A new law to protect foreign workers in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan has just introduced a new law to protect foreign workers from abuse and exploitation and to improve transparency in this area. Although there have been few cases of exploitation that have come to light until now (335 cases identified between August 2008 and August 2012), the new legislation has been specially created to meet the province’s future immigration needs. In fact, 39,000 immigrants have arrived in the province since 2007. Year after year, the number of these new arrivals keeps increasing. According to projections made by the Ministry responsible for immigration, between 75,000 and 90,000 skilled workers will be needed in Saskatchewan in the next five years.
One Canadian worker out of four is expecting to receive a year-end bonus
According to a survey conducted by the Bank of Montreal, one quarter of Canadian workers surveyed are expecting to receive their year-end bonuses, despite a difficult economic environment. Among employees eligible for this bonus, 44% expect to receive one. This is an increase compared to 29% last year. Among workers expecting a bonus, 60% of them think that the amount will be comparable to what they received in 2011, while 26% expect more and 14% expect less. Finally, when asked what they would do with this bonus, 26% indicate that they would save or invest, 25% would use their bonus for household debt repayment and 20% would pay for holiday expenses.