Question Period Note: TEMPORARY WORKER FACILITATION

Processing and facilitation measures for temporary workers

PROPOSED RESPONSE:
• IRCC is facilitating the arrival of temporary workers from overseas and continues to process work permit applications while prioritizing processing for in-demand occupations like health care, agriculture, food, and seafood production.
• Work permit processing timelines have improved significantly since the onset of the pandemic. The Department is working towards achieving the two month processing commitment for clients abroad. Applications from within Canada, including for work permit renewals, are being processed slightly over the four month service standard.
• Canada welcomes millions of visitors, students and temporary foreign workers each year, and demand is growing. To help meet this demand, 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 the needs of Canadian employers and fill critical vacancies in the labour market.
If pressed:
• IRCC has supported temporary workers already in Canada through a number of measures, such as allowing them to switch employers 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.
• A one-time temporary pathway to permanent residence for essential workers was introduced in response to the pandemic to allow those employed in our hospitals, long-term care homes and other essential sectors to apply for permanent residence. Intake under this pathway closed on November 5, 2021.

BACKGROUND:
• There are two temporary work programs in Canada:
o The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is administered by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), who processes the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), with IRCC being responsible for work permit issuance. It helps employers who face difficulty in filling labour shortages where Canadians or permanent residents are not available.
o The International Mobility Program (IMP) is administered by IRCC, and facilitates the entry of workers to support Canada’s broader economic, social, and cultural objectives, or where the work creates reciprocal opportunities for Canadians and permanent residents to work abroad. Eligible applicants under the IMP are LMIA-exempt.
• Temporary foreign workers coming under these programs play an important role in many sectors of the Canadian economy, including those related to food production.
o 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.
o The arrival of agricultural workers remains relatively stable as compared to previous years. This is significant because the arrival of agricultural workers in March through June is critical for Canada’s growing and harvesting seasons.
• While agriculture represents a small share of all work permits issued, a lack of workers in this sector affects businesses and Canada’s food security. As a result, both IRCC and ESDC are prioritizing the processing of work permits and LMIAs (respectively) for the agriculture sector.

• For temporary workers already in Canada, IRCC has introduced several measures to help clients affected by a disruption in services and travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, IRCC has exempted 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. This measure remains in effect.
• IRCC has also implemented targeted measures to ensure foreign nationals already in Canada with a valid job offer can work. These measures remain in effect;
o As of May 12, 2020, IRCC established a process that allows temporary workers who are in Canada with an employer-specific work permit to quickly change employers when they find a new job.
o As of August 24, 2020, another measure was put in place to allow visitors currently in Canada with valid job offers to apply for an employer-specific work permit without leaving the country. This measure matches temporary residents wishing to contribute their labour and skills to Canada’s pandemic recovery with employers who continue to face labour shortages. To a lesser extent, this measure also diverts traffic from the land border where some visitors would have sought to apply for work permits.
• In response to the pandemic, IRCC launched a new, one-time pathway to permanent residence for essential temporary workers and recent international graduates living and working in Canada. The Temporary Pathway to Permanent Residence was very well received and saw over 91,000 applications submitted to the Department prior to its closure on November 5, 2021.
• Three streams with no intake caps were dedicated for submissions from French-speaking and bilingual candidates to promote Canada’s official languages.
• This new pathway complemented existing pathways, including the Agri-Food Pilot, launched on May 15, 2020 which offers pathways to workers in the agriculture and agri-food sectors. Other programs include the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot and the Provincial Nominee Program.

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