Due to the impact of COVID-19 on the Canadian food chain supply, effective March 20, 2020, the TFW Agricultural Stream is offering priority processing of occupations related to agriculture, food processing and trucking. In addition, all pending and future Labour Market Impact Assessments related to several key occupations will have minimum recruitment requirements waived until October 31, 2020. The following 10 key occupations are included:
- 6331- Butchers, meat cutters and fishmongers-retail and wholesale
- 7511- Transport Truck Drivers
- 8252- Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
- 8431- General Farm Workers
- 8432- Nursery and Greenhouse Workers
- 8611- Harvesting labourers
- 9463- Fish and seafood plant workers
- 9617- Labourers in food, beverage and associated products processing
- 9618- Labourers in fish and seafood processing
- 9462- Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
For Truck Drivers that are situated in a province that has a Mandatory Entry Level Training requirement or equivalent, the foreign national must be in possession of this training certification at the time of work permit issuance.
The Agricultural Stream allows employers to hire Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) for a maximum period of 24 months (changed from 12 months) when Canadians and permanent residents are not available for agricultural and specific commodity sectors.The purpose is to reduce administrative burdens on the employer during these unprecedented times. Currently, TFW’s are exempted from the travel ban and are free to come into Canada.
