A new report is calling for a cap on the number of temporary foreign workers admitted to Canada on an annual basis, pending wholesale changes to the beleaguered program that currently risks taking jobs away from young Canadians entering the labour market and from lower-skilled Canadian workers.
The Institute for Research on Public Policy, a non-partisan think-tank, calls preliminary changes to the program announced by the federal government earlier this year a “step in the right direction.”
But as the government considers other options as part of a full program overhaul, author and Carleton University economics professor Christopher Worswick said a cap is needed to “ensure the program does not grow too large.” He’s particularly concerned about those entering Canada with a positive labour market opinion, essentially confirmation from the Ministry of Employment and Social Development that there are, indeed, no Canadians that could do the job. It’s considered a first step before a work permit is issued. In 2012 there were a little more than 80,000 foreign workers in that category, and Worswick said that would make a reasonable cap.
He also applauded the government for eliminating a 15 per cent wage differential that allowed employers to pay workers less than the going rate for their particular labour market, and welcomed the introduction of a $275 fee to recover administrative costs related to the issuing of permits.
Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at
via Cap temporary foreign workers: report.
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Reblogged this on Standard Climate.
Posted by Standard Climate | October 17, 2013, 8:58 am