Citizenship and Immigration committee  It's a substantially smaller number of people. They're the spouses of high-skilled workers who are going to be in Canada for more than six months. It is a tool to allow for those types of transfers, because in today's society, where most people are in dual-income households, it has become very difficult to attract foreign nationals to work in Canada if the spouse is not able to work.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm not aware of any who have the ability to enter...unless they qualify through what's called the skilled worker program, which is when they apply for permanent residency from outside of Canada based on their skills, occupation and previous experience. It would be very difficult for a low-skilled worker to achieve sufficient points to access that program.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  It is a very broad stroke for a variety of different programs. Going back to the issue of the international mobility program, there are open permits under the international mobility program, such as the postgraduate work permits that are given to individuals who have completed education in Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  You do have to pay for an LMIA. The proposal for the sectoral permit is that employers would participate in that LMIA. The ESDC would set aside—I'm picking numbers out of the air—5,000 workers for this particular sector. Employers who want to be part of that program would pay for the LMIAs in that program.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  One of our recommendations is that there be a specific path to permanent residency for workers such as agricultural workers. My colleague referred earlier today to an agri-food program that has been allowing for permanent residency applications. The allocation of spots for that program is very small.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I read the document he provided in September of this year.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The rapporteur brings up a number of issues, which I think are very relevant, in relation to closed work permits and to some of the activities of recruiters, particularly recruiters outside of Canada, like debt bondage. I don't know that I would agree with everything in the report, but I think there are many areas of the report that bear reviewing and addressing.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think that recent changes are a step in the right direction. For instance, I think the introduction of tighter rules around inspections and the expectations of employers that were introduced in September of last year are a step in the right direction. I think there is still room for improvement, in particular around inspections.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  One of our key recommendations is having better pathways for permanent residency, particularly for the low-skilled and agricultural workers. We believe that permanent residency is the best form of integration possible. A foreign national doesn't become a permanent guest worker who is in Canada year after year without being able to enjoy the benefits of permanent residency.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think the role of the corporation is to ensure that the rights of workers are protected and that they work within all the parameters of not only immigration law but also employment standards and occupational health and safety rules. I think the corporation also plays a role in ensuring that workers are aware of their rights and that they have mechanisms for bringing forth complaints, like abuse tip hotlines, and in addressing complaints raised to ensure that employees are protected.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think there should be clear pathways, particularly for low-skilled workers and agricultural workers, to have access to permanent residency. Currently, for the programs we have in place, such as express entry and even the provincial nominee programs, workers in the low-wage streams find it very difficult to qualify.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think we need to differentiate between the different types of temporary foreign workers. We have a variety of programs. For instance, there's the international mobility program, where employers don't have to get a labour market impact assessment. Those are closed work permits, but the individuals coming into those programs are, for instance, intracompany transferees who have highly specialized knowledge or are senior executives.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  No, not to my knowledge.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm afraid I do not know the answer to that question.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes. It's a very rare occurrence. I'm not aware of any.