Working Migrants

"Let me be clear: the Temporary Foreign Worker program must always and only ever be a last and limited resort for employers who have made every possible effort to hire and train Canadians but can't find them for available jobs."
"We are distressed that wage rates have barely kept pace with inflation since the global downturn, which is not indicative of a tight labour market. We are disappointed that Canadian employers invest less than virtually any other developed country in training."
Employment Minister Jason Kenney, Ottawa

Minister Kenney announced a moratorium on the food service industry resulting from allegations of misuse of temporary workers at number of McDonald's franchises, as well as small independent restaurants which have fired their long-time full-time Canadian-born employees in favour of taking advantage of the availability of foreign workers whom they will pay less and feel more satisfied with their desperate work ethic.



He urged that the food service industry improve working conditions and wages, and invest more generously in training among under-represented Canadian groups like immigrants, youth and aboriginals. "We've put them on notice that we expect Canadian employers to do better", he stated.

A study released by the C.D. Howe Institute revealed that the Temporary Foreign Worker program has experienced growth from around 100,00 people in 2002 to up to 338,000 working now across the country. And that the program had the perverse effect of increasing jobless rates in Alberta and British Columbia, where foreign workers are more commonly to be found than elsewhere in Canada.

"Minister Kenney has now banned the use of temporary foreign workers in food services. But while the food service industry may be the worst offender, it is by no means the only industry that has been using the program to displace Canadians and drive down wages", criticized Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, emphasizing that problems with the program go far beyond restaurants.

But Joyce Reynolds, head of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association claims to have been taken aback that the government would use such a broadstroke approach to one sector alone. Restaurants, she pointed out, are unable to compete with oil companies in Alberta with their $30 hourly wage for unskilled labour. And they sometimes recruit for the oilpatch right out of restaurants leaving them short of staff.

In 2005 the government issued permits for 4,360 temporary foreign workers in Food and Services, which rose to 26,215 permits by 2012. In Nova Scotia, where there is an unemployment rate of 9.3%, temporary foreign workers are employed at Tim Hortons and McDonald's, as well as across the country.

On the other hand foreign workers employed on farms for seasonal jobs take the place of Canadians who have no interest in taking those jobs. The program helps to fill positions as homecare workers, as well as bringing in specialized skilled workers required in some segments of the workforce. In the food industry, not so much.

When concern was made obvious by government reaction to the realization that the program was being abused, McDonald's Canada announced a voluntary freeze on foreign hires.


Simon Fraser University economist Dominique Gross analyzed the impact on low-education workers relating to the foreign worker program. As the laws of supply and demand would dictate, as the program expanded, the unemployment rate among low-skilled workers increased. Gain for some, pain for others.

But the plight of Canadian unemployed really does trump the need for overseas workers to find employment in Canada. The trick here is to find the right balance so both gain, and the downside is reduced on both sides.