Foreign workers in Canada are protected
The new measures will prevent misconduct by employers.
The Canadian government is strengthens protections for temporary foreign workers. On September 26, a series of measures were announced to ensure the health and safety of these workers and, above all, to prevent abuse by employers.
What exactly has been adopted by the government:
- employers are now required to provide foreign workers with information about their rights in Canada;
- reprisals by employers are prohibited, for example, against those who have filed any kind of complaint;
- charging any fees for employment is prohibited;
- employers must ensure that employees have access to medical services and, if necessary, provide health insurance.
The government believes that through these measures, fewer unscrupulous employers will invite job seekers from abroad, and it will be easier for regulators to conduct inspections and apply penalties to those who do not comply with the law.
Canada will also stop processing Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications if it is suspected that the company's failure to comply with the new rules will endanger the employee's health and safety. An LMIA is a document that is almost always required for the employment of an applicant from abroad.
Protection of foreign workers will continue to improve over the coming years and will include the following actions:
- improvement of company verification tools;
- expanding employee support services so they can anonymously report misconduct by employers;
- awareness of employers of their obligations to employees;
- increasing cooperation with the regions of Canada to identify problems promptly.
Canada also publishes a list of employers who have committed violations on a special website.
