After more than a year of scandal and outrage over abuses of the temporary foreign workers' program, the Tories have changed the rules to better protect Canadians and the foreign workers themselves.
Among the changes: employers can no longer hire low-wage temporary foreign workers in regions where unemployment is above six per cent; a 10 per cent cap on the number of TFW s on any one work site; more government inspections of employers and fines of up to $100,000 for bosses caught abusing the program.
It may have been a calculated preelection-year move to appeal to middle-of-the-road voters, but we know as well that the changes haven't been popular with the Conservatives' probusiness base. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business president put out a message on social media Friday calling the changes the "single worst decision this (government) has made and a major knock to their small biz credentials."
The argument has been that temporary foreign workers are the only people willing to take jobs in restaurants and hotels, regardless of what wages they offer.
Canadians are quite willing to work in restaurants and hotels, but, indeed, the issue is wage. Canadians want (in fact, need) a liveable wage. And regarding the argument businesses won't survive if they pay one, we point to the likes of McDonald's and Tim Hortons - companies in no danger of going under. No, this is not about survival; it's about size of profit.
We hope the government will follow through with enforcement of the new rules, without which the changes will be meaningless.
