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The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program is complex and multi-faceted,
touching the lives of many Canadians, permanent residents, and foreign nationals.
It is designed to facilitate economic growth by responding to labour market needs,
while ensuring a balance is kept between the interests of businesses and those of the
Canadian workforce.
The TFW Program was created in 1973 to allow employers to hire foreign nationals
to fill gaps in their workforces on a temporary basis. The program has grown and been
updated over the years to respond to Canadian labour market conditions. However,
employers and temporary foreign workers have expressed long-standing concerns over
various aspects of the program. Significant reforms announced in June 2014 have also
had an impact on them. In February 2016, in response to feedback from various
stakeholders with respect to the TFW Program, the Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk,
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, indicated that a
comprehensive review of the program was imminent and that a study by a parliamentary
committee could offer support in this regard.
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On 21 March 2016, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human
Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (the
Committee) adopted a motion to study the TFW Program, with a “focus on the current
program and ways to improve it.”2
The Committee held a total of five meetings between
11 May and 1 June 2016, during which time it heard from 47 witnesses, including
representatives from two federal government departments, labour organizations, advocacy
groups, industry associations, business representatives, as well as temporary foreign
workers. In addition to these public hearings, the Committee received a total of 63 briefs.
Committee members are deeply appreciative of the insights and personal
experiences shared by the various participants, and would like to sincerely thank them for
their assistance in understanding program intricacies and potential reform options.
The Committee listened carefully to the testimony placed before it and now reports
on its findings.