‘Labour shortage is real.’ Canadian retailers push back on Ottawa’s foreign labour cap

The next interest group opposing caps:

Canada’s immigration minister is getting pushback from companies that heavily rely on foreign labour following the federal government’s announcement that it will cap international student visas.

Marc Miller said companies, including “big-box stores,” are already lobbying against the planned reduction in permitted work hours for international students in comments made Tuesday to BNN Bloomberg.

“Some of the big-box stores, some of the businesses that have international students, have pushed relatively hard to preserve the 40-hour work week,” Miller said. “Some student groups call for it as well because a lot of employers want you to be able to commit to more than 20 hours.”

The Retail Council of Canada — which represents 45,000 store fronts across the country, including Canada’s largest grocers, Walmart and Amazon Canada — in an email said that “the labour shortage is real, and finding people has never been more difficult.” Many of the big box stores the RCC represents employ international students, said spokesperson Michelle Wasylyshen.

Source: ‘Labour shortage is real.’ Canadian retailers push back on Ottawa’s foreign labour cap