Canada's Labour Market

Canada has an openly generous immigration intake program. In fact, it's a whoppingly generous intake for a country geographically huge and diverse, but with an unimpressive population total of what are held to be native-born Canadians unwilling to themselves be fruitful and multiply. The indigenous population, inclusive of long-time immigrant stock, is not refuelling the numbers of Canadians by natural birth, so the solution is seen as welcoming emigrants from other countries eager to take advantage of everything that the country has to offer.

In 2012 Canada absorbed 257,515 immigrants. In other words, every four years Canada grows its population by a million people - largely through immigration, and partially through a natural rise through childbirth of a population reluctant to burden themselves too abundantly with children requiring time and care and an eye to the future.  We much prefer, as a society, to have fewer children and to import our workforce.

And it is that workforce that presents Canada with a problem. Job-seeking does not present as a movable feast; most people are loathe to pull up residential stakes and go where the jobs present themselves for the taking. That is made possible by Canada's system of social welfare, both through the intervention of municipal social welfare and federal programs like 'employment insurance' which tops up part-time-through-seasonal-work wages in specified provinces plying traditional trades.

As of the last six months there were 338,189 temporary foreign workers within the country, a doubling of such workers in the last decade. These workers are not granted the status of permanent residence; their contracts are for four-year periods and then they must return whence they came. Which, in effect, seems fairly manipulative; temporary jobs with no reward topping off what for some is a sacrifice. Seems, in other words unfair.

On the other hand, it has become so usual an affair to casually bring in foreign workers that the federal program signing off and permitting it has been manipulated to the detriment of the Canadian workforce. The country seems to have agreed that Canada needs more skilled workers, and there is an effort to recruit skilled immigrants to fill that perceived gap. Citizenship and Immigration figures indicate the majority of temporary foreign workers are from the Philippines. Nannies and nurses.

The next largest contingent is from the U.S. at 35,637; from Mexico: 21,401; Australia: 18,683; France: 18,168; India: 16,299; Britain: 14,662; China: 13,275; and Korea: 10,871. A mixed grab-bag of first-world and third-world economies giving up their skilled and unskilled workers to Canadian job-market needs. But since attention has been caught lately by the unfortunate finagling of some to unscrupulously shape the program to their financial benefit in a way that is inimical to employment of Canadian workers, a public outcry persuaded the federal government to bring in a few changes.

"We are concerned about examples of the program not being used as intended. Canadians must always have the first crack at available jobs in our economy. The temporary foreign worker program was intended to fill acute labour shortages on a temporary basis only, not to displace Canadian workers", announced Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, of the decision to bring in some amendments.

Employers can no longer fast-track foreign workers to fill their employment needs when Canadian workers are equally skilled and willing to do the work. No longer can employers pay foreign workers up to 15% less for work Canadian employees perform and are paid for as a living wage. Language priorities may not extend beyond French and English. (Employers in Canada should be willing to invest in training employees to bring them up to the skill standards required.)

If there is no genuine shortage of Canadian workers, government is able to suspend or revoke work permits. The Royal Bank of Canada's initiative to have some of their current Canadian working staff train foreign workers brought in to replace them was the second instance of a Canadian employer gaming the system. Previously it was a B.C.-based mining company that had specifically advertised for skilled workers proficient in Mandarin.

A breakdown of occupational skills requiring the use of temporary foreign workers listed clerical workers first, represent 65,448 jobs. Professionals accounted for 39,123 jobs, followed by skilled and technical workers filling 32,462 jobs, then 16,856 managers and 16,542 labourers.  Hard to believe that Canadians cannot fill clerical jobs, that we have a shortage of skilled technical workers, and labourers.

On the other hand, Canadian pilots complain that charter airlines have been unwilling to pay to train Canadian pilots on specific busy seasonal vacation routes, and they have been hiring temporary foreign pilots instead. Not a very useful nor fair situation, overall, one that obviously requires being remedied for the good of all concerned.