Yellowknife employers are exempt from restrictions on temporary foreign workers in the food services, accommodation and retail trade sectors.
Amendments to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) in June 2014 meant that employers in regions with unemployment rates of 6% or higher were ineligible for the TFWP. With an approximate unemployment rate of over 7%, the Northwest Territories (NWT) did not qualify for the program.
As the administrative and business centre for the territory, Yellowknife provides critical goods and services to the NWT where the majority of employers operate. With its much lower unemployment rate, currently at 3.8%, employers in Yellowknife have found it difficult to recruit and retain qualified workers to sustain and grow their business.
“To ensure employers in Yellowknife continue to have qualified workers when there are no available qualified Northerners and other Canadians, having access to the TFWP is a critical mechanism to help them fill critical labour shortages and sustain their workforce,” said Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Jackson Lafferty.
For more information, visit the Government of the Northwest Territories.
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