Agri-Food Immigration Pilot to extend soon, according to IRCC. According to Sean Fraser, the Agri-Food Pilot Program will now last until May 14, 2025. The pilot began to make it convenient for skilled candidates in the food and agricultural industries to settle in Canada permanently.
Agri-Food Immigration Pilot to extend soon
Additionally, the Minister declared the removal of the yearly occupational caps. Removing these restrictions, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), will provide more qualified applicants a chance to apply. By the year’s end, IRCC will also implement more adjustments. The agency will gradually implement further modifications to the pilot, including:
- granting family members of pilot program participants access to open work permits regardless of their degree of job skill;
- allowing unions to serve as an alternative to employer references by attesting to a candidate’s work history;
- Candidates who reside in Canada will have the choice of satisfying either the job offer requirement, which includes the offer’s median income requirement, or the education requirement (which includes a verification of applicants’ educational credentials); and
A vulnerable worker’s open work permit will start to be accepted for the pilot project. More workers will have the possibility to qualify, according to IRCC.
The introduction of the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot
In order to address employment shortages in industries such as meat processing, mushroom and greenhouse production, and livestock-raising industries, Agri-Food Immigration Pilot came into the picture in 2020.
Further, IRCC stated that for the ensuing three years, it would accept up to 2,750 principal candidates and their family members annually.
On May 14, 2023, the application window for the pilot was planned to close.
Above 243,000 Canadians are working in the agriculture, hunting, fishing, and forestry sector, according to recent statistics on job openings from February 2023. Whereas there are more than 14,000 open positions. The COVID-19 pandemic, which led to factory closures, market volatility, and supply chain delays, had a significant negative impact on the sector.
Sean Fraser, Minister of IRCC, will soon release a statement about the needs of the Canadian food supply chain and the labor market for the agri-food sector. Francis Drouin (Parliamentary Secretary) for the Honorable Marie-Claude Bibeau (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food), will join Minister Fraser.
Different occupations with program eligibility
The following professions and industries fall under the pilot’s eligibility:
Production and manufacturing of meat products:
- Industrial Butchers
- Farm Supervisors and Specialized Livestock Workers
- Retail Butchers
- Food Processing Workers
Mushroom production, Greenhouse, Floriculture production and nursery:
- Harvesting Laborers
- General Farm Workers
- Farm Supervisors and Specialized Livestock Workers
Animal Production (aquaculture not included)
- General farm workers
- Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
Agri-Food Immigration Pilot to extend soon- what is the eligibility for candidates?
- A foreign equivalent of a high school diploma or higher;
- Applicants must have 12 months of full-time, non-seasonal Canadian work experience in one of the eligible occupations under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
- A Canadian Language Benchmark level 4 in English or French,
- An indefinite job offer for full-time, non-seasonal work in Canada outside of Quebec at or above the existing wage rate.
Meat processing sector
A two-year LMIA will be provided to employers in the meat processing industry that choose to participate in the experiment. The plan must specify how the temporary foreign worker will be helped by the business to seek permanent residency.
According to the IRCC, in order to preserve the labor market and migrant workers, unionized meat processors must submit a letter of support from their union, and non-unionized meat processors must meet greater standards.
