Senator Omidvar: Thank you, Senator Gold, for that update. It is encouraging.

Buried in the announcement was a tiny line that the government will consider providing pathways to permanency for temporary foreign workers, or as I like to call them, essential workers. These are essential workers. I will remind us all that this chamber unanimously passed a motion last year, I think, to provide pathways to permanency for these essential workers. But the government is moving slowly on this promise. Will those in so-called low-skilled sectors have an easier path to permanency soon, or should Canadians simply accept that this program is class-based?

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Senator Gold, yesterday or the day before, employers received a magnificent gift with the very rapid expansion of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Employers experiencing talent shortages in a number of sectors, such as agriculture, will be able to hire more temporary foreign workers more easily and for longer periods of time. These changes come into effect immediately or at the end of April. However, what is notably absent is the accompanying acceleration of protections for workers. Despite ample evidence of problems in the last two years, the government is at this point choosing to consult more. When will the expansion of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program include more rights and protections for workers? Why the delay?