CTA wants Recognized Employer Pilot for TFWs to screen out Driver Inc. employers

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is clearing red tape for reputable employers looking to take advantage of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) program.

Irek Kusmierczyk, parliamentary secretary to the minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion, announced this week that the government is launching the Recognized Employer Pilot (REP) under the TFW program.

The three-year pilot, which received $29.3 million in funding, will grant eligible employers with labor market impact assessments (LMIAs) that are valid for up to 36 months. They’ll also benefit from a simplified LMIA application. And those recognized employers will receive a Job Bank designation that displays their recognized status to prospective workers.

The program will first be rolled out to agricultural employers in September, and other employers beginning in January 2024.

“The Recognized Employer Pilot will cut red tape for eligible employers — those who demonstrate the highest level of protection for workers — and make it easier for them to access the labor they need to fill jobs that are essential to Canada’s economy and food security,” Randy Boissonnault, minister of employment, workforce development, and official languages said in a release.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) welcomed the initiative, but urged Ottawa to take it a step further and use the measure to weed out trucking employers who utilize the Driver Inc. model that misclassifies employees as independent service providers.

“The trucking industry, like many sectors of the economy, has a significant labor shortage, and the need to recruit more Canadians and foreign workers to our sector remains imperative,” said CTA president Stephen Laskowski. “Today’s announcement will assist the trucking industry and the supply chain in stabilizing the distribution networks of multiple sectors of our domestic economy.”

“But access to foreign labor in trucking through the TFW program or other immigration programs should be restricted to a recognized employer program that ensures that labor compliance is strictly adhered to by all participating companies,” he added. “To certify the legitimacy and effectiveness of this program, the Government of Canada must use a robust auditing system that ensures that all firms are complying with the law and workers are protected from scams like Driver Inc.”