published in: International Migration, 2008, 46 (1), 3–17
Temporary Canadian immigration has grown beyond traditional programs for students,
caregivers and agricultural workers to include trade-related temporary visas under NAFTA
and the GATS. Several questions emerge under these temporary schemes including who
should choose the number of temporary immigrants and under what employment conditions.
This paper offers an alternative policy to the current government-determined quota on
temporary visas to answer these two questions. Under the proposed scheme, offered in this
paper a potentially-displaced Canadian worker places a job voucher up for auction on the
Internet. If the Canadian worker finds an acceptable offer for his one-year (or less) voucher,
then the temporary immigrant is admitted. Thus, under this auction scheme Canadian
workers are compensated for the presence of temporary immigrants, and the actual number
of temporary immigrants admitted depends on the total number of Canadian workers who sell
their vouchers, not on a government fiat.
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