Good News For Undocumented Workers Construction Workers in Greater Toronto Area
In an attempt to tackle the labour shortage in skilled trades, the Federal government plans to allocate permanent residence spots to up to 1000 workers, including their family members, annually. Previously, this number stood at 500 workers.
Moreover, a small-scale pilot project aimed at offering permanent residence for out-of-status construction workers already employed in the industry is also being expanded by the Federal government. This is being done to tackle Canada’s housing crisis.
Potential applicants first need to identify themselves to the Canadian Labour Congress, which is going to pre-screen candidates. Consequently, qualified candidates will be referred to the Immigration department for final assessment. It is important to note here that the deadline to apply is 2 Jan 2024 for all eligible candidates.
An immigration minister stated that the pilot program is an increasingly beneficial move to address critical labour shortages in the Greater Toronto Area. Furthermore, the program is going to provide some kind of stability in the construction sector while helping workers come out of the underground economy.
The immigration minister further added that this program is not just about protecting workers and their families, but it is also aimed at helping Canada’s labour market by making it capable of retaining skilled workers required to grow the country’s economy.
So, who qualifies for the construction workers pilot program? It is should be noted that only undocumented workers residing in Durham, Halton, Toronto, Peel and York areas qualify for this program.
Let’s talk about the eligibility requirements;
- An applicant must have entered Canada legally as a temporary resident and stayed for a minimum of five years.
- An applicant must have proof of making payments for the Canadian income tax.
- An applicant needs to have a family member residing in Canada as a permanent resident or Canadian citizen. The family member could also be a child or spouse.
- An applicant must have lived in Canada lawfully without committing any offenses that could make them inadmissible to Canada. However, continuing to live in Canada by breaching immigration law is excluded from the list of offenses.
As far as the job categories that fall under this program are concerned, they include commercial and residential installers and servicers, trades and skilled transport and equipment operators, construction trades helpers and labourers, heavy equipment operators, and maintenance and equipment operation trades.
This is the end of today’s blog update. We hope you found this blog useful. Please don’t forget to support us by subscribing to our newsletter and sharing this blog with your friends and family on Facebook, Whatsapp, and Twitter.
Recent Posts:
