Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members.
My presentation is about establishing monetary penalties for the temporary foreign worker program by amending the clause in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The regulations must be followed, and it is expected that penalties will be imposed if that is not the case. Introducing penalties for employers who do not meet the conditions for hiring temporary foreign workers is a positive thing.
Having to pay large fines could incite certain employers who are inclined to abuse the system to change their behaviour. However, that kind of amendment would not likely give Canadians systematic priority access to available jobs.
The goal of the temporary foreign worker program is to help businesses keep operating without interruptions when there are shortages of labour domestically, that is, when employers cannot find suitable workers for their vacancies. Moreover, such a program must allow filling jobs with foreign workers until the labour gaps are eliminated thanks to wage adjustments and training.
This implies two conditions: first, there must be certainty there are no available domestic workers for vacancies; and second, the use of temporary foreign workers is only for the short term. Then the government must penalize employers who abuse the system.
In Canada, all occupations can be filled by temporary foreign workers, and for many jobs employers must confirm through the labour market opinion there are no available domestic workers. In such a context, and especially for low-skilled occupations, businesses may be inclined to overuse the program as long as there is no complaint about abuses.
Through the temporary foreign worker program, employers have access to the world supply of low-skilled workers. They can easily find candidates who perfectly match their vacancy requirements. In addition, it is very likely that these workers will be fully reliable.
Foreign low-skilled workers usually see themselves as privileged to have a job in Canada. It is a guaranteed improvement for their family life in their home country, thanks to having a steady job with a high wage for themselves. So businesses have access to very reliable and productive workers for several years, but at a relatively low legal wage compared to what would have to be paid to Canadian workers. As time passes, this makes employers increasingly dependent on such workers.
Two highly undesirable consequences arise from such a situation. Employers lose incentives to raise the wage to attract domestic workers from other regions, and they lose incentives to train local unemployed workers. These are additional costs that do not have to be incurred with access to temporary foreign workers. Thus, the labour shortage, if it exists, is not solved over time. If there is no shortage of labour, unemployment rises.
Detailed information about labour shortages for occupations in local areas is a necessary condition for a temporary foreign worker program to fill its goal effectively. Relying on employers to confirm a labour shortage with no possibility to check on whether their statement at the time of the LMO application is correct is not adequate. The government should be able to control employers' LMO statements and ensure priority is given to domestic workers at the time of hiring. With detailed information on labour shortages, application conditions in LMOs can be easily and quickly verified. Then employers will definitely be less inclined to use the program extensively.
In addition, detailed information about labour shortages would allow the creation of an accurate list of eligible occupations with deep shortages of labour and allow employers to have easier access to foreign workers. The list could also be revised regularly. Such a policy choice would not only reduce abuses, but when shortages are not deep, it would induce businesses to train unemployed workers if necessary, or to raise wages and make occupations more attractive to domestic workers.
In conclusion, an effective temporary foreign worker program should stimulate incentives to hire and train domestic workers and should not be used to fill long-term jobs. This is particularly important when there is high unemployment for various groups of people like low-skilled workers, youth, or aboriginals. Policy changes that prevent negative impacts on domestic workers at the time of hiring ensure the effectiveness of the program. Adding penalties for abuses is useful, but it is unlikely to correct the present negative consequences of the temporary foreign worker program.