A foreign labour recruiter is taking the federal government to court over changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program.
Tim Leahy, who helps Canadian companies hire foreign workers, says amendments to the TFWP are unacceptable. He is seeking an injunction to stymie the new rules.
The Federal Court of Canada has agreed to hear the motion Aug. 11 in at courts in Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto.
Leahy, an immigration lawyer by trade, has been working on the legal challenge for several months.
“I’ve been trying to get employers to litigate the issue,” said Leahy, who owns and operates the recruitment service. “Then I decided to (take action) myself by filing under Forefront Placement (his company) because a lot of the employers are very shy.”
Read Also
Lower nitrogen rates in dry beans could pay off for farmers
Manitoba research is testing whether reduced nitrogen fertilizer in dry beans can maintain yields while cutting costs and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
Leahy said the legal case would be more powerful if corporations such as Maple Leaf Foods joined the fight, but companies that hire foreign workers are worried about a potential government backlash.
Leahy is asking the court to suspend the changes to the program. If the motion is successful, the order would apply only to companies that are Forefront Placement clients.
The federal government reformed TFWP rules following alleged abuses by restaurants. Three McDonald’s restaurants in British Columbia allegedly gave more shifts to foreign workers, while a restaurant in Weyburn, Sask., fired longtime waitresses to hire foreign labour.
The government increased the fees for the TFWP, reduced the length of time that foreign workers can stay in Canada and capped the percentage of temporary foreign labour at a workplace.
Leahy said some of the amendments contravene federal government policy. For instance, the government cannot charge more than its cost for a service. He said the new $1,000 fee to process a labour market assessment for a job category is much higher than the government’s cost.
The Canadian Meat Council has lobbied against the changes, arguing the new rules have exacerbated the labour shortage in the meat processing sector.
Ron Davidson, the council’s director of trade, government and media relations, said meat companies are not participating in the legal action, even though it continues to oppose the changes. The new regulations have made Canada’s meat sector less competitive and less sustainable, he added.
“In brief, rather than resulting in more jobs for Canadians, the inability to access sufficient workers is resulting in the transfer of value-added, innovation, investment, jobs and economic opportunity out of Canada,” Davidson said in an email.
