Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (International Experience Canada): SOR/2024-240

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 158, Number 26

Registration
SOR/2024-240 November 29, 2024

IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT

P.C. 2024-1266 November 29, 2024

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (International Experience Canada) under subsection 5(1) and paragraphs 26(1)(b) and (d) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act footnote a.

Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (International Experience Canada)

Amendments

1 Paragraph 185(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations footnote 1 is amended by adding the following after subparagraph (ii):

2 (1) The marginal note to section 204 of the Regulations is replaced by “Agreements or arrangements”.

(2) Section 204 of the Regulations is amended by striking out “or” at the end of paragraph (b), by adding “or” at the end of paragraph (c) and by adding the following after paragraph (c):

Coming into Force

3 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

The International Experience Canada Program’s (the Program) regulatory amendments addresses two issues.

First, of the current authorities in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (the Regulations) that authorize the issuance of work permits, none fully capture the scope of the Program. For example, one section does not reference agreements and arrangements that are the foundation of the Program, and another section only covers international agreements and arrangements, but not agreements and arrangements with domestic entities.

Second, several countries restrict the duration of work per employer for foreign nationals holding a Working Holiday visa or work permit. While the Regulations authorize officers to impose work-related conditions on temporary residents, such as the times and periods of work, they do not allow for a limitation on the duration of work per employer. As such, when negotiating bilateral agreements, Canada has been unable to impose similar conditions, resulting in youth mobility agreements and arrangements (YMAs) with asymmetrical terms that disadvantage Canadian youth working in those countries. As the Program expands its partnerships, the regulatory authority to limit the duration of work per employer allows Canada to dissuade countries from imposing conditions, or to impose similar conditions, as needed.

Background

The Program dates back to 1956 when the Canadian government first partnered with France to facilitate youth mobility. The Program was originally overseen by the Department of Employment and Immigration, it was then moved to Global Affairs Canada (GAC) in 1987, and then to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in 2013. Today, the mandate of the Program is to promote and expand international work and travel opportunities for youth by negotiating and managing YMAs with different countries and foreign territory partners and recognized organizations to secure social, cultural, bilateral, and economic benefits for Canada. The Program also facilitates the inbound program for the issuance of work permits to eligible foreign youth.

Canada has signed bilateral YMAs with 38 countries and foreign territory partners, and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with 8 recognized organizations to facilitate the issuance of work authorizations for foreign youth aged 18 to 35 for up to 24 months. The YMAs facilitate two-way flows of youth to and from Canada under three work permit categories: Working Holiday, International Co-op, and Young Professionals. The terms and conditions of the YMAs, such as age, the number of work permit categories, duration of stay, and the number of times an individual can participate, vary from partner to partner.

The International Co-op and Young Professional categories provide foreign youth with employer-specific work permits; an offer of employment is required at the time of application and participants are only authorized to work for one employer for the duration of their stay.

The Working Holiday category, which accounts for approximately 90% of inbound participation under the Program, currently provides foreign youth with an open work permit for the duration of their stay. Open work permits allow participants to work for one or multiple employers, in any location in Canada. A job offer is not required at the time of application for the Working Holiday category. However, some partners, such as Australia, San Marino, and Hong Kong, have restricted the duration of work per employer for Canadians holding a Working Holiday visa or work permit.

IRCC is responsible for processing applications and issuing letters of introduction to approved applicants. Foreign nationals who are approved to participate in the Program have 12 months from the date of work permit approval to arrive in Canada and receive and activate their work permit. Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers are responsible for determining the admissibility of foreign nationals and issuing work permits to eligible foreign nationals upon their arrival to Canada.

Objective

The objective of amending the Program’s regulatory authority to issue work permits is to ensure explicit regulatory coverage for all of the Program’s partners, including states, foreign territories, and international and domestic organizations, and all types of work pertaining to the Program and regrouping these authorities under a subsection specific to the Program.

The objective of providing the authority to limit the duration of work per employer is to provide the Program with the ability to negotiate YMAs that have symmetrical terms and conditions for Canadian and foreign youth.

Description

The Regulations are amended to provide a specific authority to issue a work permit to a foreign national who intends to work under a youth mobility agreement or arrangement between Canada and a foreign government, or between Canada and an international or domestic organization, that will create or maintain reciprocal employment for Canadian citizens in a foreign state or territory.

The Regulations are also amended to add the duration of work for any one employer to the list of work-related conditions an officer may impose on a temporary resident.

Regulatory development

Consultation

The proposed Regulations were prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on March 9, 2024, followed by a 30-day comment period. During this period, a total of 10 comments were received from a single individual, addressing various sections of the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement. The comments were not focused on the regulatory changes, but were general opinions related to immigration, including the importance of foreign workers and foreign students. No changes were made as a result of the comments.

From 2020 to 2022, the Program consulted with the CBSA, GAC, and the Department of Justice, through the development of a consultation paper on the proposed amendments, which resulted in support for the regulatory changes.

Modern treaty obligations and Indigenous engagement and consultation

There are no modern treaty obligations associated with these amendments.

Instrument choice

The Regulations provide the authority to issue work permits to foreign nationals; therefore, no other instruments were considered.

Regulatory analysis

Benefits and costs

The baseline case, against which these regulatory changes must be compared, is a scenario where Canada would continue to not have the authority to reciprocate limitations of duration of work per employer for foreign nationals participating in the Working Holiday category of the Program. The regulatory scenario is one where Canada would have clear authority set limitations on the duration of work per employer for participants in this category of the Program. This would mean, when negotiating agreements in the future, Canada would be able to reciprocate work duration conditions on foreign nationals working in Canada if such conditions were imposed by partner countries on Canadians.

Impacts to foreign workers and Canadian employers

In most cases, work duration per employer is not expected to play a role when negotiating new YMAs. Canada would only impose these limits on foreign nationals when a country wishes to impose work duration limitations on Canadians working abroad under the YMAs. The amendments apply only to new countries with whom Canada enters into bilateral YMAs with and only to those who impose similar restrictions on Canadians. Currently, only 3 of the 38 Program partner countries (8%) impose these restrictions on Canadians, and this ratio is expected to remain low. Specifically, Hong Kong stipulates a maximum of three months per employer, and Australia and San Marino stipulate a maximum of six months per employer. In the next five years, Canada is expected to discuss possible YMAs with as many as 20 countries. It is estimated that 5 of them may raise restrictions related to the duration of work per employer in the negotiations.

In 2019, the number of foreign nationals approved to participate in the Program was 76 684. It is expected that approximately 6 250 foreign nationals from the above-mentioned five countries will participate in the Working Holiday category per year and could be impacted by the regulatory amendments. This small number of foreign nationals may face difficulties in securing work due to the work duration limitations, but it is important to note that this only applies if their country of origin imposes these limitations on Canadian counterparts. The hope is that by having this authority, other countries will be less inclined to impose these limitations on Canadians.

Employers seeking to hire foreign nationals who have this limitation on their open work permits will need to be prepared for shorter terms of employment. This could increase hiring costs. However, due to the small number of foreign workers that will be impacted by these amendments, and that not all participants will work for the entire duration of their work permit for the same employer, the impacts on potential employers are expected to be minimal.

Costs to the Government of Canada

Most of the costs to Government consist of one-time transition costs such as preparing communication products, updating program delivery instructions and other administrative material. These are expected to occur in the year of implementation and are estimated at $12,000.

Ongoing costs to Government are expected to be minimal and reflect the additional cost of responding to questions from immigration representatives.

Benefits

The regulatory change to limit the duration of work per employer will benefit Canada as it provides the Program with the ability to negotiate YMAs that have symmetrical terms and conditions for both Canadian and foreign youth. The amendment helps ensure that Canadians have similar opportunities afforded to them when working in partner countries vis-à-vis foreign nationals working in Canada under the Program. The amendment helps Canada in negotiations, as the Program expands and diversifies its partnerships.

Amending the Program’s regulatory authority to issue work permits ensures a better fit for the Program’s authority in the Regulations, as the new text references youth mobility agreements and arrangements; provide regulatory coverage for all of the Program’s partners and provides explicit regulatory coverage for all types of work pertaining to the Program.

Small business lens

Analysis under the small business lens concluded that the regulatory amendments will not impact Canadian small businesses.

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule does not apply, as there is no incremental change in the administrative burden on business and no regulatory titles are repealed or introduced.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

These amendments are not related to a work plan or commitment under a formal regulatory cooperation forum.

Effects on the environment

According to the Cabinet Directive on Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, a preliminary environmental scan was completed, which concluded no significant environmental effects will likely occur.

Gender-based analysis plus

No gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) impacts have been identified.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Implementation

The regulatory changes come into force upon registration. The Program consulted with various partner institutions, namely IRCC’s Immigration Program Guidance Branch, Centralized Network, Communications, and Integrity Risk Management Branch, and CBSA, to ensure a coordinated and effective approach to implementation.

During negotiations of new YMAs, Program officials will work with officials from new state and foreign territory partners to determine if a work permit restriction is required and will include the restriction in the text of the YMA. IRCC would work on program delivery instructions and standard operating procedures to ensure the restriction is effectively communicated to processing staff. Program staff would also work with Communications to ensure the restriction appears on any relevant partner web pages. The work restriction would be communicated to CBSA officers using operational bulletins and an enforcement manual. The Program will work with partner institutions to prepare the necessary products well in advance of a new YMA coming into force to ensure effective and timely implementation.

Compliance and enforcement

CBSA and IRCC are jointly responsible for compliance and enforcement of work permit conditions, including a restriction limiting the duration of work per employer under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (the Act).

In addition to the existing compliance and enforcement regime, the compliance strategy will use messaging to ensure participants are aware of the work permit restrictions and to promote compliance. Messaging will also highlight the potential consequences of non-compliance, including impacts on future applications or entry into Canada. Various products such as the YMA, country-specific program delivery instructions, external client-facing products such as the relevant country web pages for the Program, push-notification emails to approved applicants, and the work permit will also clearly communicate the restriction and ensure transparency with clients and stakeholders.

Contact

For public enquiries, please contact:

Amy Arnold
Director
International Experience Canada
Citizenship Branch
Department of Citizenship and Immigration
180 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 0B6
Email: IRCC.IECNHQ-ACEIC.IRCC@cic.gc.ca