The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is urging the federal government to conduct a “meticulous review” of the temporary foreign worker program amid mounting political pressure to end it altogether.
In a letter sent to Employment and Immigration ministers last week, the chamber argued that fears over the program’s impact on Canadian youth employment are largely overstated. Diana Palmerin-Velasco, senior director of the chamber’s future of work department, said data shows little connection between high youth unemployment and temporary workers, since people aged 15 to 24 generally aren’t applying for the jobs filled by temporary labour.
Conservative MPs have been pressing Ottawa to shut down the program entirely, pointing to rising youth joblessness. The federal government, meanwhile, has already placed limits on its use, pledging not to issue labour market impact assessments—the permits required to hire through the program—in regions where unemployment tops six per cent.
The chamber’s letter also called for more transparency in the International Mobility Program, a related system with limited tracking mechanisms. “Better data is needed to identify how and where people are working under this program,” the letter stated.
While political debate intensifies, business leaders maintain that temporary foreign workers remain a critical part of Canada’s labour market and that reforms should be guided by evidence, not pressure.