Good morning. We read through hundreds of pages of penalty letters issued to companies using the temporary foreign worker program, and analyzed Ottawa’s database of non-compliant TFW employers to the government’s enforcement efforts. Now, with a federal election coming soon, this will likely be a campaign issue to keep track of. More on that below, But first:
In the news
Central bank: Bank of Canada unveils new playbook, as Trump’s tariff threats create mayhem
Trade alliance: Canada and the European Union are coming together to help re-arm each other, as the global weapons race accelerates
Flee Canada?: Companies considering a U.S. move quickly learn it’s costly and complicated – and can even backfire
On the radar
- Today, Mark Carney is set to unveil a new approach for energy-infrastructure development at his inaugural meeting with provincial and territorial leaders
- Statistics Canada is set to release January’s retail sales and February’s new housing price index
- Keep an eye on this: Toronto has advised city employees to stop using “U.S.-based ridesharing platforms, where locally owned alternatives exist.”
The Peace Tower is pictured on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
In focus
“When law or penalties are not actually enforced, employers feel that they can act with impunity”
Hi, I’m Sara Mojtehedzadeh from The Globe’s investigations team. Over the past decade, I’ve written a lot about labour and immigration issues – including Canada’s growing reliance on temporary foreign workers.
Earlier this year, The Globe’s future of work reporter, Vanmala Subramaniam, and I started chatting about a recent announcement on this front. After years of complaints from labour advocates about lax temporary foreign worker protections, Ottawa had recently doubled the amount of penalties issued to law-breaking TFW employers.
The point of the press release was to highlight improvements to this controversial labour program. Last year, the number of employers temporarily banned from hiring migrant workers increased fivefold. Ottawa issued significantly more penalties, too, amounting to $2.1-million.
But what actually happens behind the scenes when federal inspectors catch wind of possible violations?
Under freedom of information laws, I requested every penalty letter exceeding $15,000 issued to TFW employers over the past couple of years. Luckily, I happened to receive the records just as the government issued its press release on its recent enforcement efforts.
The documents we obtained contained some details about how investigations unfolded, and we noticed that in a number of cases, the penalties were imposed years after suspected violations were first identified.
This concerned labour advocates – who noted that the longer the government takes to act, the harder it becomes to enforce its own fines.
Vanmala and I decided this deserved closer scrutiny. Relying on the data expertise of Globe data journalist Chen Wang. We analyzed the government’s publicly available database of non-compliant TFW employers. What we found surprised us.
Despite the government’s avowed crackdown on abusive employers, some 40 per cent of the fines levied on them are sitting uncollected.
While these companies can’t participate in the TFW program until they pay up, advocates worry the government’s collections rate sends the wrong message to employers: ramping up the number and size of penalties has less of a deterrent effect if companies simply aren’t paying them.
Some companies object to the government’s enforcement regime. We spoke to one employer – a B.C.-based mushroom farm – who was fined $34,000 over workplace abuse. He told us the farm had no intention of paying the penalties, arguing the investigation process was unfair and one-sided. He said the farm had now shuttered owing to the pressures of the pandemic and government inspections, which made it difficult to compete with large American agricultural businesses.
Our data analysis suggests that TFW inspections are still fairly limited in scope. While the federal government conducted 649 inspections last summer, it also granted 20,000 Canadian companies approval to hire foreign workers over the same period.
But ultimately, many labour advocates feel stronger enforcement is only one piece of the puzzle. They argue that without broader reforms – such as eliminating tied work permits that restrict TFWs to a single employer – workers will be vulnerable to abuse.
Ottawa wouldn’t tell us how many inspections it has planned for this year – but with a federal election now on the horizon, the issue of Canada’s dependence on its TFW streams will likely be back on the agenda.
I encourage you to read our whole story and stay with us while we follow this issue.
Read more
- Canada’s temporary resident population declines for the first time in three years
- A year from “hell”: Why one temporary foreign worker decided to call it quits on Canada
- Canadian Tire tightens recruiting rules for temporary foreign workers
Snapshot
The Bay’s downfall ensnares vendors, suppliers
Romina Bakhtiari and Alireza Kaveh, owners of Romali Jewelry, in Hudsons Bay at Hillcrest Mall, on March 20, 2025.Andres Valenzuela/The Globe and Mail
While lawyers talk about the fate of Hudson’s Bay Co., vendors and suppliers are also waiting to learn about their own fate. One brand, Romali Jewelry, owned by Alireza Kaveh and Romina Bakhtiari, has slowly expanded to 10 Hudson’s Bay locations, and the couple were in discussions to expand to 16 more. The stores make up 90 per cent of Romali’s sales, but now they are in limbo – and faced with the prospect of possibly watching their business evaporate.
Bookmarked
On our reading list
Misinfo: Meta is doubling down on political ads that use artificial intelligence, aiming to curb misinformation ahead of the Canadian federal elections.
For Your Info: How do blind trusts work? A closer look at the legal arrangement of Mark Carney and other politicians.
New info: Pierre Poilievre is promoting the revival of a $14-billion pipeline project in Quebec, pledging to create “shovel-ready zones” for resource projects across the country.
Morning markets update
Global markets slid in a downbeat end to the week as deepening geopolitical worries and fears over U.S. tariffs and their impact on the global economy curbed investor appetite for risk. Wall Street futures and TSX futures pointed lower after North American markets closed slightly down yesterday.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.69 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.27 per cent, Germany’s DAX gave back 0.87 per cent and France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.7 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.2 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2.19 per cent.
The Canadian dollar traded at 69.77 U.S. cents.