World News | Canada to allow family members of open work permit holders to work

TORONTO, Dec. 3 (PTI) — The North American nation is set to tackle a severe labor shortage from next year in a major move that will benefit thousands of Indian professionals and other foreigners in Canada.

OWP allows foreign nationals to work in Canada for any employer and for any job.

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On Friday, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser announced his department was extending work permits to family members of temporary foreign workers.

“Canada is expanding work permits for family members! Spouses and children of principal applicants will be eligible to work in Canada starting in 2023,” Fraser tweeted.

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“Extending work permit eligibility to family members who accompany the principal applicant to Canada will help address labor shortages by helping employers find the workers they need,” he said in a press statement.

Employers across the country continue to cite a lack of workers as their biggest obstacle, Fraser said.

He said the new measure would expand work permits to family members of all skill levels, helping employers find the workers they need to fill labor gaps, enabling more than 200,000 family members of foreign workers work in Canada.

Prior to this announcement, spouses were only eligible for work authorization if the principal applicant worked in a high-skilled occupation.

The new measures aim to improve workers’ emotional health, physical health and financial stability by keeping families together. As a result, employees are expected to be better integrated into their overall work environment and community, Fraser said.

Beginning in January 2023, through a two-year interim measure, Canada will expand eligibility to work in the country to spouses and working-age children through a phased approach for workers of all skill levels, the statement said.

“As a result of this new approach, an estimated more than 200,000 family members of foreign workers can begin working in Canada, providing increased opportunities for foreign workers seeking to work in Canada and for employers who meet their labor needs,” it said.

The measure will be implemented in three phases to ensure its smooth implementation.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)