By Vancouver Sun | Link to Article
By Vancouver Sun | Link to Article
OTTAWA — Ottawa is considering a further crackdown on its embattled temporary foreign worker program that could result in higher fees for companies hoping to hire foreign help and an elimination of the practice altogether in areas of high unemployment, The Canadian Press has learned.
The government presented various options on how to fix the troubled program during a closed-door meeting Thursday with stakeholders who included business representatives and labour union officials.
Among those options was the implementation of a so-called wage floor that would prevent companies from paying foreign workers beneath a set wage level still to be determined.
That measure would be aimed at making it more difficult for employers like low-wage fast-food restaurants to access the program, the stakeholders say.
But they also point out it could inflict further headaches on Employment Minister Jason Kenney if the set salary level is higher than the minimum wage, meaning temporary foreign workers would stand to make better money than Canadians.
Kenney’s goal, however, appeared to be to compel Canadian firms to hike their wages. The minister told employers as much last month, when he called upon fast-food restaurants to pay their employees a better wage and hire more Canadians.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Tories+talk+further+crackdowns+temporary+foreign+worker/9846030/story.html#ixzz3229SBP00