Questions and responses 45th Parliament, 1st session May 26, 2025, to present

With regard to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program: (a) how many calls has the Temporary Foreign Worker tip line received, broken down by month and year, since 2019; (b) of the calls in (a), what is the breakdown by type of situation or incident reported (abuse, employer withholding passport, etc.), and whether or not it was investigated; (c) what is the breakdown of (a) and (b) by type of action taken as a result of the tip, including what, if any, punitive action was taken, including how many resulted in (i) a referral to police, (ii) charges laid, (iii) other punitive action, broken down by type; (d) how many reports made through the online portal has the Temporary Foreign Worker tip website received, broken down by month and year, since 2019; (e) of the tips in (d), what is the breakdown by type of situation or incident reported; (f) what is the breakdown of (d) and (e) by type of action taken as a result of the tip, including what, if any, punitive action was taken, including how many resulted in (i) a referral to police, (ii) charges laid, (iii) other punitive action, broken down by type; and (g) of the allegations made through the tips, how many were treated as credible or founded and how many were treated as frivolous or unfounded, broken down by (i) phone, (ii) online, tips?

With regard to Temporary Foreign Worker Program applications for hairstylists: (a) what qualifications are required for individuals coming to Canada through the program to fill hairstylist positions; (b) what assessments are conducted to determine whether the qualifications required in (a) are met; (c) how many hairstylists have come to Canada through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in each of the last 10 years, broken down by the number coming to each province and territory; and (d) how many of those in (c), for each year and each province or territory, had a Red Seal certificate at the time of their application?

With regard to the administration and operation of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, broken down by each of the past five years: (a) what has been the total annual cost to the federal government to administer and enforce the program; (b) what were the annual costs associated with the program, in total and broken down by type (administrative, enforcement, processing, etc.); and (c) how much revenue has been collected from employer application fees and other program-related fees associated with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, in total and broken down by each fee?

With regard to temporary foreign workers hired by government departments, agencies, Crown corporations, or other government entities to work in Canada, broken down by year since 2021, including 2025 to date: (a) how many temporary foreign workers have been hired, in total and broken down by type of job and job title; and (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by each department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity?

With regard to labour market impact assessments issued under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program over the past 10 years: (a) how many labour market impact assessments were processed annually by Employment and Social Development Canada; (b) what was the average processing time for labour market impact assessments each year; (c) what has been the total annual cost to the federal government associated with processing labour market impact assessments; (d) what total revenues have been collected annually through labour market impact assessment application fees; and (e) what is the net annual cost or surplus to the federal government associated with labour market impact assessment processing?

With regard to the Government of Canada's announcement of March 13, 2026, concerning additional support for rural employers under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program: (a) how does the government define "rural"; (b) what (i) criteria, (ii) metrics, (iii) data sources, will be used to determine whether a location qualifies as "rural" for the purposes of determining eligibility for these enhanced measures; (c) will the definition of "rural" be applied uniformly across provinces and territories, or will it vary by region; and (d) will the government publish a comprehensive list of all eligible regions?

With regard to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, during the 2025 calendar year, and broken down by province, region, and occupation: (a) how many permits were (i) issued, (ii) still in effect, for temporary foreign workers in regions where the unemployment rate exceeded the national average; and (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by occupation, using the National Occupational Classification code and title?

With regard to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program during the 2024-25 fiscal year: (a) how much was spent administering the program, in total and broken down by type of expense; (b) how many employees were assigned to the program, in total and broken down by type of assignment (processing applications, compliance, etc.); and (c) how much did the government spend promoting or advertising the program abroad, in total and broken down by country?

With regard to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, during the 2025 calendar year, and broken down by province and territory: (a) how many work permits were issued for employment in (i) accommodation services, (ii) food services and drinking places; (b) how many work permits were issued for employment in retail trade, in total and broken down by each subsector; (c) how many work permits were issued for transportation and warehousing, in total and broken down by each subsector; (d) how many work permits were issued for administrative and support services; and (e) for each part in (a) through (d), how many permits were in effect (i) prior to the beginning of the 2025 calendar year, (ii) at the end of the 2025 calendar year?

With regard to the use of temporary foreign workers in the healthcare sector: (a) what is the total number of temporary foreign workers employed in healthcare-related occupations each year since 2015, broken down by (i) nurse aides, (ii) personal support workers, (iii) licensed practical nurses, (iv) physicians, (v) other job categories, and further broken down by province or territory, and by country of origin; (b) what is the number of healthcare employers currently approved to hire temporary foreign workers, broken down by (i) province or territory, (ii) healthcare occupation; and (c) what is the number of known contract violations or complaints involving healthcare-sector temporary foreign workers, broken down by (i) province or territory, (ii) healthcare occupation, including the nature of the violations?