CBC – Temporary Foreign Worker Mass Exodus Expected April 1
A mass exodus of temporary foreign workers is on the horizon, employers and lawyers predict. Beginning April 1, low-skill, temporary foreign workers who have been in Canada at least four years will be forced to leave. Most of those workers are employed in the agricultural and fishing industries. Bill Stevens, the CEO of Mushroom Canada, is pushing for a reprieve. […] Stevens is pushing for a moratorium on the April deadline and for new avenues for low skill temporary foreign workers to achieve permanent residency. Immigration lawyer Maria Fernandes in Windsor, Ont., is pushing for similar changes. […] Under the old rules, which were changed in 2011, workers could simply reapply to continue working for their Canadian employer, Fernandes said. Now, after a temporary foreign worker has reached their four-year cumulative duration limit, they will not be granted another work permit in Canada for an additional four years. After that time has elapsed, the worker will again be permitted to work in Canada.