Recently, Ottawa announced that the 10 per cent employer cap on temporary foreign workers under the low-wage Stream of the TFW Program will apply across Canada. That includes occupations that fall under the Traitement Simplifié in Quebec.
An exception will be made for employers seeking to fill labour shortages in the healthcare, construction, and food processing sectors, which will be permitted to keep a 20 pe cent cap.
On Aug. 20, the federal government approved a request by the Quebec government to temporarily refuse to process new Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) applications under the low-wage stream in Montreal.
Effective Sept. 3, 2024, processing of LMIA applications will be discontinued for six months for job offers located in the Montreal economic region with wages below $27.47/hour, which is the current Quebec median hourly wage.
The federal government also said that all LMIAs approved for low-wage stream positions will be limited to a work duration of a maximum of one year, including those processed under the Traitement Simplifié, except for occupations under the Primary Agriculture Stream.
