The Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says the program will help non-seasonal foreign agrifood workers brought to Canada through the temporary foreign worker program secure permanent residency status, instead of having to renew their work permits repeatedly. In addition to the labour shortage problem, the pilot also could address worker exploitation issues in the temporary foreign worker program and help foreign workers gain more stability. Johanna Dennie, a legal aid lawyer, has worked closely with temporary foreign workers in the farming sector. "Foreign workers come to Canada on closed work permits, which means they are tied to specific employers," she said. This announcement comes after the ESDC published a review of the temporary foreign worker program last month which involved interviews with stakeholders, industry leaders and foreign workers.

Source: CBC News March 28, 2019 07:52 UTC