Ottawa to streamline foreign worker plan

 

Kenney vows changes to ease labour shortages

 

By Rebecca Penty, Calgary Herald September 17, 2011

Federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney promised Friday to improve a program that allows companies to bring in foreign workers, amid labour shortages in some Alberta industries.



Kenney, speaking at a Calgary Chamber of Commerce lunch, vowed to meet with leaders next month across several sectors to address their challenges in hiring using the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, following more general meetings about immigration held in Alberta through the summer that made it evident the program is a priority for businesses.

"It's our intention to hammer out a process that is more efficient, that eliminates unnecessary and redundant bureaucracy, or red tape, so that the Temporary Foreign Worker Program works, on time, for the Alberta economy," Kenney said.
In October the Calgary Southeast MP will join Diane Finley, Human Resources and Skills Development minister, in meetings with employers from the oil and gas, construction, agriculture and hospitality sectors and labour representatives to talk about the program, which the government attempted to improve last April 1 by adopting new rules against mistreatment of foreign workers.

The latest figures from Statistics Canada for Alberta, from August, show unemployment in the province at 5.6 per cent - third lowest after Saskatchewan (4.5 per cent) and Manitoba (5.4 per cent).

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada numbers show 42,885 temporary foreign workers were employed in Alberta in 2010.
The program, which Kenney described as "much maligned" but misunderstood by those labour groups who feel foreigners are taking Canadian jobs, has had a limited effect on a tight labour situation in the oil and gas sector, according to Cheryl Knight of the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada.

"There is a strong disconnect with the Government of Canada's program prioritizing so-called skilled workers, where skill is associated with education. For our industry, skill is something different," said Knight, the executive director and CEO of the Calgary-based organization, who noted there are shortages in field workers in oil and gas, well services and drilling workers and supervisors.
"Because those jobs do not require formal post-secondary education, they're not seen as skilled workers."

When questioned, Kenney was aware of Knight's concern and remembered a July meeting with her group. "I think what they're telling us is there are people who in actual fact, have very high levels of skill, but not on paper. They may not have a high school education, they may not have a diploma, they may not have trade certification, but they're able to run a sophisticated $10-million gas fracking (hydraulic fracturing) operation," he said.
"We are sensitive to that concern and we are looking at it."

The federal minister also suggested another solution to the energy industry labour issues could be bringing in unemployed U.S. workers, a practice currently limited through a North American Free Trade Agreement visa program to about 5,000 people per year.

Kenney said the government must also try to match unemployed Canadians with jobs in parts of the country facing labour shortages, noting 80 per cent of Canadians surveyed by Ottawa feel immigration levels are already too high.

penty@calgaryherald.com

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Canada should tap into U.S. labour pool as shortages loom: Kenney

By: Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press

CALGARY - Ottawa is mulling ways to tap into the U.S. labour force as worker shortages loom on our side of the border, the federal immigration minister said Friday.

"We're at a preliminary point of examining ways that we could do a better job of accessing unemployed American labour," Jason Kenney told a business audience in Calgary — a city all-too familiar with worker shortages, especially in the oil and gas sector.

"There are a number of policy things that we're considering. I don't want to go into too much detail...We think, particularly in the energy industry, that may be a significant solution to some of the emerging labour market shortages."

The U.S. unemployment rate was just over nine per cent in August, whereas in Alberta — where a renewal in oilsands development may soon lead to another bout of labour tightness — the unemployment rate was only 5.6 per cent.

There are "a lot of skilled tradespeople in the U.S. who could walk straight into productive jobs here. We should see if there's something we can do in the rules to facilitate having those unemployed Americans contribute to our economy," Kenney said.

There are provisions under the North American Free Trade Agreement that enable workers to move easily between countries. But the number of those visas granted each year is capped, and only apply to certain types of occupations, Kenney said.

"It's a very good model, but it's very limited," Kenney said.

"We, as a government, have begun thinking about how we could perhaps expand that model."

Kenney also announced Friday that consultations are set to take place in Calgary next month on the federal Temporary Foreign Worker program, which he admits has been "maligned and misunderstood" by its critics.

The program enables companies to bring workers to Canada from around the world on a temporary basis, so long as they can prove they can't get the labour closer to home.

Some 185,000 such workers came to Canada last year, 58,000 of whom ended up in Alberta. Critics of the program argue workers who come to Canada under the program are often exploited.

In his remarks to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Kenney took aim at those accusations.

"They paint this picture of some sort of Industrial Revolution sweatshop or something that these people are coming to. Let me say, that most of the critiques of the Temporary Foreign Worker program are ridiculous, unfounded," Kenney said.

"When I meet temporary workers across Alberta, they say to me that they're able to earn in this province in a couple of days what it would take them a month to earn back in their country of origin. And that, for them, represents over a year or two a life savings to start a new business, to build a new home."

Regina’s immigrant population rising swiftly

 

 

By Tim Switzer, Leader-Post September 16, 2011 6:59 PM

REGINA — As demographics in Regina change, city officials are making sure they know what the population will look like before making the city change with it.

And 20 years from now the city will look much more diverse than it does today, shows a new study by the City of Regina examining aboriginal, immigrant, disabled and senior populations.
As part of Design Regina, the city’s official community plan process, projections indicate that by 2030, one-third of Regina’s population (or 87,155 people) will be made up of immigrants, compared to 11 per cent (20,554) today.
As well, aboriginal people will make up 12 per cent (31,787), up from 8.9 per cent (18,604). The aboriginal group is also aging, with the fastest growing demographic being those aged 55 or older.
The number of those with disabilities is also on the rise with a projection of 50,900 (20.4 per cent) for 2030, up from 36,600 (18.7 per cent) now.
The figures are based on a population estimate of 195,820 today and around 250,000 in 2030.
“There’s all kinds of implications in terms of things like transportation services, what are the demands going to be and, collectively, what (the figures) really show is the extent of the transformation of the next 10 or 20 years,” said Bruce Rice, a survey and policy research analyst with the city’s planning and sustainability branch.
While Design Regina will eventually come up with the official community plan through the coming years, some —including Neelu Sachdev, executive director at the Regina Immigrant Women Centre — have ideas of what needs to happen in the city to make it a reality.
“We need better transit, more accessible programming … and in different languages so those who don’t yet speak English can participate, child care … housing,” said Sachdev, who has already been part of Design Regina’s stakeholder consultations.
“If it’s going to be 33 per cent, we may have to model ourselves behind one of the other cities in Canada where there’s this many immigrants residing.”
Once those coming from other countries have been here for awhile and are settled, Sachdev said other needs — like job opportunities — will have to be met.
“Post-secondary education is becoming more and more of a need, not just for the education but in ensuring that credentials from back home are translated properly and they’re placed in an institution where they can have further training,” she said.
“There is a real possibility that these figures will happen if we’re aware we need to make those preparations in time. At this point, we’re playing catch-up. Who knows? It could go down or they could go even higher. But we have to make sure we accommodate all of them in this city.”
Rice said since some of these population trends have been happening in Regina for some time, the city has already adapted to meet new needs.
“On a day-to-day basis with the aboriginal community, you see the growing capacity of some of the organizations looking at services for their members — housing, employment,” he said. “We’re doing a lot more work with these organizations. Just the level of activity is something we’re seeing there.”
The completed official community plan is expected to be ready to go to city council in late 2013.
tswitzer@leaderpost.com

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