Trudeau minister mulls banning some industries from using foreign-worker program

financialpost.com:

Canada is taking initial steps to limit businesses’ use of a program that allows them to bring in temporary foreign workers after it exploded in size, sparking allegations of fraud and exploitation.

Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault met with business groups on Tuesday and pledged stricter oversight, especially in “high-risk” sectors — and said he’s mulling banning some industries altogether from using the scheme to hire foreign workers for low-wage jobs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government significantly expanded the ability of companies to hire temporary foreign workers in response to complaints from businesses about labour shortages in 2022. It doubled the proportion of staff that most firms were allowed to hire under the program to 20 per cent; a 30 per cent limit still applies in construction and health care.

But the government has faced criticism for letting the program grow too quickly. As new arrivals have streamed into the country, labour market conditions have changed. The unemployment rate has risen to 6.4 per cent — higher than it was before the pandemic — and the jobless rate for the youngest workers has shot up to 13.5 per cent.

Boissonnault and Immigration Minister Marc Miller began tightening the foreign-worker program earlier this year, and Miller has also pledged an overall limit on the number of temporary residents, including students.

The government is not shrinking the 20 per cent hiring cap, however — instead, it will enforce “consistent application” of it. It also promised more rigorous oversight in high-risk areas that are remote or prone to abuse, though it offered few details beyond pledging more scrutiny of applications and during inspections.

The minister also said he’s considering