Canadian Temporary Foreign Worker program continues to spiral upward after 22 per cent increase in 2007

According to a new statistics by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), there were 201,057 temporary foreign workers in the country in 2007, a 22 per cent increase from the previous year.

In its stock count of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW), CIC has measured the number of temporary residents present in Canada on December 1, 2007. While these official figures show a continued upward trend in the stock counts of Ontario and British Columbia with an increase of 14 and 23 per cent respectively, no other province has experienced a dramatic increase in its temporary foreign workers as Alberta.

As of December 1, 2007 figures, the number of temporary foreign workers in Alberta is more than double in two years. In 2007, there were 37,257 temporary foreign workers in Alberta, a 66 per cent increase from the previous year.

This inflow of temporary foreign workers also outnumbers the arrival of permanent residents in Alberta. In 2006, Alberta became the first province in Canada to bring more workers into the country under the Temporary Foreign Worker program than under its mainstream provincial nominee immigration program. In 2007, that troubling trend accelerated with the number of temporary foreign workers growing to nearly double the number of new immigrants coming to the province.

Alberta is now home to almost one of every five temporary workers in Canada, while it maintains only 8.8 per cent of permanent immigrants in Canada.

The increase in temporary foreign worker numbers is due in part to the chronic labor shortages that have plagued Alberta and other parts of Canada. The Government of Canada has attempted to make it easier to hire workers from abroad on a temporary basis to fill positions that Canadian employers are unable to fill with the local labor force.

After an increase in temporary foreign workers and reports on their abuse and exploitation by Alberta Federation of Labor (AFL) and other concerned groups, the government of Alberta has taken significant steps to adequately protect foreign workers from potential exploitation by establishing two modest advocacy offices for temporary foreign workers in Edmonton and Calgary. These offices will not only improve the enforcement of employment standards but also help resolve occupational health and safety issues. To enhance and compliment the work by these advocacy offices, Alberta Ministry of Employment and Immigration has also kicked off a pilot to provide additional settlement services to temporary foreign workers in six cities of Alberta. These services include orientation (banking, taking the bus, grocery shopping and how to dress in cold weather), referrals for housing, education, legal services, interpretation and job applications.