Canadian immigration minister says temporary worker program needs reform

FILE PHOTO: A worker installs flat roofing on an under-construction building in British Columbia, Canada, February 14, 2023. REUTERS/Artur Gajda/File Photo

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's temporary foreign worker program is not fatally flawed but is "in need of reform," the country's immigration minister told Reuters on Tuesday, following a damning U.N. report that dubbed the program a breeding ground for modern slavery.

The program brings non-Canadians to the country to work on a temporary basis. Ostensibly meant to fill labor shortages, it has grown dramatically and has come under fire for suppressing wages and leaving workers vulnerable to abuse.