Canada’s temporary foreign worker (TFW) program is set to give farms a head start in an express lane expected to cut the annual paperwork for that program’s most “trusted employers.”
Federal Employment and Workforce Development Minister Randy Boissonault last week launched a three-year pilot meant to “help to address labour shortages and reduce the administrative burden for repeat employers participating in the (TFW) program who demonstrate a history of complying with program requirements.”
The pilot program, dubbed the Recognized Employer Pilot (REP), was telegraphed in the federal budget in April last year with a funding envelope of $29.3 million over three years.
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Canadian employers who want to import TFWs must today fill out labour market impact assessments (LMIAs) every year, documenting an employer’s need for a TFW and that no Canadians or permanent residents are available to do the job in question.
Under the REP, however, eligible employers would have access to LMIAs valid for up to 36 months, and would also get a simplified LMIA application if they need to hire additional workers from the same occupation during the pilot.
Recognized employers under the REP would also get a Job Bank designation that confirms their “recognized” status to prospective workers.
It’s expected the pilot “will help employers better plan for their staffing needs and reduce the number of different LMIAs they need to submit over three years,” the government said in a release Aug. 8.
Under the first phase of the REP, employers in the TFW program’s primary agriculture stream can apply starting in September this year, in time for the 2024 production season. All other employers will be eligible to apply in January 2024. The window for all employer applications for REP would close in September next year.
In short, Boissonault said, the REP “will cut red tape for eligible employers — those who demonstrate the highest level of protection for workers — and make it easier for them to access the labour they need to fill jobs that are essential to Canada’s economy and food security.”
“It is vital that Canadian employers, including farmers and food processors, are able to hire the workers who are critical to food production and food security in Canada,” federal Ag Minister Lawrence MacAulay said in the same release, adding the REP should cut the “administrative burden” for eligible ag employers “while ensuring the safety of workers.”
An employer’s eligibility for REP would be assessed and determined by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), the government said.
To take part in the REP, an employer would need to have at least three positive LMIAs for the same occupation over the past five years, from a list of occupations designated as “in-shortage” as per Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS) data.
If an employer doesn’t get recognized status under REP, he or she will still be eligible to use the TFW program and the department would continue to assess his or her LMIA.
‘Long been asking’
Several ag groups have since hailed the launched of the REP. Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada president Jan VanderHout said the pilot “brings us one step closer to our goal of reducing the administrative burden faced by Canadian growers.”
Bill George, chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association labour section, said last Thursday that group’s members “have long been asking for a streamlined application process for employers with a strong history of program compliance, which makes this announcement a particularly welcome step forward.”
Chronic labour shortages in the past several decades have left some farms reliant on TFWs, “many of them working with the same people for years, if not decades, on end,” Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Keith Currie said last Thursday in a separate release.
“While we look forward to getting further details on the program, this program looks like it will reduce the administrative burden on those farmers who can demonstrate a history of compliance and years of reliability as employers.”
The REP plan follows the launch in April of a new online portal as the “primary method” for TFW employers to submit LMIAs. Moving that process online “will further improve processing and is helping employers address their labour market needs quickly,” the government said last week. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
