Recruiters who help provide employment in B.C. for foreign workers will have until October 1, 2019, to get a license.

The licensing requirement will give better protection to workers new to Canada, including people who enter under the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) and are more vulnerable to abuse in the workplace.

Recruiters who operate without a license could face a penalty of up to $50,000, be imprisoned for up to one year or face both.

FACTS:

• In 2017, the federal government issued approximately 47,620 work permits for foreign nationals destined for B.C., of which 16,865 were issued under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

• In 2019, Statistics Canada estimated that there were 101,945 unfilled positions in B.C. during 2019’s first quarter, up 10% from the same quarter in 2018.

• Manitoba and Saskatchewan have similar licensing requirements for recruiters of foreign workers.

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