving just half a million spots or so each year to accommodate the 2.8 million temporary residents already in Canada.

The only way out, as I wrote last week, is to press rewind.

The Trudeau government turned student visas into an alternative low-wage job scheme by allowing students to work an unlimited number of hours while in school. It’s time to go back to the way things used to be: foreign students should not be allowed to work off campus. Postgraduate work visas should be restricted to high-quality graduates in high-wage fields.

And with the exception of seasonal farm work, only jobs paying at least 150 per cent of the median wage, or more than $110,000 a year, should be eligible for temporary visas

Business lobbyists will scream, but voters will cheer.

Source: The temporary foreign worker program is a scam, and almost everyone is in on it

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Federal government planning sharp cut to low-wage stream of temporary foreign worker program, sources say

2024/08/16 Leave a comment

Highlighting the contrasting views between a business group and the more objective Mike Moffatt:

…Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said temporary foreign worker programs have been around for decades and have frequently been tightened or loosened over the years based on evolving labour-market needs.

He said the government’s moves to ease access to the program in 2022 were entirely justified at the time.

“There’s absolutely no question that coming out of the pandemic, the labour market was broken. There were hundreds of thousands of vacant positions, particularly in lower-skilled occupational categories, that desperately needed filling,” he said.

Mr. Kelly said he understands that Ottawa is now under pressure to cap access to the low-wage stream, but also urged the government to find the right balance.

“The challenge for government is I think most of them know that the politically popular solution is at odds with the economically viable solution,” he said. “Yes, the labour market has cooled a bit in Canada, but if we take out the temporary foreign worker program, then you better not complain about the line at the local restaurant or the increase in menu prices.”

Mike Moffatt, an assistant professor of business, economics and public policy at Western University who has previously advised the Liberal cabinet, said the 2022 changes went too far. He said reducing the use of the temporary foreign worker program would be good for wages in Canada, would help students find work and would encourage businesses to innovate.

He said he questions why fast-food restaurants in college towns such as London, Ont., are using the program.

“We’ve got thousands of students, thousands of international students, and we can’t find somebody to work at a Dairy Queen next to a college? It just doesn’t seem reasonable to me,” he said. “I think we have lost the plot here.”

Source: Federal government planning sharp cut to low-wage stream of temporary foreign worker program, sources say

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