TORONTO – The government of Canada is exploring the possibility of limiting the entry of temporary foreign workers.
Canadian Immigration Minister recently announced to review the program under which foreign workers are hired by businesses for a limited period of time.
The minister revealed plans to restrict students’ off-campus work hours besides reviewing the country’s temporary foreign worker program.
At present, students are allowed 40 hours of off-campus work, a measure introduced at the time of the pandemic; however, Minister Marc Miller plans to revise the work hours allowed.
‘We have gotten addicted to temporary foreign workers,’ Miller said while referring to the temporary workers and said he was collaborating with the Employment Ministry to review the program citing wage abuses.
As far as students’ work hours are allowed, the minister said the amendment would allow more than 20 hours of work per week but less than 40 hours.
Meanwhile, representatives of the business community are deriding the move aimed at limiting the flow of foreign workers.
In his interview with Bloomberg, Miller also took aim at the colleges for exploiting international students and not equipping them with the experience they were once promised, saying some institutions are relying on fast money.
The announcement comes weeks after Canada introduced reforms to reduce the inflow of international students by 35 percent.
For 2024, the cap is expected to result in approximately 360,000 approved study permits, a decrease of 35% from 2023,’ an official press release stated.
The government also confirmed that the study permit renewals and current study permit holders will not be impacted and those pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees, and elementary and secondary education are also not included in the cap.
The government stated that in recent years, the integrity of the international student system has been threatened and some institutions have significantly increased their intakes to drive revenues, and more students have been arriving in Canada without the proper support they need to succeed.
‘Rapid increase in the number of international students arriving in Canada also puts pressure on housing, health care and other services. As we work to better protect international students from bad actors and support sustainable population growth in Canada, the government is moving forward with measures to stabilize the number of international students in Canada,’ the press release read.
