Editor, The News:
Recently, Canadians have raised concerns about the Temporary Foreign Worker Program being used by some employers to replace Canadians with foreign workers.
Our government’s priority is to ensure that Canadians get first crack at available jobs in their area.
Our responsibility is to Canadians, which is why we launched a review of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program as per our commitment made to taxpayers in Economic Action Plan 2013. We moved quickly to identify and correct any problems that may prevent qualified Canadian workers from being given first chance at available jobs.
First, we are mandating that companies must produce a solid plan to transition from the use of foreign workers to Canadians — that means training Canadians if necessary. This will ensure that temporary foreign workers do not become permanent fixtures and long-term solutions.
We are also ensuring that we hold companies accountable, by increasing our authority to revoke work permits for those companies that do not play by the rules. We are asking additional questions as part of the application process to ensure that when employers bring in temporary foreign workers no Canadian workers are displaced as a result.
Also, we will require that employers using the Temporary Foreign Worker Program pay temporary foreign workers at the prevailing wage for a job.
These are just a few of the reforms we are introducing. These changes will strengthen and improve the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to support our economic recovery and growth.
Randy Kamp, MP
Pitt Meadows–Maple
Ridge–Mission