2013-08-13
Canadian Press
National Post
OTTAWA — The Harper government says it has further tightened the rules governing its controversial temporary foreign worker program, confirming it will charge employers $275 for each application they make.
The new rules, which build on measures announced in April, include additional restrictions on what language proficiency employers can request, broader requirements to advertise job openings and a new questionnaire that tries to ferret out whether a firm is seeking to replace existing Canadian workers.
“Qualified Canadians, including new Canadians, should have first crack at available jobs,” Immigration Minister Chris Alexander — who made the announcement jointly with Employment and Social Development Minister Jason Kenney — said in a statement Wednesday.
Kenney said the $275 fee ensures that taxpayers no longer pay the cost of processing employer applications.
Last year, 60 per cent of processed applications were never actually filled by employers, costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, the release says. The government expects the fee to cut applications by about 30 per cent.
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