National Post (National Edition)
The VALUE of foreign WORKERS
One would think a successful business in Calgary’s booming economy would have nowhere to go but up. That wasn’t the case for Gerard Curran, owner of the James Joyce Pub. In fact, economic growth meant having to downsize from two restaurants to one — all for want of qualified workers.
“When the crunch came in 200708 I couldn’t deal with the labour issues,” he says. “Margins in this business are 3% to 4%. When I had to search for Canadian workers — and I mean search — there just weren’t enough. We were spending $2,000 a month for ads just screaming for people. Ultimately I had to sell one of my operations just to stay in business.”
That was also the time he began to look into the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program as a possible alternative. “I checked out all the people who used it, looked at the pros and cons and costs. Tim Hortons, Starbucks and Boston Pizza had all gotten into it.” By the end of 2008, he had his first four temporary foreign workers and continues to use the program today to round out the ranks.
Given the cost and complexities involved, the TFW Program is not something employers take lightly. By the time Mr. Curran factors in the professional services for the paperwork, transportation, housing, clothing and other necessities, the final tally per person is about $5,000 to $6,000.
The TFW program is jointly managed by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). In a written response to an interview request, HRSDC explained the TFW Program is driven by employer demand and is “intended as a lastresort, short-term solution so businesses can continue to grow and create more opportunities for Canadians.” The original intent was to help employers experiencing acute labour shortages where Canadians are not available, although when asked, it did not specify sectors or regions.
On Monday, federal immigration minister Jason Kenney and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) made a joint announcement revealing significant changes to the TFW Program. The changes include:
Paying TFWs the same wages as Canadian workers;
The temporary suspension of the Accelerated Labour Market Opin- ion process launched last year to streamline TFW approvals;
Additional questions on the application to ensure the program is not being misused to outsource Canadian jobs;
Increased TFW program application fees;
Broadening the government’s authority to revoke work permits in the event the program is being misused;
A declaration that only English and French can be cited by employers as a job requirement.
The changes were made following highly publicized controversies surrounding the alleged abuse of the program to replace Canadian workers with TFWs.
David Garson, managing partner with Guberman Garson immigration lawyers in Toronto believes that the TFW program must remain as flexible as possible in order to allow employers to meet their labour needs.
He cites the example of one agricultural operation and exporter that has used the TFW Program to fill seasonal roles over the past 10 years. Recent slowdowns in the permit process meant he had to purchase prod- uct from the U.S. and then resell it to U.S. customers. “Who benefits from that?” he asks.
With the exception of the broadening of government’s ability to revoke permits in instances of abuse, the changes announced to the TFW program announced yesterday will not apply to the Seasonal Agricultural Worker program.
The TFW program is particularly critical to businesses in western Canada, where employees are being lured away to more lucrative jobs in the oil patch. “About 90% of temporary foreign workers in the food services industry are in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta,” reports Joyce Reynolds executive vice-president of government affairs for CRFA (Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association) in Toronto.
Overall, the impact of labour shortages in the region has been absolutely devastating, she adds. “The Temporary Foreign Worker Program became a life saver for the industry. One of the big impacts is helping people stabilize their business and retain domestic employees.”
That argument is supported by the fact that every $1-million in restaurant sales creates 27 jobs, and every dollar spent generates $1.85 in the broader economy.
Without the TFW Program, Mr. Curran believes he would have had to give up his Current operations in relatively short order. “It is giving us stability and even the potential to expand. My main concern now is that recent bad press may cause it all to go sideways.”
An even farther-reaching consequence of heightened program scrutiny is longer delays and reduced productivity for firms that rely on TFWs to compete on the worldwide stage, Mr. Garson says.
“Efforts to streamline the Temporary Foreign Worker Program [in the mid to late-2000s] have been instrumental in helping [multinational] organizations bring in the best skilled workers to be found.”
For global companies especially, the ability to hire qualified foreign workers could play a key role in attracting businesses to Canada, he adds.
“In order to compete, companies need to access the best talent they can find. In some cases, there may be better, more qualified people elsewhere that can be brought in on a temporary basis. If they can’t do that, companies will simply take their business elsewhere.”
The argument that bringing in foreign workers is a means to downsize is typically not the motivation for these companies, Mr. Garson notes. “One could argue that bringing in talented people allows you to augment and expand right here.”
Having spent two decades in immigration law, he remembers the days of lengthy delays in the immigration system. After making positive moves to streamline the system to address acute labour shortages, recent announcements by the government could mean employers will be facing an even slower and not very responsive system.
That could be a problem for operators like Mr. Curran, who firmly believes the TFW Program is what’s keeping his doors open and 50 people gainfully employed. But he strongly supports the notion that everyone, including employers, must act responsibly.
“Like everything else, if you take a program and work it to the best of its ability [if it’s fully transparent, and the right checks and balances are in place] it can work for everybody.”