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Employment

Question period focused on the temporary foreign worker program. Conservatives argued the program hurts young Canadian workers’ job prospects, that the government allowed higher use of the program despite rising youth unemployment, and that administering it cost more than expected, asking the government to end the program and stop issuing new permits. Liberal ministers replied that the program requires Canadians to be offered jobs first, that employers are inspected to ensure foreign workers are treated fairly, that its use has declined, and that it remains available for businesses that cannot find local workers. One Liberal member also pointed to a past petition by the member for Saskatoon West to fast-track foreign students.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

6 statements

Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“The temporary foreign worker program hurts pay, working conditions, and jobs for young Canadians. The government also wasted money running it. The government should end this program and replace it with a fair deal for young workers, food producers, and areas that need jobs.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the temporary foreign worker program suppresses wages, creates poor working conditions and kills entry-level jobs for our Canadian youth. Now, we have learned that the Liberals spent $1.6 billion over the last five years to administer the TFW program, and they lost $500 million in the process. Instead of issuing 215,000 new foreign work permits this year, the Liberals should immediately abolish the TFW program and replace it with a fair deal for young workers, food‑producing industries and regions with extremely low employment. When will the Liberal government abolish the expensive, wasteful and destructive temporary foreign worker program?

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Patty Hajdu

Liberal
“The foreign worker program has three rules. First, Canadians get the first chance at jobs. Second, bosses must treat foreign workers fairly, and we inspect them to be sure. Third, businesses that cannot find local workers can hire from abroad to stay open.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the temporary foreign worker program is administered with three principles. First of all, the program makes sure that any Canadian who wants that job comes first. Second of all, it makes sure that employers that are eligible for temporary foreign workers treat those workers with respect and honour and follow those rules. We have inspectors to make sure that happens. The third principle is to make sure that employers in areas where very tight employment exists can access workers to keep their businesses alive, which is something that many of that member’s colleagues have written to me to expand.

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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“The government wasted $500 million on the temporary foreign worker program over five years. I want the Prime Minister to admit he lost control, stop giving out new foreign work permits, and end this program.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals blew $500 million on the temporary foreign worker program in the last five years. Let us see who spent that money. That $500 million was spent while the current Minister of Justice had the file. That $500 million was spent while the current Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture was in the role. The current immigration minister is on track to spend even more. That is quite the list of captains on the IRCC Titanic. Will the Prime Minister admit that he has lost control and finally put someone in charge who will stop issuing new foreign work permits and abolish the temporary foreign worker program?

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Buckley Belanger

Liberal
“A few years ago, the member for Saskatoon West started a petition to fast-track foreign students. He needs to tell the truth about his stance on immigration, because he is misleading either his voters or the rest of Canada.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I want to point out that a couple of years ago the headline was that the Canadian Conservative Party had launched a petition to fast-track students. That was the member for Saskatoon West. He has to come clean regarding the immigration piece. When it comes to the issue for the member, he must clarify whom he is misleading. Is it the voters back in Saskatoon, or the people of Canada?

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Brad Vis

Conservative
“The government allowed more temporary foreign workers into Canada even though youth unemployment is high and the country lost jobs. The program also lost hundreds of millions of dollars. How does the government justify this to young people who cannot find work?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, in March, the government increased the temporary foreign worker program from 10% to 15% for thousands of work sites in remote and rural communities across Canada. At the same time, Canada lost 112,000 jobs in that same period of time and the youth unemployment rate was at 14.3%. Through my Order Paper question yesterday, we learned that the program for temporary foreign workers cost $1.6 billion with a net loss of $509 million. What will the government say to the hundreds of thousands of unemployed youth in this country when they are increasing the number of temporary foreign workers this year?

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Patty Hajdu

Liberal
“The member's numbers are wrong. Businesses are using fewer temporary foreign workers now and are hiring Canadians instead. We made it much harder for employers to hire foreign workers in areas where many Canadians need jobs.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, that member’s numbers are quite incorrect. In fact, temporary foreign worker use has declined, so much so that the large corporations that many of his colleagues continue to advocate for are actually now focused entirely on Canadian talent. That is the way it should be, and that is why we have taken these actions. It is much harder for employers to hire temporary foreign workers in regions with high unemployment rates and in regions where people are looking for work. In fact, this work is what we are doing despite the advocacy of many of that person’s colleagues. Maybe they can get their messaging clearer.

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