On March 22nd, the federal government announced that some time-limited measures under the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program Workforce Solutions Road Map would not be renewed and will end, earlier than planned, this spring. TIAO sought member feedback to gauge the impact of these changes on tourism and hospitality sectors that rely on temporary foreign workers to meet employment demand.
While the TFW program changes are not expected to make a large impact due to the small percentage of tourism and hospitality businesses that use the program, our survey hints at improvements that could be made to the TFW program and that clarity is required with respect to some of the changes.
Our survey findings show that among respondents who normally hire temporary foreign workers, there is concern that the reduced Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) validity (reduced from 12 months to 6 months) will or might negatively affect their business, with concerns that the change will make the TFW program more costly, more resource-intensive to access, and will require more fees and paperwork to fill out. Our findings also show both interest and questions about the new requirement for employers to explore every option before applying for an LMIA, with the vast majority of respondents neither having the knowledge or experience to confidently recruit and support asylum seekers and requiring resources and support to do so carefully and appropriately.
In the wake of these changes, which may create additional hurdles for tourism operators accessing the TFW program, TIAO renews its call to revisit the LMIA process with an eye to reducing red tape.
TIAO is also calling on the federal government to provide more clarity on the requirement to explore every option before applying for an LMIA, including recruiting asylum seekers with valid work permits in Canada. We recommend that the federal government consult with employment service agencies and industry to create the right program framework to facilitate this goal. TIAO is open to supporting and facilitating the creation of a more formal program framework in partnership with our workforce development partners.
In the wake of recent federal policy changes reducing the allowable number of international students and temporary foreign workers, TIAO will closely monitor the cumulative impacts of these decisions on tourism employers and the industry as a whole—we encourage the federal government to do the same.
International talent is critical to our industry—equally critical is cultivating workforce sustainability within our industry. TIAO therefore reinforces its call for the federal government to allow for TEER 4 and TEER 5 eligibility in Express Entry, which would allow international students and jobseekers to qualify for permanent residency while they are working in the entry level positions that are stepping stones to further career advancement.