From fast food to construction, employers turn more and more to temporary foreign workers

Yet another example of how the government has mishandled immigration:

…Taking orders and flipping burgers

Fast food chains and restaurants are a major source of demand for temporary foreign workers. After farm and greenhouse workers, the roles with the most approvals last year were cooks, food service supervisors, food counter attendants and kitchen helpers.

Food counter attendants, in particular, increased from 170 jobs in 2018 to 8,333 in 2023. The top 10 employers cleared to hire the highest number of them last year were all fast food operators.

The relationship between the food service industry and the temporary foreign worker program has at times been fraught. Roughly a decade ago, controversy around the industry’s use of the program led the federal government to impose a temporary moratorium on that sector.

But times have changed along with labour markets. 

Citing significant labour shortages, in 2022 the federal government doubled the proportion of low-wage workers businesses could hire through the program, from 10 per cent of their workforce to 20 per cent. 

Certain sectors hit particularly hard by the pandemic, including food service, were greenlighted to hire as much as 30 per cent of low-wage staff through the program.

For businesses, a major benefit is stability, as the workers’ permits are tied to their employer, meaning they can’t easily quit to work for a rival business down the street. 

“It guarantees a worker will stay employed with them for the term of the agreement,” says the Canadian Franchise Association on its website. 

CBC News reached out to 14 restaurants and franchise groups cleared to hire the most cooks, food service supervisors and food counter attendants last year. 

None agreed to an interview, although a spokesperson for Franchise Management Inc., which operates Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell franchises, said the program has allowed it to keep operating in rural and northern areas.

“Unfortunately, some of these communities often lack the population base to meet the demand for labour,” said Dana Myshrall in an emailed statement.

The company was cleared to hire 140 food counter attendants last year, though Myshrall said it expects to hire far fewer this year….

Source: From fast food to construction, employers turn more and more to temporary foreign workers