Temporary Foreign Worker Recruiter Licence Consultation

New Foreign Worker Recruiter Licence

The province is moving forward with enacting the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act (not yet in force) starting with requiring foreign worker recruiters to be licenced. The province is conducting consultations on the draft regulations associated with this aspect of the legislation. Once the consultations are complete, the province will be launching a new recruiter licence application.

Recruiters who recruit foreign nationals for jobs in the Province of Prince Edward Island will soon be required to hold a licence, unless they are exempt under the Act. Previous consultations took place related to the introduction of the Act and the Act was passed in the Legislature in Spring 2022. The current consultations relate to the new proposed regulations associated with the Act.

Proposed Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Regulations

A draft version of the regulations can be found here.

The proposed regulations will require those who are applying for a licence to be members in good standing of a law society, the Chambre des notaries du Quebec, or the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.

The proposed regulation also requires some additional information to be provided in the licence application, including:

• The applicant’s home address and telephone number.
• Confirmation of whether the applicant intends to provide recruitment services as a self-employed individual or as an employee of a business owned by another person.
• A detailed description of the business the applicant will operate under or be employed by, including the Business Identification Number, the applicant’s plan for engaging in recruitment services, including the countries the applicant intends to recruit from and the type of employment the applicant is recruiting foreign workers for. The applicant will also have to identify if they have a licence in another province and identify where their business records respecting foreign worker recruitment will be kept.

The fee for applying for a foreign worker recruiter licence is proposed to be set at $100. Licence renewal fees will also be $100.

Under the legislation, security must be provided in order to obtain a licence. The proposed security if an applicant is approved to hold a licence will be $10,000. A licence will not be issued until security is provided. Security will be held during the period the licence is valid, plus an added two years. If a complaint is filed within two years after the licence expires, the security may be held until the proceedings related to that complaint are final and concluded.

The proposed regulations also have provisions related to added details that may be contained in licences, including any terms and conditions that may be imposed. The licences will be searchable online.

Feedback

Feedback on the proposed Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Regulations ended on September 19, 2024.  Thank you to everyone who provided feedback.  The province expects to complete these Regulations by fall 2024.

Labour and Industrial Relations Division
161 St. Peters Road
PO Box 2000, Charlottetown  PE
C1A 7N8