Canadian govt hints at big reforms in permanent residence immigration

That indication came from Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller. In an interview on Monday to the outlet CTV News, he said, “Now it’s time to take a look at them and put real options on the table for the Prime Minister and for other Cabinet ministers to look at, and not cosmetic changes simply to deal with public opinion. Real significant change.”

Miller’s statement came hours after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an overhaul of the temporary foreign workers programme (TFWP), as he began a Cabinet retreat in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It came as the ruling Liberal Party Government has suffered politically due to a perception of presiding over an out-of-control immigration system, which has impacted shelter affordability and placed stress on health and transportation infrastructure, among other areas.

Newcomers have also suffered due to the growing anti-immigrant sentiment, verging on xenophobia, which has targeted the most visible of them, Indians, particularly Sikhs.

“We are tightening the rules and restricting eligibility to reduce the number of low-wage, temporary foreign workers in Canada, with exceptions in certain industries like health care, construction and food security,” Trudeau said while interacting with the media in Halifax.

The nodal agency, the Ministry of Employment and Social Development of Canada (ESDC), stated, in a release, that beginning September 26, the Government will refuse to process applications in the low-wage stream of the TFWP in census metropolitan areas where the unemployment rate is 6 per cent o higher.

Employers will also be only able to hire 10 per cent of their workforce through this stream, down from the current 20 per cent and the duration of employment for such workers is being cut from two years to one.

Canada’s unemployment rate has risen to 6.4 per cent in May and June. There were 1.4 million unemployed persons as of June, up 42000 from May. According to Government data, the number of workers admitted under the low-wage TFWP has escalated from 15,817 in 2016 to 83,654 in 2023.

“It’s not fair to Canadians struggling to find a good job, and it’s not fair to those temporary foreign workers, some of whom are being mistreated and exploited,” Trudeau said.

While no specifics were mentioned with regard to PRs, Trudeau said, “We’re making sure that the entire package makes as much sense as possible for the needs of Canadians and for the needs of our economy.”