Too Much of a Good Thing

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In a volte-face, Canada is to reduce the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers, after a controversial 2022 plan to salvage the country’s post-Covid economy has created a furor over low wages and abuse, Reuters reported.

The program allows non-Canadian citizens to work in the North American country on a short-term basis. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday decided to amend it amid a public uproar over immigration.

The changes included a 10-percent cap on low-wage temporary foreign employees per employer. Applications to hire such workers will be denied in regions with unemployment rates of six percent or more. Contracts will also now have a maximum duration of one year instead of two.

The move came after the scheme was criticized for suppressing Canadians’ wages while doing little to protect foreign workers from abuse.

A United Nations report earlier this month said it was a “breeding ground” for modern slavery, pushing Immigration Minister Marc Miller to concede that it was “in need of a reform.”

“It’s not fair to Canadians struggling to find a good job, and it’s not fair to those temporary foreign workers, some of whom are being mistreated and exploited,” said Trudeau.

The scheme was expanded in 2022 to boost Canada’s economy after the Covid-19 pandemic, when pathways to immigration closed completely, leaving the country with severe labor shortages. However, according to Trudeau, the need for foreign workers has diminished with inflation and unemployment numbers going back to normal.

The number of temporary foreign workers has more than doubled over Trudeau’s tenure since 2015, reaching nearly 240,000 last year.

With temporary foreign workers making up nearly seven percent of Canada’s total population, Canadians have grown opposed to more immigration.

Analysts said the government is also reacting in the face of a looming federal election next year that Trudeau’s Liberal Party is predicted to lose.