The Government of Canada recently announced changes that apply to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program’s (TFWP) four-year cumulative duration rule, which will no longer apply to temporary foreign workers in Canada, effective immediately. An exemption is also being made on the cap for seasonal industries seeking temporary foreign workers for up to 180 days during the 2017 calendar year and will be extended until December 31, 2017. More changes for immigration and the TFWP are expected in the new year.
Prior to the change, the cumulative duration rule forced skilled agriculture workers that were trained in Canada to leave after four years. This was creating a skills deficit for Canadian agricultural employers and was acting as a restrictive barrier for the pathway to permanency for farm and food workers.
Statistics Canada evidence shows that recruitment for agricultural employers is ongoing and continuous. Agriculture and agri-food stakeholders have provided feedback that the industry is dealing with unique workforce issues such as: rural location; handling of live plants and animals; strenuous physical work; and a high degree of seasonality.
Fixing the cumulative duration rule has been a long-standing recommendation of the LTF, comprised of industry representatives from the value chain, including the seafood sector, who have developed the Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Workforce Action Plan to address the critical labour shortage. This proposed Canadian agriculture employment strategy is led by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) and supported by over 77 agriculture associations (including Landscape Alberta’s national partner, the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association).