Mr. Speaker, we totally reject the notion that regulations governing the temporary foreign worker program have no teeth. On April 7, the member will know, the Minister of Employment and Social Development made public a list of employers who broke the rules. This shows our determination to protect the rights of Canadians who are qualified for jobs that have been offered to temporary foreign workers.
We will take no lessons from New Democrats, who decry the program publicly but privately ask for more foreign workers for their ridings, often on behalf of employers who have had their LMO applications rejected, as they did not meet the criteria about putting Canadians first.
Employers who plan to hire temporary foreign workers must first demonstrate that they have made every effort to hire qualified Canadian workers first. This is a rigorous process. In 2013, we issued 14,000 negative labour market opinions.
Our government will not tolerate any abuse of the temporary foreign worker program. Every allegation of misuse will be vigorously investigated. There are serious criminal sanctions, including fines and jail time, if employers lie about their efforts to hire Canadians. All allegations made to Service Canada about misuse of the program will be vigorously investigated.