Employers of temporary foreign workers got more fines, bans in 2024

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Published: January 20, 2025

Photo: gomezdavid/iStock/Getty Images

The federal government says it came down hard on non-compliant employers of temporary foreign workers in 2024.

Employment and Social Development Canada handed out $2.1 million in financial penalties to employers of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) between April and September 2024. This was more than double the fines given in the same period of 2023, according to a federal news release.

Federal officials also banned 20 employers from the TFW program, a fivefold increase from the same period last year.

This includes an employer from the farming sector, who was fined $75,000 and banned for five years for failing to provide required documentation, being absent from a meeting scheduled with inspectors and “failing to demonstrate they were operating a legitimate business,” the news release said.

Read Also

Employers of temporary foreign workers got more fines, bans in 2024

Canada seeks pact with Southeast Asian countries to diversify trade

Canada is seeking to finalize a free trade deal with Southeast Asian nations as part of a push to expand into new markets, its top diplomat said, responding to the hefty tariffs imposed on it by the United States, its neighbour and largest trade partner.

Between April 1 and September 30, federal officials conducted 649 employer compliance inspections. Eleven per cent were non-compliant.

The federal government has been cracking down on misuse of the temporary foreign worker system.

In March, it reduced the percentage of allowable temporary foreign workers in some sectors, including hospitality, food service and food manufacturing. In September, the cap was reduced to 10 per cent, but food processing was exempted.

Seasonal agricultural workers, who are hired under a different stream, were not affected.

In August, it introduced stricter oversight of Labour Market Impact Assessments, which are used by employers to demonstrate the need for foreign workers to fill job vacancies.

In September, the federal government said it would refuse to process assessments in census metropolitan areas where unemployment is over six per cent. It would also only approve workers under the low wage stream for one year.

About the author

Geralyn Wichers

Geralyn Wichers

Reporter

Geralyn Wichers grew up on a hobby farm near Anola, Manitoba, where her family raised cattle, pigs and chickens. Geralyn graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2019 and was previously a reporter for The Carillon in Steinbach. Geralyn is also a published author of science fiction and fantasy novels.

explore

Stories from our other publications