“Since I became Minister, I have heard from workers, employers, labour advocates and others who have asked me to make Canada more welcoming for working families coming to Canada as temporary residents,” said Minister Kenney. “With this pilot project, we will examine the benefits of allowing family members of temporary foreign workers to work while they are here with a principal applicant who has been hired because of his or her skills.”

Most temporary foreign workers temporarily immigrate to Canada to meet the needs of specific employers who are unable to find Canadian citizens or permanent residents to fill the position. However, open work permits allow foreign workers to accept any job with any Canadian employer.

Beginning on August 15, 2011, spouses, common-law partners and working-age dependents of most temporary foreign workers will be eligible for a work permit. Previously, only the spouses and common-law partners of foreign workers who were employed in managerial, professional or skilled trades jobs were eligible for an open work permit. Now, eligible family members of foreign workers in lower levels of formal training may also apply.

“Nearly 32,000 temporary foreign workers made the transition to permanent status in 2010, and of those, almost 2,300 chose to immigrate permanently to BC,” Minister Kenney noted. “We understand the important role that foreign workers have in every region of the country and we will continue to look at ways to attract workers who have the skills we need now and into the future.”

Up to 1,800 open work permits will be available through this project, which will end on February 15, 2013. To learn more about the new pilot project, please visit Citizenship and Immigration Canada's official website.

Click here to learn more about Canadian work permits.