Photo credit: CBC
Authorities in Canada have agreed to Quebec’s demand to extend temporary work permits for skilled workers while the province processes their permanent residency applications.
The Canadian Press reports that Joel Ligtbound, federal minister and the prime minister’s Quebec lieutenant, said those eligible for an extension will be able to continue working with their current employer for up to 12 months.
He is the minister of government transformation, public works and procurement. He says extensions are only available to people who have already applied to be permanent residents in Quebec.
Quebec and Ottawa share immigration authority. In the economic immigration stream, it is the Quebec government, not Ottawa, who selects those who will be granted permanent residency in the province.
Ottawa’s move comes as temporary foreign workers and businesses negotiate changes in immigration programs at both the federal and provincial levels.
In November, Quebec ended a program that fast-tracked access to permanent residency, and redirected applicants to a new program. Temporary foreign workers, whose permits are issued by Ottawa, worried they would be sent home before their permanent residency applications were processed under the new rules.
Lightbound also announced on Friday that Ottawa will temporarily relax rules for employers in rural areas across Canada, where labour shortages are more pronounced. They will be permitted to increase their percentage of low-wage temporary foreign workers to 15 percent of their employees until March 31, 2027, he3 said.
Lightbound also noted that foreign workers are not a sustainable solution to the country’s labour shortages. He is promising to reduce temporary workers to less than five percent of the total population by the end of 2027. According to the minister, 58 percent off Canada’s temporary foreign workers are in Quebec.
