Employers must pay foreign workers brought in through the NWT Nominee Program the federal median wage for their occupation but face no such requirement for northerners in the same role, an MLA says.
In the legislature on Wednesday, Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart said business owners had described paying northerners the minimum wage for service jobs but being required to pay nominee program workers a higher rate based on their occupation.
The NWT’s minimum wage is $16.95 an hour. The median wage, set by the federal government using occupational codes, varies by job but is higher.
“There are northerners in those jobs, people who are born and raised here, who are making minimum wage versus nominee program workers who are making the median wage,” Testart said.
While he acknowledged there is “a good reason” for the disparity – for example, foreign workers have no access to other support programs northerners could use but still need to make ends meet – he said some businesses consider it a burden.
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“There’s still that gap, and they’re often in a position where they’re paying more for the same work performed by a northerner to a nominee, and that’s not what the intention of the program is for plugging labour shortages,” Testart said.
He asked immigration minister Caitlin Cleveland what the territorial government could offer to help businesses and workers, particularly young northerners in minimum-wage positions.
Cleveland said the NWT sets its own minimum wage using a formula tied to the consumer price index and average hourly wages – a process developed in consultation with employers. The median wage requirement, she said, comes from the federal government and applies to all provincial and territorial nominee programs, and to the temporary foreign worker program.
She said the territory is not in a position to override a federal requirement.
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“If people are wanting to see parity between what foreign workers are making and what northerners are making, then they’re going to have to meet that median wage,” Cleveland said.
The minister noted that many NWT employers already pay above the minimum wage to remain competitive.
The exchange came days after the territorial government published a new points-based system for ranking nominee program applicants – a significant change to the way the program operates that is designed to bring more transparency to an oversubscribed system.
The nominee program helps foreign workers in the NWT gain the points they need to apply for Canadian permanent residency. It also helps employers fill vacancies if they can demonstrate there were no qualified local workers available.
Ottawa has assigned 197 spots to the NWT for this year. The first draw of the new system, for up to 65 people, is scheduled for March 25.
