The federal government wants to reduce the proportion of temporary residents in the Canadian population from 6.2 to 5% by 2027, Immigration Minister Mark Miller announced Thursday.
Canada has seen a sharp increase in the number of temporary residents arriving each year, and the minister has previously indicated that the country has changed. a slave
For temporary workers.
Today, the number of residents and temporary workers in Canada is 2.5 million people, or 6.2% of the country's population.
Early recognition of Canada's future economic vitality It depends on the people we welcome today
Minister Mark Miller explained that the country had to deal with significant population movements around the world.
Climate change, economic and political upheaval, human rights violations and of course wars are some of the reasons why millions of people are looking for a better place to live.
For example, by the end of March, nearly 300,000 Ukrainians will have sought refuge in Canada since Russia invaded their country two years ago.
The asylum seekers were stopped by border officials at the illegal entry point on Wroxham Road between Quebec and New York state.
Photo: Canadian Press
Considering that all temporary residents and workers immigrating to Canada require care, services, housing, various aids and education, the pressure on the Canadian social system promises to be enormous.
We cannot ignore the pressures created by historic volumes of asylum seekers coming to Canada, Mark Miller stressed. It is essential to have an adequately resourced system to effectively and fairly process asylum applications and manage temporary resident batches.
Critical sectors of our economy require many temporary foreign workers […] Changes are needed to make the system more efficient and stable.
In fact, Ottawa has already started turning off the pipeline by imposing a two-year stay limit on new international students, restricting eligibility for postgraduate work permits and work permits for students' spouses, and establishing a partial visa requirement for Mexican travelers.
The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship has ordered a review of programs that welcome temporary residents into the country, to better align them with labor needs, while eliminating irregularities in the system.
Whether this will be enough to reduce the proportion of temporary residents to 5% of the Canadian population by 2027 remains to be seen.
Temporary employees are also affected
Employment and Workforce Development Minister Randy Boissonnault has announced that the Action Plan for Employers and Workers and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program will not be renewed unless they end earlier than expected this spring.
Many foreign workers work in agricultural operations where there is a shortage of local workers.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Daniel Thomas
up to 1R May 2024:
- To ensure an accurate representation of labor market activity, the new Labor Market Impact Assessments are valid for 6 months, as opposed to 12 months.
- With the exception of the construction and health care sectors, all employers targeted by the 2022 Action Plan will see the percentage of workers coming from the low-wage component of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program decrease from 30% to 20%.
- Employers should consider all options before applying for a labor market impact assessment, including recruiting asylum seekers with a valid work permit in Canada.
In conjunction with the Provinces and Territories
However, Ottawa does not want to act unilaterally on this delicate matter. Mark Miller explained that he plans to convene his provincial and territorial counterparts next May to discuss how to achieve these goals.
After consultation with provinces and territories, the first reduction targets will be announced in the fall.
In Quebec, reactions were swift. Emphasizes Ottawa's recognition of the problem A first step
Quebec's immigration minister, Christine Frechet, reminded the federal government of Quebec's welcoming capacity. reached its limit
and government services They are under a lot of pressure
.
Quebec Immigration Minister, Christine Fréchette
Photo: The Canadian Press/Jacques Bossinot
Mr. Trudeau last week said Mr. During the meeting with Legault, he expressed several openings, particularly regarding the selection of Quebec's temporary staff. We will follow closely. Central government should work with us.
Regarding the spring meeting with the provinces mentioned by Minister Miller, Ms. Fresset added. We will analyze everything when we have more details
.
With information from the Canadian Press
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