British Columbia Premier proposes name change for Temporary Foreign Worker program

2014/09/29 1 Comment

Not a stupid idea – names and labels are important – but goes completely against the grain of the recent changes to the Citizenship Act that removed credit for pre-permanent residency time, with Minister Alexander trying (not completely successfully) to argue for a clear distinction:

Christy Clark says a simple name change might help.

“I think the federal government needs to remember that almost all of us are descended from people who came from other countries. So maybe if they are overhauling the program they can change the name from temporary foreign worker to potential new Canadian. It was people from all over the world that built this company are continuing to do that.”

That said while Clark emphasized BC needs foreign workers to fill some jobs she says British Columbians must be in the front of the employment line.

Premier proposes name change for Temporary Foreign Worker program | CKNW AM AM980.

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Temporary foreign worker data don’t correspond with reality

2014/09/29 Leave a comment

More on Temporary Foreign Workers and poor data/mistakes that undermine the Government message:

Restaurants Canada president Garth Whyte said he had concerns about the data when the government released its figures in June but the names of the employers weren’t known until now. He said the government should have checked the information before using it. “The math doesn’t add up,” he said.

Mr. Kenney’s office said he was not available for an interview Friday. A department spokeswoman responded to The Globe’s questions about the data in an e-mail by saying that the government’s changes are intended to restore the TFW program to its original purpose, as a short-term last resort for employers. She did not say whether they intend to review the data.

There have been other data problems in the federal government. Statistics Canada issued a major correction to its July jobs numbers after human error led the agency to vastly under-report growth in hiring. And in March, The Globe revealed that Finance Canada was using job postings from Kijiji, a popular online classified site, in its job-vacancy calculations. As a result, Finance Canada’s numbers differed from Statistics Canada’s.

Restaurants Canada and the CFIB are concerned that TFW program changes will harm businesses in regions with labour shortages.

Not sure how and why these mistakes happened (reduced capacity, time pressures, political direction to move too quickly) but another illustration why solid data and evidence necessary (but I still find no justification for fast food Temporary Foreign Workers and equivalent).

Temporary foreign worker data dont correspond with reality – The Globe and Mail.

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Employers say temporary foreign worker figures are not accurate

2014/09/27 Leave a comment

Never good when the numbers are wrong:

But six employers contacted by The Globe on Thursday contended the information is inaccurate, raising questions about the accuracy of some of the data the government used to support its case for sweeping reforms to the temporary foreign worker TFW program.

The federal list is set to become political fodder in Alberta on Friday, when the Alberta Federation of Labour plans to release a copy that it obtained through a separate information request.

“There are lots of employers using the program very aggressively,” said Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan. “A lot of these [TFW] jobs are some of the best in our economy and we shouldn’t be cavalier about allowing them to slip through our fingers.”

Three of the largest employers included on the list said the figures were not accurate.Shaw Cablesystems, which was listed as employing 4,354 temporary foreign workers more than 30 per cent of its work force, said it had provided incorrect figures to Employment and Social Development Canada. The correct figure is 169 TFWs, or one per cent of its work force, the company said in a statement.

…. Alberta Labour Minister Ric McIver noted Alberta has a severe labour crunch. He said business owners are inundating him with concerns about restrictions to the foreign worker program.

“Canada is a big country and sometimes one size does not fit all,” Mr. McIver said. “Our goal is to work with our partners in the federal government and look for a program that actually meets the needs of Alberta business, puts Canadians first to get jobs, but doesn’t put businesses out of business by denying them absolutely essential labour.”

Mr. Kenney doesn’t appear to be wavering. In an e-mail Thursday, he noted 110,000 Albertans are looking for work and the changes will affect about 8,000 low-paying jobs currently filled by foreign workers. “There are also still too many people capable of working who are not in the labour force,” Mr. Kenney wrote.

Employers say temporary foreign worker figures are not accurate – The Globe and Mail.

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Jason Kenney faces foreign-worker fallout in own backyard – Politics – CBC News

2014/09/26 Leave a comment

More on the changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers program, the political repercussions:

Like most government decisions, the clampdown on temporary foreign workers has come with a political price.

Last spring, as media reports swirled about questionable use of the scheme by companies small and large, Employment Minister Jason Kenney met for days on end with his staff, hearing hours of briefs and brainstorming a solution, according to a senior government source.

Kenney knew he was walking a political tightrope, trying to maintain the program in industries and regions where employers face legitimate labour shortages, while clamping down — and crucially, being seen to clamp down — on companies that are allegedly displacing Canadians to get cheaper labour.

The minister had long been troubled by reports that included such examples as a coal mine in northern B.C. which listed fluency in Mandarin as a job requirement when requesting foreign temporary workers. The case was the subject of a union-led federal court challenge, but was dismissed.

But the final straw, according to an official who helped craft the government response, was a report that two waitresses were laid off in Estevan, Saskatchewan, only to be replaced by foreign workers.

“That was the kryptonite moment for us,” the source recalls. “This is one of the hardest places to find Canadians to work and yet, they were laying off Canadians.”

Kenney’s decision: phase in a 10 per cent cap on the number of low-wage workers coming in, ban their use in areas where unemployment is six per cent or higher, and increase processing fees and fines for those who abuse the program.

The result: applications to the program were down by 75 per cent this summer over last, Kenney told the Commons last week.

But the result is also growing anger among employers in sectors as far-flung as the fashion and film industries, to fish packing plants, to the hospitality sector and restaurant industry, to mines in remote northern regions.

…Kenney, for his part, is standing firm on the new policy.

His office has argued that businesses, small and large, need to do a labour market assessment as part of their business plan. If they have to offer higher wages to attract people, so be it.

Still, concern about the repercussions could explain the government’s haste to offer a break to small business on EI premiums announced earlier this month by Finance Minister Joe Oliver.

Some Conservatives seem to feel the pot needs sweetening, as they march into election season running on their banner theme: economic prosperity for all.

Jason Kenney faces foreign-worker fallout in own backyard – Politics – CBC News.

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TFWP reforms a success as applications plummet, says Kenney

2014/09/18 Leave a comment

A remarkable change from making it too easy to engage Temporary Foreign Workers to the current restrictions, with a 75 percent drop in applications. Lesson learned by the Government on how to use incentives and disincentives:

A year ago, the Conservatives implemented a $275 fee. In June, that fee was hiked to $1,000 for each worker, an expense that essentially placed the temporary foreign worker program out of reach for many small businesses.

Some employers have complained that the new rules are too onerous and make it difficult for them to operate in areas of the country with low unemployment.

Western premiers have also raised concerns about the overhaul, saying their provinces have a pressing need for skilled labour.

Jinny Sims, the NDP’s employment and immigration critic, mocked Kenney’s defence of the overhaul, pointing to the case of 58 electricians in Saskatchewan who said they were laid off from Alliance Energy in May while the company’s temporary foreign workers were kept on.

“The rule of asking employers if they think a Canadian will lose his or her job ‘now or in the foreseeable future’ gives huge wiggle room to employers,” Sims said. “When will the government make real changes and have real penalties?”

Kenney told Sims to bring those allegations to Service Canada “or to the Canada Border Services Agency so that a formal inquiry can be launched.”

TFWP reforms a success as applications plummet, says Kenney (pay wall)

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ICYMI: Canadians expose foreign worker mess in oilsands | CBCNews.ca Mobile

2014/09/06 Leave a comment

More controversy regarding Temporary Foreign Workers and alleged abuse of the program to the detriment of Canadians:

Alberta’s minister of jobs, skills, training and labour said cases like this need investigation but foreign workers are still needed in the oilsands.

“We shouldnt penalize a whole industry, a whole economy, a whole region because there are some unfortunate circumstances. What we need to do is to get better at investigating those complaints and providing remedy to them,” said Kyle Fawcett.

When CBC News asked the federal minister responsible if visas may be revoked in this case and he indicated its possible.

“Weve done it… We have sent people home when their presence here as temporary foreign workers was based on misrepresentation,” said Immigration Minister Chris Alexander.

Signs with phrases in foreign languages are up at the Husky Sunrise worksite to help workers communicate with each other.

“We are saying to all employers you will only have access to this program if there’s not a qualified Canadian to do the job.”

The union said, because of a grievance it filed, the latest crew of new arrivals was pared back from 70 to 20 workers.

“These are widespread concerns,” said Nuygen from CLAC. “Safety is definitely one of the top two issues. The other is temporary foreign workers getting jobs ahead of Canadians.”

Demosten said foreign workers are still being promoted, however, to higher paying, non-union foreman jobs over him and other certified Canadians.

“People who don’t speak English are our bosses. They are telling us what to do and they don’t have any idea what to do.”

Canadians expose foreign worker mess in oilsands | CBCNews.ca Mobile.

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Tightening of foreign worker rules affecting supply of doctors – The Globe and Mail

2014/07/17 Leave a comment

A small part of the Temporary Foreign Workers program that most Canadians would not have problems with but nevertheless affected by the changed rules:

A tightening of the rules in the last three years – including the most recent overhaul, announced last month – has convinced some recruiters to give up on the TFW program altogether.

“Many, many, many recruiters that were doing this work back in 2011 have dropped off,” said Joan Mavrinac, head of the regional physician recruitment office for Essex County, which includes the border city of Windsor, Ont.

“Then, with the changes in 2013, we’ve become far fewer and now the changes in 2014, I think, are going to effectively kill the program [for doctors.]”The TFW program had been under fire for more than a year when Employment Minister Jason Kenney and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced sweeping reforms designed to prevent unscrupulous employers from importing low-wage foreign workers to displace Canadian employees.

The reforms include a 10-day turnaround time to process applications for highly skilled, high-wage workers, but they do not address any of the unique concerns of doctors, many of which stem from the fact MDs are generally self-employed.

Tightening of foreign worker rules affecting supply of doctors – The Globe and Mail.

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Kenney to consider exemptions to temporary foreign worker plan – Macleans.ca

2014/07/14 Leave a comment

Kenney’s consistent messaging while suggesting some flexibility on the margins:

While Kenney attempted to strike a conciliatory note toward the provinces, he took a hard-line toward employers, whom he has criticized in the past as relying on relatively cheaper foreign workers as business model for success.

“We would encourage employers — I’m not talking about any region or industry in particular — we would encourage employers to redouble their efforts to hire and where necessary accommodate local unemployed workers,” Kenney said.

That could mean raising pay, allowing more flexible hours, investing in training or providing transport to work from hard-to-reach areas, he said.

“We think those options are all preferable than picking up the phone and calling a labour recruiter on the other side of the world and having someone fly you in from a developing country, into a region of double-digit unemployment.”

Kenney to consider exemptions to temporary foreign worker plan – Macleans.ca.

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Tinkering is not Jason Kenney’s style – Yakabuski

2014/07/08 Leave a comment

Good piece on the political astuteness of Jason Kenney by Konrad Yakabuski:

Friday’s Federal Court ruling labelling that latter move “cruel and unusual treatment” is a decidedly unflattering one for the practising Catholic that Mr. Kenney is. But even if Ottawa is forced to reinstate health care for these claimants, their numbers are now so low that it will still save hundreds of millions annually compared to what it cost to run the refugee system before Mr. Kenney got his hands on it.

Now, Mr. Kenney’s paws are all over the TFW program. Whether his reforms turn out to be good policy will depend on whether the market works, specifically whether more Canadians migrate to Alberta to fill what are supposed to become good-paying fast-food jobs. That’s a leap of faith not even the supposedly free-market business lobby is willing to make.

But you know Mr. Kenney is on the right track when Justin Trudeau, who railed against the pre-reform TFW program and whose father created the national energy program, confusingly calls the latest overhaul “one of the most anti-Alberta federal policies we’ve seen in decades.”

If that’s all the opposition’s got, the Smiling Buddha should be laughing.

Tinkering is not Jason Kenney’s style – The Globe and Mail.

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Manitoba’s foreign worker strategy called a model for other provinces – The Globe and Mail

2014/07/04 Leave a comment

The model for curbing abuse:

Manitoba’s system centres on the Worker Recruitment and Protection Act WRAPA, passed in 2009. Its most important component is also its most basic: Unlike most provinces, Manitoba knows where its temporary foreign workers are working. Businesses must register with the province to get a work permit for a TFW. That allows inspectors to check on their working conditions to make sure they meet employment standards and health and safety rules. It also allows the province to block anyone who breaks those rules from bringing in more workers. Advocates for TFWs complained for years that the system was open to exploitation, because a migrant worker’s right to be in Canada depends on a good relationship with the employer. As a result, TFWs are said to be less likely to complain of unfair treatment or unsafe working conditions.

“We know where the workers are and we put resources into going out and making sure those workers are being treated appropriately,” Mr. Short said. “We focus on the most vulnerable workers in Manitoba. That includes workers earning near the minimum wage, recent immigrants, young workers and temporary foreign workers.”

The legislation is a favourite among public-policy analysts. Reports for the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Canadian Council for Refugees have all hailed it as the best of its kind in the country.

Manitoba’s foreign worker strategy called a model for other provinces – The Globe and Mail.

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