Improvements to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program is jointly administered by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), under the authority of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its regulations.
Under the program, Service Canada (under HRSDC) is responsible for authorizing employers to hire a temporary foreign worker. This authorization is known as a Labour Market Opinion (LMO). It ensures that hiring a temporary foreign worker for the job is not likely to have a negative impact on the Canadian labour market. Certain types of workers are exempt from this requirement, which means that workers may apply for a work permit without an LMO.
CIC is responsible for authorizing work permits to temporary foreign workers. The LMO is one factor taken into consideration when authorizing a work permit. Other factors include an assessment of health and security criteria, among others, and whether the worker is qualified to do the job.
In recent years, both the federal and provincial governments have undertaken numerous initiatives to improve the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and to enhance protections offered to temporary foreign workers.
