PRIVATE Members Motion, M-44, Permanent residency for temporary foreign workers, introduced by Randeep Sarai, MP for Surrey Centre, was passed unanimously in the House of Commons on Wednesday following a second hour of debate.

Motion M-44 addresses ongoing challenges with the immigration system, filling critical gaps in the labour market by creating more accessible pathways to permanent residency for temporary foreign workers (TFWs).
With an aging population and domestically low birth-rate, Canada is seeing a decrease in population. Some estimate that by 2030 population growth will come exclusively from immigration, which already accounts for almost 100% of Canada’s labour force growth and 75% of Canada’s population growth – mostly in the economic category, said Sarai.
Despite Canada’s historically low unemployment rate (5.2% in April 2022), industries like the agriculture sector continued to experience high job vacancy rates that they are unable to fill with domestic labour. Temporary foreign workers contribute to Canadian economic growth and ensuring regional labour demands are fulfilled, however the path to permanent residency remains out of reach for many of these workers, noted Sarai.
While there are pathways for to permanent residency (PR) for lower skilled workers such as through regional and industry specific programs, TFWs continue to face challenges in gaining PR status due insufficient higher education, and low language testing scores. Despite their valuable contribution to our communities and economy, and great employment records over a number of years working in this country – TFWs continue to be at a disadvantage in attaining PR status. This motion encourages the Government of Canada to continue to work towards making PR status attainable to more TFWs.
Sarai said: “Not a day goes by that I do not receive a call or an email from an employer who cannot find workers for their business. From restaurant owners, produce packers and logistics companies to IT groups, everyone needs workers. As we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, things can change very quickly and the work that temporary foreign workers do to support our economy is vital to Canada’s success.”