The Government of Canada last week announced a series of changes to immigration levels and immigration programs, including targeted reforms to the high wage stream of the temporary foreign worker program (TFWP). These changes came as a surprise to the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) as our sector was not given prior notice or consulted on potential impacts before the changes were announced.

CTA has been raising issues related to worker abuse and elements of modern slavery within the program with the Trudeau Government for many years. The Alliance has been aggressively championing the need for reforms when it comes to the screening processes used for participating companies. In essence, CTA wanted to see enhanced employer vetting introduced to help improve program integrity. By default, such changes would have also likely limited the number of companies using the program and ultimately the number of TFWs. Rather than punishing good companies, this approach would have limited the bad actors everyone knows are already using the program.

The changes announced do very little to address the known abuse taking place, according to CTA. Instead, they punish reputable companies who rely on the TFWP to help with labour demand.

"The TFWP needed was a scalpel, but this is a sledgehammer that missed all the real problems altogether," said CTA president Stephen Laskowski.

CTA has for years informed the Government of Canada of the intricate schemes in the trucking industry which involve an interconnected web of unscrupulous actors. Each of these players along the labour supply chain 'charges' the truck driver for services or are compensated by another entity. As a result, it is not uncommon for drivers to pay between $40,000-$80,00 in multiple stages to go through the LMIA process, gain employment, and eventually become a permanent resident or citizen. In many cases, to pay this debt, they are forced to drive commercial vehicles for either no wages, or significantly lower wages than legally permitted (either as outlined through their LMIA application, or according to Federal and Provincial minimum wages).

"There are legitimate companies using the program, who are not the problem. Meanwhile, rampant fraud and abuse by those who undermine the system and exploit workers who continue to be ignored in favour of kneejerk political reactions," said Laskowski. "The government should be focused on ensuring program integrity, not punishing good companies who treat people right and use the TFWP responsibly and with great success."

For starters, CTA has suggested that all participating companies should be vetted to ensure they comply with workers' compensation requirements (WCB/WSIB premiums), applicable labour standards (federal/ provincial), tax laws (proper payroll procedures), and have legitimate, established businesses that carry proper insurance coverage and have good road safety records.

"This type of vetting is not currently taking place for participating companies, and still won't after be, even these changes," added Laskowski.

CTA continues to reach out to members to fully gauge how the changes to the high wage stream impact the industry. However, a cursory review points to significant impacts to compliant carriers.

CTA does not believe there are immediately impacts to existing work permits at this time, but officials have been quoted as saying the planned change will affect potential renewals.

CTA will continue to update the provincial associations and members as more information surfaces.

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