Canada is planning to add more agriculture and food processing jobs to a simplified Temporary Foreign Worker Program set to be rolled out next year, the Toronto Star has reported.

A federal government proposal seen by the newspaper says the updated program will include better protections for migrant workers, such as allowing them to change employers within the same industry.

This would mean their status in Canada would not rely on any one employer, a situation that has resulted in exploitation.

Trusted employers – those that have used the program without violating rules – will also be given access to two-year work permits under the proposals.

It would see the TFWP’s current four streams – seasonal agriculture, primary agriculture, low wage and high wage – reduced to two, one for people from countries with which Canada has signed a bilateral agreement, and one for all other countries.

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Temporary workers are relied on to fill major shortages within Canada’s food industry, including farms, industrial butchers, fisheries and other food processing firms.

The industries struggle to find Canadian workers willing to do such jobs.

The current program has grown organically, with different needs and requirements for different jobs, industries and source countries of temporary worker. There are also different Labour Market Impact Assessment requirements – the document needed to prove a role has been suitably advertised in Canada before it can be filled from abroad.

Canada has faced stinging criticism for its importing of temporary workers to do the kind of jobs Canadians do not want. It has been accused of allowing “modern day slavery” to exist by experts from the United Nations.

The number of work permit workers in Canada through the TFWP has more than doubled since 2018, from 84,000 to 184,125. The figures show how Canada has become reliant on temporary workers.

Changes to the TFWP will follow the move by Immigration Minister Marc Miller to introduce caps on Study Permits, after colleges and universities in Canada were accused of exploiting the system.

Canada is spending $51.1 million over three years on the TFWP overhaul, as announced in the 2022 federal budget.

The Star reports that the Employment and Social Development Canada plan is not yet finalized and is set to go out for consultation among employers, workers, community groups and foreign governments.

It includes a provision for sector-specific two-year work permits, employer permits for hiring over a two-year period, a new wage structure in line with housing and employers costs, and bolstered standard requirements for housing provided by employers.

To mitigate disruption for workers and employers during these alterations, Canadian authorities will transition to the new system gradually, commencing as early as 2025, with full implementation slated for 2027. Detailed information regarding the new program and transitional arrangements will be made available in the upcoming autumn or early the following year.

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Over the forthcoming months, Employment and Social Development Canada will initiate discussions while revising longstanding agreements with countries that send seasonal agricultural workers, tailored to the requirements of Canadian employers.

Public consultations will concentrate on healthcare benefits, salary structures, transportation, employer-provided accommodations, and worker mobility. Government agreement renegotiations will encompass talks on expanding job categories, consular assistance, pre- and post-arrival support services, data exchange, and healthcare provisions.

The updated initiative will encompass all temporary and year-round positions filled by migrant workers in agriculture, as well as the fish, seafood, fruit, and vegetable processing industries. These sectors account for 106,000 positions that necessitate a labour market impact assessment in 2023, validating the employer’s necessity to hire foreign labour for vacant roles.