Debate rages over Temporary Foreign Workers Program
Posted May 7, 2013 3:31 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
While the Canadian government wrestles with what to do with the Temporary Foreign Workers Program, a new report from the University of Calgary is supporting an overhaul of the system.
The program, which allows people to be brought in from out of the country on short-term permits, has received much scrutiny lately after RBC tried to replace Canadian workers with foreign workers who would have made less money.
Ottawa has already made some changes, including scraping the rule that allowed employers to pay less to foreign workers, and more changes could be on the way.
Dr. Kevin McQuillan says the program had its positive uses when it was first introduced, but it may have run its course.
“We’ve seen a very rapid expansion over the past ten years at a time when unemployment in the country has been relatively high. And I don’t see that as the route to strengthening the Canadian labour market,” explains McQuillan.
He points out the problem isn’t wide-scale labour shortage, but a mismatch between the skills of the labour force and the demands of the labour market.
As such, he recommends the government focus on encouraging young people to get educated in high-demand fields by offering lower tuition rates for such programs.
He also says, giving a tax break to people moving to areas with low unemployment rates, like Alberta, would help.
One local landscaping company owner is less than impressed with all the bad press the temporary foreign workers program has received of late.
Peter Hughes, who owns Peter Hughes Landscape, says half of his 50 employees were brought in through the program and he’s not sure where he’d be without them.
“It’s been nothing short of a life-saver for our business,” says Hughes. “They are great workers, they’re attentive, and, most importantly, they attend work every day.”
Hughes likes the program the way it is, saying he has to follow strict guidelines before bringing in a new worker, including advertising the position for 30 days, and proving he can’t fill it with a Canadian first.
He also says he’s not sure where idea came from that he could pay the foreign workers 15-per cent less than Canadian employees, pointing out there are strict guidelines there as well.
He says he’s so committed to the program, that he even owns homes for the workers to rent while they are here for up to four years at a time.
