MNI BRIEF: Canada Tightens Temporary Foreign Worker Rules

MNI (OTTAWA) - Canada is tightening rules on its temporary foreign worker program, responding to criticism around worsening housing shortages and bypassing domestic workers at a time of rising unemployment.

Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault said in a statement Monday the program will no longer accept low-wag candidates in most industries in cities where unemployment is 6% or higher. Firms will be capped at having 10% of their workforce drawn from the TFW program, and low-wage workers can stay for just one year instead of the previous two years. Record immigration has come with unemployment rising by a percentage point over the last year and led the Bank of Canada to reassess its view of the economy's potential, with officials saying there's some evidence the influx further stretched the housing market. (See: MNI INTERVIEW: Canada Condo Dip Seen On Migrant Turn-Adviser)