Statement by the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour

GATINEAU, QC, June 23, 2016 /CNW/ - Today the Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, made the following statement:

"The Temporary Foreign Worker Program needs to change. I have said before that the Government of Canada will bring forward a plan later this year to address the problems with this program. We want to ensure that the rights of those working through the Program are protected, that the Program is not undermining job opportunities for Canadians and that there is a pathway to permanent residency for eligible applicants.

I am temporarily freezing at current levels the cap on the proportion of an employer's workforce that can consist of low-wage temporary foreign workers.

The cap will remain at 20 percent (or at the employer's current level, whichever is lower) only for employers who accessed the Temporary Foreign Worker Program prior to June 20, 2014. Employers who hired temporary foreign workers in low-wage positions for the first time after June 20, 2014, as well as first-time users of the Program, are subject to a 10 percent cap.

Every employer applying to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program will still need to meet all program requirements, including making efforts to ensure that Canadians and permanent residents have first access to available jobs.

I believe this is a prudent step to take as we work to develop a better temporary foreign worker policy and fix some of the problems with the program that emerged under the previous government."

The Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

For further information: John O'Leary, Director of Communications, Office of the Hon. MaryAnn Mihychuk, P.C., M.P., Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, 819-654-5611; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]