Canada’s temporary workers

Edgar and the other Filipino men who help Zoran run his Calgary business are among a growing numbers of foreigners working in Canada with temporary visas.

As of December 2008 there were over 250,000 such guest workers in the country - their presence marking a major shift in Canadian immigration and labour policy. According to a 2009 report from the Maytree Foundation -  for the first time in history, the number of temporary residents entering Canada, as either workers or students, now exceeds the number of new permanent immigrants.  
This trend is particularly pronounced in Alberta.  With one tenth of the total Canadian population, the province has been the destination for one in five foreign temporary workers. During the pre-recession boom years, certain sectors of the provincial economy were plagued by acute labour shortages, and guest workers helped fill this gap.

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program was established by the federal government in 2002 to alleviate such labour shortages, but its rapid expansion has raised concerns. Critics say that the program risks creating an under-protected class of labourers, while failing to address the long-term needs of Canada’s economy.

In a report released in August, 2009, the federal government’s Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration addressed some of these concerns. Among its recommendations: a suggestion that the government establish an official channel allowing temporary workers to become permanent residents.

Canada’s Auditor General Sheila Fraser raised concerns over the program in a her fall report, released Nov 3, in which she maintains “that current practices of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) do not ensure that foreign worker programs are delivered efficiently and effectively."

She goes on to claim that the program leaves “many foreign workers in a vulnerable position, particularly those who are physically or linguistically isolated from the general community or are unaware of their rights.”

Naomi Alboim, adjunct professor with the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University, addressed the issue in Adjusting the Balance: Fixing Canada’s Economic Immigration Policies, a 2009 report for the Maytree Foundation. She notes that the increase in temporary entrants coincided with greater restrictions on the numbers of skilled workers entering Canada as permanent immigrants, and maintains that current immigration policies fail to address the country’s long-term economic needs.

The economic crisis has put temporary workers in an precarious position. Those who lose their jobs do not have access to employment insurance - and getting hired elsewhere is contingent on the prospective employer proving that the job cannot be done by a permanent resident. Meanwhile in Alberta, the numbers of unemployed worker have been growing.

Some facts & figures:

-    The number of temporary foreign workers entering Canada increased from 112,719 in 2004 to 193,061 in 2008.
-    Temporary residents do not have access to the same supports and services as permanent Canadian residents.
-    Between September 2008 and September 2009, the employment rate among immigrants who’ve been in Canada for five years or less dropped by 5.7% - compared to 1.6% for Canadian-born workers.
-    Many immigrants are employed in those sectors most affected by the current recession. Statscan data shows that manufacturing and retail contain the biggest proportion of landed immigrants among their work forces.
-    Evidence from past recessions suggests that immigrants have more difficulty re-entering the job market once the economy recovers.

Sources:

Temporary Foreign Workers and Non-Status Workers, 2009 report from Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration

2009 Fall Report of the Auditor-General of Canada

Toronto Star, Nov 5, 2009

Globe and Mail, 10 September 2009

Adjusting the Balance: Fixing Canada’s Economic Immigration Policies, Maytree Foundation, 2009.