Government cracks down on misuse of foreign worker programs

Pierre Poilievre, minister of Employment and Social Development, says employers who break the rules of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the International Mobility Program (IMP) will face significant new penalties.

In June 2014, the government announced that these penalties would be enhanced. Beginning December 1, employers who are found non-compliant could be subject to:

• financial penalties ranging from $500 to $100,000 per violation, and up to $1 million in a one-year period; and
• bans of various lengths from foreign worker programs (including bans lasting for one-, two-, five- and ten-year terms), versus previous two-year bans; and
• permanent bans for serious violations.

The new consequences will encourage compliance and help prevent employers from misusing the programs or mistreating workers by ensuring that employers who violate program conditions face appropriate consequences. When compliance is not achieved, these new consequences will match the abuse.

Quick Facts

• Since 2013, Employment and Social Development Canada has conducted thousands of inspections to verify employer compliance with TFWP requirements.
• Since the launch of the Confidential Tip Line in April 2014 and the Online Fraud Reporting tool in June 2014, the department has received thousands of complaints of alleged violations.
• Since 2010, the department has revoked more than 400 Labour Market Impact Assessments, in cases where employers had broken the rules of the TFWP.

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