Residents of Toronto are taking to social media to urge the federal government to pause the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) following Quebec’s recent decision to halt processing certain applications.
The move comes after Quebec, in collaboration with the federal government, announced a temporary pause on Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) application processing for low-wage jobs.
Earlier this week, Quebec Premier François Legault’s government announced that starting September 3, the province would suspend the processing of new LMIA applications for jobs paying below $27.47 per hour in the greater Montreal economic region.
This hourly rate represents Quebec’s median wage. The suspension, which will last six months, addresses the significant influx of temporary foreign workers into the province over the past year.
The suspension is expected to impact many communities within the greater Montreal area, particularly those with jobs offering wages below the median rate. However, the pause does not extend to positions offering annual salaries of $57,000 or more or those in education, healthcare, food processing, and construction sectors.
Legault cited the province’s record number of temporary residents, which reached 528,034 in the last quarter of the previous year, as a key factor behind the decision. This figure represents a sharp increase from 360,936 temporary residents a year earlier.
The Quebec government has been vocal about its intention to maintain strict immigration targets, aiming to preserve the French language and Quebecois culture.
Following Quebec’s lead, social media users in Ontario are now calling for similar measures to be implemented in Toronto. The push for a pause in the low-wage stream of the TFWP reflects growing concerns over the rising number of temporary foreign workers in the province and its potential impact on local labor markets.
The post Ontario Faces Calls for Suspension of Low-Wage TFWP Amid Quebec’s Recent Pause appeared first on CI News | Latest Canada Immigration News.
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