After more than three years in development, the Yukon government will begin administering the federal temporary foreign worker program on Aug. 1.

The two governments signed an agreement in 2010 transferring control of the program to the territory.

However, the Yukon agreed to wait to launch its program until a federal review of it had been completed. Changes were announced in April.

The Yukon's program is a one-year pilot with the possibility of an extension beyond that.

Education Minister Scott Kent told a news conference this morning that the application process will be drastically expedited under the Yukon government's administration.

What took 15 to 18 weeks through the federal government will be reduced to a four- to six-week process through the territory's advanced education branch.

The process will be faster because the employer will not need to obtain a Labour Market Opinion before applying.

Instead, employers will have to demonstrate that the local labour supply cannot meet their needs.

The Yukon government will assess those needs using its own understanding of the local labour situation.

The Yukon's program is designed to assist local businesses in meeting their seasonal labour needs, specifically within the tourism and hospitality industry, as well as the oil and gas, mineral exploration, and mining industries, Kent said.

"Supplementing the Yukon labour force with temporary foreign workers will benefit the local economy and Yukoners alike,” the minister said.

The Yukon government took over administration of the federal nominee program following an agreement signed in 2008. However, that program only addresses long-term labour needs, said Marius Curteanu, the manager of immigration.

The temporary foreign worker program will help address the short-term labour needs.

As of Dec. 1, 2012, there were 415 temporary foreign workers in the Yukon, according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada statistics.

The territory's program is unique in Canada in that it has partnered with the Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board.

"That partnership will assist in making worksites safe and efficient for both employees and employers,” Kent said.

"By collaboration with (the board), we have developed a program that prioritizes safe work places and healthy employees.”

Kurt Dieckmann, the board's director of occupational health and safety, explained that temporary foreign workers present a vulnerable population.

They often don't have a full understanding of the relevant legislation.

As well, they are often enrolled in the program for economic and familial reasons which may prevent them from speaking up regarding an unsafe situation at work, he noted.

Under the Yukon program, the board will be automatically notified of an employer's application through the temporary foreign worker program.

It will conduct an assessment of the workplace to make sure it's meeting all the legislative requirements.

The workers' compensation board has developed specific codes of practice for training and orientating workers, Diekmann said.

As part of its assessment, the board will examine how the employer is training foreign workers, and how proactive he or she is in advising those workers of their rights and responsibilities in the workplace.

The board will communicate its findings to advanced education officials and they will be considered along with the employers application.

"In no other jurisdiction is there a requirement for notification of occupational health and safety or workers' compensation branch when temporary foreign workers are being brought in,” said Dieckmann.

"In all other jurisdictions, it's really ad hoc as to how the regulatory authorities determine whether or not there are temporary foreign workers,”

Before applying for the program, employers must first advertise for the position to Canadians for four weeks.

As the program is meant to address temporary labour needs, an employer can hire a worker for a maximum of 12 months.

Employers can also hire a maximum of 50 workers a year.

"We're expecting, really, to be working with some really small numbers to start and then maybe over time, especially as larger mines come on the stream in future years, we wanted to have the option there to look at some larger numbers,” said Shawn Kitchen, the assistant deputy minister of advanced education.

"Unemployment rates have consistently been below the national average in Yukon; right now, we're below 4.9 per cent just in this last month, so working with some very low unemployment rates,” said Kitchen.

"At the same time, there's ongoing needs in these specific sectors, and we've identified that through labour market information.

"Working with economic development with our Yukon occupation modeling system and looking at various projections into the future, we're still expecting the mine sector, assuming that the world economy stays strong and doesn't falter, that there will be demand for these types of jobs and that the mines will come further on stream and will rebound back.”

The Yukon Federation of Labour expressed cautionary support for the program today.

"The inclusion of a provision to monitor health and safety is positive, but it doesn't change the fact that the temporary foreign workers program is flawed,” Vikki Quocksister, the federation's president, said from Niagara-on-the Lake, Ont., where she is preparing to meet with Canada's premiers.

"Temporary foreign workers are still vulnerable to abuses when their work visas are effectively controlled by their employers. They need more protections, or the program should be shelved.

"All workers in the Yukon deserve to be treated with respect and dignity in the workplace, and deserve a decent wage,” said Quocksister.

"Until effective safeguards and monitoring are in place and our concerns about the program are fully met, we will not be supporting the program's existence.”