Ottawa issued about $2-million in fines to employers of temporary foreign workers last fiscal year, up by more than a third from the previous 12 months, saying it is doing more to crack down on abuse – including by naming businesses that breached the rules on a government website.
Twelve employers were banned by Ottawa from hiring foreign workers under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, or TFWP, in the last fiscal year, including for failing to provide safe working conditions and appropriate accommodation to employees hired from abroad. That figure is up from seven from the previous year, the government said in a press statement Wednesday.
The crackdown on employers followed the federal government’s announcement of plans earlier this year to rein in the number of temporary residents and restrict how many foreign workers businesses can hire. Prior to the government’s action, there had been months of warnings, including from economists, that escalating numbers are putting pressure on housing and health care.
During the last quarter of 2023, employers were approved to fill more than 81,000 positions through the TFWP, according to figures shared by the federal government with The Globe and Mail. More than half of TFWP approvals in the fourth quarter came from the program’s agriculture streams, including for farm and greenhouse workers to harvest fruits and vegetables.
Employment and Social Development Canada, which is in charge of overseeing the TFWP, said in Wednesday’s statement that inspections were stepped up in the last fiscal year to ensure that employers are treating their foreign workers well and abiding by the rules.
Of the employers it inspected last year, 94 per cent were found to be compliant. Ottawa issued $2.1-million in fines to non-compliant employers for violating the rules, an increase of about 36 per cent from the previous fiscal year, when $1.54-million in fines were issued.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is naming non-compliant employers on its website. They include a food business fined $152,000 and given a two-year ban from the TFWP for breaking federal, provincial or territorial laws in hiring and recruiting employees.
The government faced calls last month in the Senate social affairs committee to phase out work permits that restrict temporary migrant workers to one employer.
The NDP has warned that closed work permits can make migrants tied to a single employer vulnerable to abuse.
“These migrant workers are often underpaid and their immigration status is tied to their employer through a closed work permit, making it virtually impossible for them to change employment or exercise their rights,” immigration critic Jenny Kwan said in an e-mail, calling for them to be given permanent status.
“Their precarious status immigration status lead to severe power imbalances, abuse and a fear to speak out.”
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault said in a statement that the government is “committed to improving the system to ensure workers are protected while the program meets the needs of the Canadian economy.”