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What went wrong with the fast-track stream of the temporary foreign worker program

What went wrong with the fast-track stream of the temporary foreign worker program?

A closer look at the Accelerated Labour-Market Opinion (ALMO)

Widely regarded as a failure of policy and of politics, the Harper government’s “fast-track” Temporary Foreign Worker Program stream continues to have an impact on Canadian workers.

The fast-track stream, known as the Accelerated Labour-Market Opinion (ALMO) was launched in April 2012. Its original intent was supposedly to help employers hire temporary foreign workers in high-skill occupations, including skilled trades,[1] but the program went off the rails from the get-go.

We’re revisiting this failed fast-track stream now because thousands of low-wage employers accessed this TFW stream designed for high-skilled workers. Worse yet, many of these same employers continue to pay these low-wage workers less than average regional wages. This, in our opinion, borders on fraud.

We remain committed to our position that the Temporary Foreign Worker Program be eliminated and for it to be replaced by a responsive and flexible immigration system that meets our labour-market needs.

AFL Release: Oct 25 AFL warns against reviving TFW fast-track