The act should not be taken lightly by either party as there will fines of up to $50,000 for individual employers plus a year in jail while companies will be charged as much as $100,000 upon violation of the act.
Federal government oversight
The move by British Columbia to increase TFWs protection comes after specific changes were made at the national level. It is worth noting that TFWP is under the Employment and Social Development Canada jurisdiction and Michael Ferguson, Canada’s auditor-general criticized the federal government back in 2017 saying that measures to ensure employers across Canada respected TWFP rules were not being fully implemented.
Some of the conclusions to the attorney general’s report include;
- ESDC did not adequately work to ensure temporary foreign workers were only hired as a last resort.
- ESDC did not do sufficient research to determine whether the available positions could be filled by Canadians only.
- ESDC failed to use its expanded powers fully to identify employers that failed to comply with the requirements of the program.
- ESDC did not measure the impact of the program on the labor market.
The attorney general’s criticisms saw several changes take place on the TFWP program. They included;
- Cumulative duration rule was abolished.
- A workforce cap of 10 percent to employers that began using TFWP after June 20, 2014, while those prior that would be capped at 20 percent
- Employers were expected to boost their efforts of signing more Canadians
- Users of TFWP would play a significant role in helping the government transition more Canadians into the workforce.
- Labor market impact assessment fee would be eliminated
- All firms employing temporary workers would face more compliance inspections.
- Workers would enjoy increased awareness of their rights and protections once they arrived.
- Better communication with territories and provinces
- A global Talent stream would be established to allow acquisition of work permits for highly skilled workers within two weeks.
