Question Period Note: Unannounced on-site inspections for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

What was the rationale for launching unannounced on-site inspections for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in 2018?

• The Department takes seriously all allegations of abuse against temporary foreign workers or misuse of the Program.

• Based on advice and recommendations by Parliament, the Department implemented unannounced onsite inspections in 2018.

• Conducting unannounced on-site inspections increases the Department’s ability to protect foreign workers.

• Unannounced inspections were launched in February 2018 and are an important addition to the Department’s compliance activities aimed at targeting the most serious cases of potential abuse. Evidence gathered through consultations with a broad range of compliance-based federal, provincial and municipal organizations highlight the importance of this type of inspection in identifying cases of abuse and exploitation.

• Budget 2018 provided three years of funding for unannounced on-site inspections, covering fiscal years 2018-19 to 2020-21. During this period, annual unannounced inspections objective will be increasing from 570 to 1,500 inspections.

• In 2018-2019, over 2,000 on-site visits were conducted, including more than 600 that were unannounced. These visits may be conducted as part of ongoing inspection processes or inspections that have already been completed.

• For current fiscal year 2019-2020, as of October 31, 2019, over 1,700 on-site visits have been conducted, with over 750 of them being unannounced.

• In 2019-2020, employers have taken corrective action in over 36% of the completed inspections, with 47 employers being found non-compliant receiving a sanction and/or ban from using the program and having their information posted to the public facing website managed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

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