Human Resources Legislative Update
Federal Government Proposes Amendments to Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Date: October 28, 2014
On October 23, 2014, the federal government introduced Bill C-43, Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2, omnibus legislation intended to further implement measures first announced in its Budget 2014, Economic Action Plan 2014.
Among other matters, Division 24 of Part 4 of Bill C-43 would amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“Act”) to support a number of reforms to the temporary foreign worker program (“TFWP”) that were previously announced. These include proposed measures authorizing the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration or the Minister of Employment and Social Development (“ESDC”) to publish the name and address of employers on a “black list,” where the employer has been convicted of an offence under the Act or under “any other federal or provincial law that regulates employment or the recruiting of employees” in specified circumstances related to the TFWP, among other things (s. 30.1).