Pressure is growing on the Canadian government to implement a full audit of the country’s Temporary Foreign Worker system.
Liberal immigration critic John McCallum has proposed a number of changes for the system that he believes needs to be introduced to stop alleged widespread abuse in the programme.
According to McCallum, “the result [of the programme] has been fewer jobs for Canadian workers, the suppression of Canadian wages and in some cases the exploitation of vulnerable foreign workers.”
McCallum says the Liberals want:
– A full review of the program by the auditor general.
– Public disclosure of information about what jobs are being offered to temporary foreign workers and in what communities.
– A requirement introduced for employers to demonstrate that every effort has been made to fill positions with Canadian workers and young Canadian workers in particular.
– A tightened Labour Market Opinion (LMO) approval process. LMO approvals are required before an employer can hire temporary foreign workers.
Last week, Canada’s Employment Minister Jason Kenney excluded fast food outlets from using the Temporary Foreign Worker programme following a number of incidents revealing overseas workers have been employed by outlets at the expense of ideally qualified Canadian workers.