Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Oct. 30th, 2018

[Prof. Danièle Bélanger]

There is no study about this...actually, there are some studies, but I strongly think from having discussed this with so many temporary foreign workers, that people who are already employed continue to be employed. They're the most likely to be employed, more than direct entry. Some direct entry permanent residents who enter through some other category have difficulty finding employment or are on social assistance for some time. That's the narrative you're alluding to. Whereas people who are already in the workforce, who have work experience on their CV, have a good relationship with employers are very unlikely to be a drain on the Canadian social welfare system.

I think what some people are advocating for in the temporary resident period are sector-specific work permits rather than employer-specific work permits, and also maybe geographical limitations. If you're going to Alberta to work in food packaging, you have to work in food packaging in Alberta, but you may not stay with Maple Leaf. If you're not happy, you can go somewhere else. That could be an interesting move, a very positive move, I think. It could boost productivity, and it could be very positive both for workers and employers to facilitate more circulation of workers within that sector.

Once people have permanent residence, it's much trickier because our Charter of Rights is very complex. It limits their employment and forces them into a certain sector. However, as I said earlier, people with lower social capital are very likely to stay in that sector if they're happy with the employer. Large employers who have provided good service, including help with getting permanent residency, have a high retention rate. The issue is more with smaller employers and people who cannot offer assistance. I think overall it would be positive.

Agriculture is a sector with specific issues because it's seasonal. There would have to be bridge employment for these workers during the winter season, for instance.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Ms. Kwan.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

On the temporary foreign worker program, Dr. Bélanger, you mentioned the imbalance between the worker's perspective and that of the employer and the fact that the worker is entirely reliant on the employer and therefore is subject to potentially various pressures, and I would argue to some degree, abuses in the system.

To the issue about the suggestion that somehow these workers are a drain on our system, you noted in your presentation that these temporary foreign workers come into the country, work, and are not eligible for a variety of programs, including, for example, EI. They're not qualified to collect EI, but they pay into EI. I'll give that as one example. To make this fairer, you suggest we should have open permits.

What are your thoughts about the principle that if you're good enough to work, you're good enough to stay?

[Prof. Danièle Bélanger]

This was the last point in my presentation, and I didn't have much time.

Absolutely. Temporary workers who come to Canada undergo health exams and security checks. They are scrutinized and if they are good enough to come, as you said. I think it's our best pool of potential permanent residents, regardless of skill level. I think we should facilitate this transition for all of them.

Many of them might not choose to stay. I think that's the other message we need to get across. For instance, in the case of agricultural workers from Guatemala, who have an illiterate spouse in Guatemala and several children, they know that as minimum wage earners in Canada they would not do very well. They prefer to circulate. They want better working conditions and open permits.

I think we need to send that message, that if we offer that option, it doesn't mean that suddenly all of them will decide to stay; absolutely not. Some want to be here for a few years, raise some money, build a new house and move on, start a business back home. Some might elect to stay, but certainly not all of them.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

The restaurant industry, the hospitality industry, had a lobby week, I think last week, here in Ottawa. They met with members of Parliament and basically called for an adjustment in this regard. In fact, they said to me in my meeting that they would like these workers to be able to come to Canada right at the outset and stay in Canada, not come as temporary foreign workers.

The reality is that the industry needs them. Our economy needs them. Some small businesses are unable to expand because they don't have the workers here. They don't have the necessary chefs and so on in the hospitality industry.

In terms of that suggestion of “good enough to work, good enough to stay”, is the concept of allowing these temporary foreign workers to come to Canada as permanent residents, and to have permanent resident status at the outset, part of the solution here?

[Prof. Danièle Bélanger]

Yes, certainly, but it also begs the question that perhaps we should rethink our permanent immigration system and direct entry. It's currently very, very demanding in terms of human capital and the criteria. As our labour market primarily needs certainly large numbers of, but not only, low-wage earners, perhaps we should also consider letting the people who will take these jobs upon entry come to Canada as permanent residents. The other problem is that to favour this two-step migration, or to generalize that two-step migration process, it could also become an issue.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

By the way, the federal government used to have a program of low-skilled, middle-skilled and high-skilled workers. That's now been done away with. It's just high-skilled workers. Is it your suggestion to bring back low-skilled, medium-skilled and high-skilled immigration in a direct path?

[Prof. Danièle Bélanger]

That's certainly something to be considered to respond to labour market needs.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you. I'm afraid we need to end there.

Again, my apologies to the witnesses. The Standing Orders allow members to bring motions in the middle of testimony. That happens regularly, or somewhat occasionally, and we're sorry you didn't get as much time with us.

We do need to end this part of the meeting, suspend, and bring the next witnesses in for the second panel.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I'll call the meeting back to order.

I don't want to miss this at the end of the meeting, so I'll suggest this to the committee now.

For the meetings on the two UN global compacts, if you would like to have witnesses in addition to officials, I would request that you submit their names by Friday, November 2. That's four days from now. We're on a tight timeline. Any witnesses you would like to have who are not officials per se can be submitted to the clerk.

The other thing is I'd like to request your permission, and I'm hoping it will be unanimous, with regard to our deadline of November 1 for written submissions on this study. As Ms. Kwan noted, we may not get very many. We've only had one official submission. I'd now like to extend that deadline to the end of November. We can readvertise and request other written submissions.

Is everyone in favour of that?

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

My recommendation would be to keep it open, Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I like a deadline. It's a month away. It's just to make people do it.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Sure.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I think we'll be flexible about the end of November. If someone submits it in December, we can accept it.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Sure.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

We'll do that. The analysts hate it when I do that, but if we get something good, I don't want it to not get in.

Thank you to our witnesses for joining us today. We have officials from two different departments, our usual friends from IRCC and the Department of Employment and Social Development.

I think we'll begin with you, Ms. Kim and Ms. Panagakos, and then we'll go to ESDC.

[Natasha Kim, Director General, Immigration Branch, Department of Citizenship and Immigration]

Perfect.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to discuss Canada's temporary foreign worker programs with the committee today in relation to the committee's current study on the migration challenges and opportunities for Canada in the 21st century.

I am the director general of the Immigration Branch at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC. I am accompanied by Helene Panagakos, the director of the immigration program guidance branch, the temporary foreign worker program and the international mobility program. I will deal with the subjects that, as I understand it, are the committee’s main areas of interest for today’s meeting.

First of all, I will provide an overview of our temporary worker programs. I will talk specifically about the responsibilities of various departments. Second, I will explain how the rights of temporary workers are protected in IRCC programs. Third, I will describe the current routes to permanent residency for temporary workers at all skill levels. My colleagues from Employment and Social Development Canada will then provide information specific to their program. After that, we will be pleased to answer your questions.

First, as members are likely aware, we'll give an overview of the temporary foreign worker programs, but there are two distinct programs under which foreign nationals can come to work in Canada.

With respect to the temporary foreign worker program, IRCC has a shared responsibility with ESDC. As my colleagues from ESDC will describe, their department issues labour market impact assessments under this program, which allow Canadian businesses to hire temporary foreign labour when there are no Canadians available. Once employers have a labour market impact assessment, they then come to IRCC to process a work permit, and then if needed, a visa in order to come to Canada as well.

IRCC also administers the international mobility program, which is distinct from the temporary foreign worker program, and this falls solely under our purview. This program, which was created in 2014, facilitates the entry of foreign workers to advance Canada's broader economic, social and cultural interests.

In some cases, these are employer-specific work permits, under which the worker can only work for the employer on the permit, and these are cases such as academic researchers, intra-company transferees, or those coming under international trade agreements. In some cases, these are open work permits, such as for post-graduate work permit holders for international grads who were studying in Canada who then get an open work permit to work for any employer in Canada for a limited amount of time. It also includes youth coming for working holiday experiences under our youth mobility exchange agreements with other countries.

Under both temporary worker programs, just over 300,000 work permits were issued in 2017, which covered a broad range of skill levels and occupations. Recognizing the important economic contributions made by migrant workers to Canada and Canadian businesses, ESDC and IRCC have been working closely over the last year to consult with key sectors and industries about the temporary foreign worker program.

In addition, in June 2017, we launched the global skills strategy, which aims to facilitate faster access to top talent so that companies can grow, create jobs and contribute to Canada's economy. As part of the global skills strategy, IRCC provides expedited work permit processing to temporary workers in high-skilled and management occupations and dedicated client support to companies making a significant investment in Canada. Since last June, we have processed more than 15,000 work permits under the global skills strategy, primarily in IT and engineering occupations.

While Canada benefits economically from temporary workers, budget 2018 recognized that Canada also has an obligation to ensure that temporary foreign workers are aware of their rights and are protected while working in Canada. ESDC will expand on the measures taken to improve communication with workers about their rights. In addition, the employer compliance regimes under both the temporary foreign worker program and the international mobility program are one of the government's main worker protection tools for migrant workers.

First, at the front end, the compliance regimes establish the program requirements to which employers must adhere. Under both programs, the employer is required to be actively engaged in the business, comply with all federal and provincial laws, provide the same wages and occupation as identified in the offer of employment, provide a workplace free of abuse, and keep documentation for six years. Then on the back end, the compliance regime inspects employers to ensure they are complying with those obligations.

The compliance regime is not designed to be punitive but rather to encourage compliance. Consequences can include warning letters, bans from the program, monetary penalties and the publication of the names of employers who do not comply with the regulations. In cases where criminal activity is suspected, the file is passed to our law enforcement partners.

Under the international mobility program, IRCC each year inspects about 25% of the employers recruiting migrant workers. Results tell us that, since the regime was put into effect in 2015, the rate of non-compliance is about 15% and that the vast majority of cases are unintended administrative errors that are corrected. As for the measures that correct them, compensation payments up to almost $100,000 have been made to workers since 2015.

I understand the committee is also interested in pathways to permanence for migrant workers. Many temporary workers are transitioning to permanent residence. In 2017, Canada admitted over 34,000 individuals as permanent residents who had previously held a work permit, or about 43% of economic principal applicants.

At the federal level, express entry manages applications for our federal high-skilled programs and offers points for key human capital characteristics that increase the likelihood of someone becoming economically established in Canada. This includes points for prior work experience in Canada, increasing the likelihood that temporary foreign workers will be invited to apply for permanent residence. Top occupations for those who have been invited to apply through express entry currently include software engineers, information systems analysts and professors.

Importantly, though, transition pathways are not only limited to workers in the high-skilled occupations, but are available across all skill levels through different permanent residence programs.

For example, the provincial nominee program recognizes that provinces and territories are well positioned to determine their specific labour market needs and enables them to nominate permanent residents across all skill levels. The PNP sees an even higher proportion of temporary workers transitioning to permanent residence, with about 64% of principal applicants from 2010 to 2015 being previous work permit holders. In fact, many jurisdictions have developed streams targeting temporary workers in specific occupations. Under the government's multi-year levels plan, no other program grows as fast or as much as the PNP.

Another permanent residence program offering pathways to permanent residence at various skill levels is the recent Atlantic immigration pilot. It was developed in concert with the Atlantic provinces and implemented in March 2017. We have worked to build strong partnerships between the business community and settlement service provider organizations in order to help fill labour gaps in the Atlantic region and, importantly, also sought to ensure better newcomer retention in these jobs and communities.

To conclude, Mr. Chair, I would note that our suite of temporary and permanent economic immigration programs is designed to contribute to Canada's economic growth and prosperity, while also balancing the interests of both workers and businesses. This includes offering access to foreign workers who can help businesses fill labour market needs in the short term, ensuring employers live up to their obligations to those workers while they are here, and offering pathways to permanence for those individuals who are likely to economically establish and succeed in the long term as new Canadians.

I hope that members of the committee have found that this information on the role that IRCC plays in temporary workers programs will be useful.

I will now yield the floor to my colleague, Philippe Massé.

[Philippe Massé, Director General, Temporary Foreign Worker Directorate, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Employment and Social Development]

Good afternoon.

Mr. Chair and members of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, thank you for giving Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) the opportunity to contribute to its study on migration challenges and opportunities for Canada in the 21st century. Joining me today is Tara Cosgrove who is the Executive Director of Integrity Services at Service Canada.

Given the emphasis of the study on how to enhance the health and safety of migrant workers while in host countries, I would like to focus my remarks on ESDC's efforts to protect these workers within the temporary foreign worker program.

I would like to begin with a broad overview of the program, then discuss some of the issues facing temporary foreign workers and finally outline some of the steps the department is taking to better protect these workers from abuse or exploitation.

My apologies in advance if I am repeating some of Ms. Kim's remarks in my comments.

The objectives of the TFW program are to enable employers to hire foreign workers when Canadians or permanent residents are not available, to ensure that Canadians and permanent residents are considered first for opportunities and to protect temporary foreign workers while they are in Canada.

The program is jointly administered by ESDC and IRCC with the support of the Canada Border Services Agency.

ESDC is responsible for processing and issuing labour market impact assessments, which I will refer to as an LMIA, at the request of employers who wish to hire temporary foreign workers. The LMIA process aims to ensure that employers do not have access to domestic labour when hiring foreign workers. As part of the process, employers agree to comply with program requirements, which include conditions aimed at protecting temporary foreign workers and the Canadian labour market. ESDC is also responsible for administering the program's employer compliance regime.

In 2017, ESDC approved approximately 35,000 employer applications, representing about 97,000 positions under the program, and 62% of those were in primary agriculture.

While in Canada, TFWs have the same rights to workplace protections under applicable federal, provincial and territorial employment standards and collective agreements as Canadians and permanent residents.

We know that temporary foreign workers coming to Canada under the primary agriculture and low-wage streams, in particular, caregivers, are the most vulnerable to mistreatment, abuse and exploitation. These groups are more vulnerable because of language barriers, isolation as they often work in remote areas, lack of awareness of their rights and protections, and limited access to support services and resources to exercise their rights. Some also fear retribution, including the threat of being returned to their home country if they speak out.

The Government of Canada takes the protection of TFWs very seriously. ESDC has a system of checks and balances in place to identify and prevent abuse and exploitation, which we are continually working to improve. ESDC has the authority to conduct administrative inspections to ensure that employers comply with program conditions. However, ESDC has no direction over criminal matters such as human trafficking, and we refer those to the appropriate authorities at CBSA and the RCMP.

In terms of ESDC processes, an employer must advertise positions to Canadians and permanent residents and must be registered on the Government of Canada's Job Bank service before they can request foreign workers.

Job Bank has developed security and validation practices to assess the genuineness of employers and employment opportunities advertised on its platform.

The LMIA process itself includes the assessment of the genuine status and past compliance of the employer. More specifically, Service Canada officers must consider four factors to confirm whether a job offer is legitimate: whether the employer is actively engaged in a business; whether the position being offered is a reasonable employment need; whether the employer can demonstrate that they are able to fulfill the conditions of the offer; and the employer's past compliance with federal, provincial and territorial laws that regulate employment and recruitment.

ESDC makes information available to TFWs about their rights through a number of channels. The government produces an online pamphlet entitled “Temporary foreign workers: Your rights are protected”, in the three most-used languages among TFWs, which contains information on their rights while in Canada.

Since March 2018, Service Canada is providing key information directly to TFWs when they apply for their social insurance number and has developed a dedicated web page on TFW rights and protections.

Furthermore, we are facilitating efforts to better inform TFWs of their rights by working more closely with migrant worker support organizations. For example, in January 2018, ESDC provided a grant to the Migrant Workers' Dignity Association that was used to develop 17 different workshops aimed at educating temporary foreign workers on topics such as their rights and responsibilities, gender violence, and access to benefits including employment insurance benefits. These workshops will be used to support information sessions for both workers and employers going forward.

Budget 2018 also announced the establishment of a pilot project for a migrant worker support network in British Columbia for temporary workers dealing with potential mistreatment or abuse. The goal of the network is to better support temporary foreign workers to understand and exercise their rights, as well as to support employers in understanding and meeting their obligations and requirements.

Network members include temporary workers, migrant worker support organizations, settlement agencies, foreign governments, Government of British Columbia officials, academics and legal professionals, unions, industry representatives, employers, and federal government representatives. Members collaborate on key issues facing temporary foreign workers and make recommendations on prior initiatives that should be considered for funding.

ESDC has a comprehensive compliance framework in place to enforce employer compliance with program conditions and requirements, which in turn helps protect TFWs.

Stemming from recommendations by both the HUMA committee and the Auditor General, we have taken a number of initiatives to improve the compliance regime. To better target our resources and efforts, we have launched a new risk-based predictive model to help identify which employers to inspect, prioritizing the highest-risk cases.

The department has significantly increased its on-site inspections, strategically focusing on employers of vulnerable temporary foreign workers. Since April 2017, the department has conducted more than 2,300 on-site inspections. For inspections completed since that time, approximately 50% of employers were found to require corrective measures to become compliant.

The department is strengthening its capacity to conduct on-site inspections. More specifically, winter 2018 saw the launch of unannounced inspections in response to recommendations from the OAG report, an additional tool in identifying and correcting non-compliant behaviour amongst employers. As of October 15, 2018, over 280 unannounced inspections have been launched.

While most employers will work with ESDC to take corrective action and become compliant, those who are found to be non-compliant face a range of consequences, including monetary penalties ranging from $500 to $100,000 per violation, and program bans of various lengths, including one, two, five and 10 years, or even permanent bans for egregious cases. Employers found non-compliant will also have their name and address published on our IRCC public list with details of the violations and consequences.

ESDC also operates an online fraud-reporting tool and a confidential tip line. These tools provide TFWs and the general public with a means to encourage disclosure of possible wrongdoing. All allegations are reviewed and appropriate action is taken. When warranted, matters are referred to the CBSA or RCMP for further investigation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I need you to wrap up very quickly.

[Philippe Massé]

The last point is around partnerships. We continue to collaborate with our partners in federal departments to further secure worker protections. We're also working more closely with provinces and territories, which regulate the labour market in many jurisdictions, to identify the roles of the various partners and fill some gaps.

I will leave it at that. Of course, I mentioned the migrant worker support network.

Thank you for allowing us to be here.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you very much.

Questioning begins with Ms. Zahid.

[Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Chair, and thanks to all the witnesses for coming today.

My question is in regard to the labour market impact assessment. About a year ago our government waived the labour market impact assessment for two different categories related to caregivers: when the care is needed for persons with medical care and when the care is needed for children under 13 for families making less than $150,000.

How has this change impacted the number of caregivers who are being hired and are coming to Canada?

[Philippe Massé]

The labour market impact assessment is still required for caregivers in those two categories.

[Salma Zahid]

Yes, but exactly how many people has it impacted with this new change?