Question Period Note: LABOUR SHORTAGES

Immigration responses to acute labour shortages across Canada

PROPOSED RESPONSE:
• Immigration is essential to Canada’s short-term recovery from COVID-19 and long-term prosperity. We are committed to welcoming newcomers who bring the skills our economy needs to help Canada stay competitive and tackle labour shortages.
• Canada welcomed the highest number of permanent residents in a single year – some 405,000 in 2021. So far this year (up to May 2022), we have processed over 250,000 permanent residence applications, welcoming people from all over the world through our programs, most of whom will contribute to the labour market.
• Further, Budget 2022 committed $385.7 million over five years and $86.5 million ongoing for IRCC and federal partners to ensure the timely and efficient entry of temporary workers to meet employer needs and fill critical vacancies in the labour market.
• IRCC continues to prioritize processing of work permit applications for in-demand sectors like health care, agriculture, and transportation.
• IRCC also supports foreign nationals working in Canada through a number of measures, such as allowing them to switch employers more quickly once they have found a new job, and permitting those with visitor status to apply for a work permit without having to leave Canada.

BACKGROUND:
• The immigration system supports the government’s broader effort to ensure Canadian employers have the workers they need to address immediate labour shortages and grow the economy.
Permanent Resident Programs
• The 2022-2024 Immigration Levels Plan sets ambitious immigration targets, aiming to welcome 431,645 new permanent residents in 2022, 447,055 in 2023, and 451,000 in 2024. It recognizes immigration as a key driver of economic recovery and growth, with close to 60% of projected admissions in the economic class.
o In 2021, Canada welcomed over 405,000 new permanent residents, a record in the last century.
Provincial Nominee Program
• The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) was created in 1998 to promote regionalization of economic immigration. The program enables participating provinces and territories to create streams to nominate immigrants who meet local labour market and economic needs, who have skills and experiences that will increase their likelihood of residing and economically establishing in their region, and who have an intention to reside in their province or territory.
• The program has grown significantly since it was launched. It represents roughly 35% of all planned economic admissions, making it the second largest economic immigration program and it is the main source of economic immigration for 9 of the 11 participating jurisdictions.
Atlantic Immigration Program
• The Atlantic Immigration Pilot was launched in 2017 to meet regional economic and demographic growth needs in Atlantic Canada. An IRCC evaluation of the pilot in 2021 found that the program was largely successful in supporting labour market needs in Atlantic Canada as a result of its unique employer-driven model, enhanced settlement supports, and federal-provincial partnership approach. In 2022, the pilot was made into a permanent program, which will continue to help employers find skilled workers to fill jobs, so they can grow their businesses and the economy.
Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway
• In 2021, a time-limited Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway targeting recent international graduates and essential workers in areas such a healthcare saw over 91,000 applications. Dedicated streams for French-speaking and bilingual temporary residents were included. Close to 24,000 new permanent residents were admitted through this pathway in 2021 and approximately 17,000 more have been admitted to the end of March 2022, or 42.5% of the 40,000 planned admissions for 2022. A further 32,000 admissions are planned in 2023.
• To help address labour shortages, further facilitation for those who applied for permanent residence through the Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident pathway were announced and remain in effect. These include:
o Applicants will no longer be required to remain in Canada while their application is being processed.
o Applicants who apply for an open work permit while waiting for their permanent residence application to be finalized will be able to get work permits valid until the end of 2024. This will ensure that all permanent residence applications will be finalized before applicants will need to apply to extend their temporary status again.
o To support family reunification, immediate family members who are outside Canada and who were included in a principal applicant’s permanent residence application will be eligible for their own open work permit.
Future Measures
• Additional measures include the Budget 2021 announcement that the Government intends to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to improve Canada’s ability to select applicants who match its changing and diverse economic and labour force needs. These people will be from the growing pool of candidates seeking to become permanent residents through the Express Entry System.
• A comprehensive plan, as per a motion approved by the House of Commons, to expand the economic immigration stream to allow workers of all skill levels to meet the full range of labour needs and pathways to permanent residency for temporary foreign workers, including international students, with significant Canadian work experience in sectors with persistent labour shortages is being developed and is expected to be publicly released in September 2022.
Temporary Worker Programs and Facilitation
• Both the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the International Mobility Program (IMP) are key demand-driven options for employers with short-term labour needs.
o The TFWP enables employers in Canada to fill labour and skills shortages on a temporary basis when Canadians and permanent residents are not available. It is designed to be responsive to changes in the labour market by requiring employers to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment of hiring foreign workers.
o The IMP is delivered solely by IRCC and allows employers to hire temporary workers without a Labour Market Impact Assessment in support of broader economic, social and/or cultural goals or reciprocal benefits to Canada. The IMP is intended to enable foreign workers to participate in a range of occupations that advance Canada’s interests.
• Temporary foreign workers coming under these programs play an important role in many sectors of the Canadian economy. From January to December 2021, approximately 113,900 work permits were issued under the TFWP and 485,400 under the IMP, for a total of 599,300.
• All agriculture temporary foreign workers receive work permits through the various agriculture streams of the TFWP, and play a vital role in securing Canada’s food supply.
o Approximately 56,000 workers enter Canada each year to support crop planting and harvesting. Key source countries are Mexico, Guatemala, Jamaica and ten other Caribbean countries. Agricultural workers from these countries are facilitated via the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), also run by ESDC.
o Created in 1996, the SAWP allows employers to hire temporary foreign workers from Mexico and 11 other participating Caribbean countries. The program operates according to bilateral agreements between Canada and the participating countries.
• For TFWs who are already in Canada with a valid job offer, IRCC introduced a number of measures to ensure they can quickly transition to work. These include public policies that:
o allow temporary foreign workers in Canada who have lost their job or are changing jobs to start work with a new employer more quickly while their work permit application is processed (remains in effect);
o allow visitors in Canada with a valid job offer to apply for a work permit without having to leave Canada, and to allow former work permit holders to begin working before their application is fully processed (in effect until end of February 2023);
o exempt foreign nationals in Canada from having to provide biometrics for all pending and new applications or requests for a temporary resident visa or status, work or study permit, or temporary resident permit (remains in effect).
• Employment and Social Development Canada has also introduced a suite of measures under the Workforce Solutions Road Map to address labour market shortages. These include:
o allowing employers in seasonal industries, such as the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, to hire temporary foreign workers for up to 270 days per year without those workers being counted against the cap for low-wage positions. This is up from 180 days.
o extending the validity period of Labour Market Impact Assessments – the period of time an LMIA can be used to support a work permit application – to 18 months from the 6 month pre-pandemic limit to allow employers more time to hire temporary foreign workers.
o increasing the TFWP cap on low wage workers to allow employers the ability to hire up to 20% of their workforce through the TFWP for low-wage positions (up from 10%) until further notice. Sectors with demonstrated labour shortages, such as Accommodation and Food Services, are allowed to hire up to 30% for one year.
o ending the policy that automatically refuses LMIA applications for low-wage occupations in the Accommodation and Food Services and Retail Trade sectors in regions with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher.
• IRCC launched the Global Skills Strategy (GSS) in June 2017 to provide companies access to top talent by getting highly skilled workers into our country faster. Over 73,900 highly skilled workers (principal applicants) have been approved under the GSS to work in occupations such as computer programming, information system analysis and software engineering, the majority of whom have come to Canada through the IMP
Temporary Policy Changes to the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program and Distance Learning
• A temporary measure on distance learning is in place until August 31, 2022 that allows international students to complete up to 100% of their studies at a Canadian designated learning institution from outside Canada and remain eligible for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP).
• Under normal circumstances, 50% of a program of study at a Canadian designated learning institution (DLI) must be completed in Canada to remain eligible for a PGWP.
• Beginning summer 2022, PGWP-holders with work permits set to expire between January and December 2022 will be eligible for a one-time additional work permit of up to 18 months.
Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET)
• On March 17, 2022, the Department implemented a variety of measures to support Ukrainians outside and inside Canada, including the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET), which enables Ukrainian nationals and their immediate family members to stay in Canada as temporary residents for up to three years.
• Ukrainians and their family members coming to Canada receive 3-year open work permits, allowing them to work in any province and for any employer in Canada (excluding health care and agriculture occupations unless the foreign nationals has submitted results of a medical examination once in Canada) as long as the work permit is valid.
• IRCC has approved over 131,763 Ukrainian nationals under this initiative between March 17 and June 8, 2022, the majority of whom are well positioned to enter Canada’s workforce and fill existing labour market shortages immediately upon arrival.

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