MONTREAL — The Quebec government has asked to be granted an exemption on the moratorium regarding the Temporary Foreign Workers Program for the restaurant industry in Canada.
“We are a bit worried about the impact of the moratorium on our restaurants and on our small and medium-sized businesses,” Dave McMahon, a spokesman for Quebec Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil, was quoted as saying by The Canadian Press. “We are ready to work with the federal government to tighten the rules of the program if need be.”
A spokeswoman for federal Employment Minister, Jason Kenney, who oversees the temporary foreign workers program, said there are no immediate plans to lift the ban, in Quebec or any other provinces.
According to the federal government, a review of the program is underway and the ban on the quick-service sector’s access to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program will not be lifted until it’s complete.
Ottawa announced the moratorium late last month, after alleged reports of misuse.
