TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Thursday, Nov 07, 2024

Families of Foreign Workers in Canada to Get Work Visas

Families of Foreign Workers in Canada to Get Work Visas

In a bid to address a crippling labor shortage and help keep families together, Canada is making it possible for the first time for spouses and working-age children of temporary foreign workers to work legally in the country themselves.
The program, to be rolled out in three phases beginning in January, will remain in place for two years, according to Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser.

“Everywhere I go, employers across the country continue to identify a lack of workers as their biggest obstacle,” Fraser said in announcing the program earlier this month.

“Today’s announcement will help employers find the workers they need to fill their labor gaps by expanding work permits to family members at all skill levels, resulting in family members of over 200,000 foreign workers being able to work in Canada,” he said. “Our government is going to continue helping employers overcome labor shortages, while also supporting the well-being of workers and uniting their families.”

Canada had already begun looking abroad to make up a shortfall of homegrown workers as the economy rebounds rapidly from the coronavirus pandemic. “As of the second quarter of 2022, there were more than a million vacant jobs in Canada — the highest quarterly number on record,” according to the CTV television network.

“Canada is increasingly reliant on temporary foreign workers to fill labor shortage gaps,” according to the government’s statistical agency Statscan, which noted the number of foreign work permits issued in the first 10 months of this year was four times greater than in the same period of 2021.

The new program’s first phase begins with family members of workers coming to Canada in its “high-wage stream,” meaning they will earn more than the median hourly wage for their occupation in the region where they will work.

The second phase will apply to the families of workers in the “low-wage stream,” who will earn less than the median hourly wage. Implementation of the third phase, which will apply to agricultural work, will be subject to negotiation with “agricultural partners and stakeholders,” the government said.

No precise dates have been announced for the introduction of any of the phases.

'Keeping families together'

A government press release announcing the program said the measure “aims to improve the emotional well-being, physical health and financial stability of workers by keeping families together. As a result, it is expected that the worker will better integrate into their overall work environment and community.”

But it seen as a less-than-satisfactory half-measure by Danilo de Leon, chairperson of Migrante Canada, an alliance of Filipino migrant organizations across Canada.

“This is still temporary status for workers and family members,” said de Leon, a 51-year-old delivery driver in Canada on a temporary foreign work visa. Speaking to VOA, he added: “It does not address the issue of abuse of workers in their workplaces. For me, it does not resolve the long-term need of migrant workers, one of which is the permanent residence status.”

Concerns about 'a hierarchy of deservingness'

Idil Atak, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University with a focus on refugee issues, welcomed some aspects of the program but questioned the way it is being introduced.

“This is good news since family reunification is a fundamental right and Canada has been denying it to low-wage foreign workers for some time,” Atak told VOA.

“But the reasons behind the phased approach — with temporary agricultural workers being the last group to be granted the right to family life — are not clear to me. The approach creates a hierarchy of deservingness based on the kind of work performed. Family reunification should be the principle for all workers without discrimination.”

Immigration expert Al Parsai offered two pieces of advice for families hoping to take advantage of the new policy.

“Please take the right steps to qualify,” he said in an interview. “This unique opportunity could end in two years.”

Secondly, he said, “Please be aware of misinformation. You can always double-check the information you receive on the official [Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada] website or consult with a licensed professional.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×