As of June 20 2014, the Government of Canada will no longer process any applications submitted on or before that date for low-wage positions to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

All applications that were submitted prior to June 20 for positions that are now considered low-wage, and where an opinion has not been issued, will not be processed. Employers who have submitted this type of application will have their fee of $275 per application refunded in full. All other applications will be processed as normal. This measure does not apply to employers seeking to hire for a position that will be located in the province of Quebec.

The Government of Canada announced an overhaul of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program on June 20, 2014. The changes included new assessment criteria for workers, who will now be assessed based on the median wage of their employer’s province/territory.