The Government of Canada released information on changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program that will take effect May 1, 2024.
The main changes are:
- New Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) will be valid for six months (a decrease from 12 months) to ensure accurate labour market needs
- All employers identified in the 2022 Workforce Solutions Road Map (seven selected industries of which landscape and horticulture is not a included) will have a reduction from 30 per cent to 20 per cent of their total workforce that can come in through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, under the low wage stream, with an exception for the construction and health care sectors.
- Employers will need to explore every option before applying for an LMIA — including recruiting asylum seekers with valid work permits here in Canada.
Read the full announcement on the Government of Canada website.
Changes on travel for citizens of Mexico now in effect
Last month, the Government of Canada also adjusted the requirements as of Feb. 29, 2024 for Mexican citizens travelling to Canada.
Between 2008 and February 2024, Mexican TFW’s were allowed to enter Canada with the issuance of an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) which applied solely to travel by air. ETA’s were automatically issued following the office of Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in Mexico, assessing and approving an application for a work permit
The Government of Canada now requires a Mexican citizen to travel to Canada with a visitor visa. This requires a worker to submit their passport with their application for a work permit to the IRCC office as it now is needed as part of the approval process.
Various organizations and industry stakeholders are extremely concerned with the timing of these changes in relation to the time of year and the potential impact for employers with workers arriving during the coming weeks. A transition of this nature from an ETA to an Entry Visa will be met with challenges, for no other reason than the Mexican workers relinquishing their passports at this time, for a work permit application that may have been submitted some weeks prior but not yet assessed by IRCC.
Employers will be notified by CanAg Travel of workers who will not travel due to ‘no work permit approved’ through normal email communication regarding upcoming arrivals.
Moving forward, as new work permit applications are submitted workers will be required to also submit their passport at the same time and the process will again become a routine.
