Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced details of how they will be scaling back the temporary foreign workers program.

Trudeau was speaking to media in Halifax this morning during a cabinet retreat.

He says the program was adjusted two years ago in the aftermath of the pandemic to combat “severe labour shortages.”

He says the business community asked for those changes, and at the time those changes helped.

However, Trudeau says today’s economy is “very different” from what it was two years ago, and as many temporary foreign workers aren’t needed.

What is needed, he argues, is for Canadian businesses to invest in training and technology, instead of increasing a reliance on “low cost foreign labour.”

He says that’s not fair to Canadians looking for a job, and it’s not fair to the foreign workers, “some of whom are being mistreated and exploited.”

Trudeau says they will be tightening the rules and restricting eligibility, with exceptions in some industries such as health care, construction and food security. They will also be looking at changes to the high wage stream of the program.