Canada National News - The Brooks Bulletin
Canada National News - The Brooks Bulletin: "Foreign workers program is failing Canadian businesses: report
CELESTE MACKENZIE
Sunday, August 13, 2006
OTTAWA (CP) - A federal program that brings low-skilled foreign workers to Canada is not meeting the needs of labour-hungry employers, says a new report.
The problem is that the program only allows workers to stay in Canada for a maximum of 12 months, says the Canadian Bar Association report.
Author Wendy Danson, an Edmonton lawyer, said the 2003 federal pilot program to bring in low-skilled workers makes employers provide worker housing, pay return airfare, and doesn't let workers bring families or eventually apply for landed immigrant status.
'There is such a demand for labour here (in Alberta) because of the oil sands,' she said. 'It's just crazy. You can earn 19 dollars an hour just for sweeping the floor. Our clients just can't get the labour they need.'
The association includes 800 immigration lawyers who represent a variety of businesses.
Danson submitted the report to the Department of Human Resources, which is completing a review of the program's impact on employers. The review will feed into a general assessment of its Foreign Workers Program.
Susan Nutt, who runs Alberta Bridges, a bridge maintenance and construction company in Pickardville, Alta., says she employs up to 19 workers year-round at a minimum of $18.65 an hour. In 2005, Canadians she hired never showed up for work, or quit after a few weeks, so this spring she employed six Filipino workers through the program. They will be replaced with six more next year and Nutt says she'll be sad to see the first batch go.
'Much of the year is just getting people trained, and safety is a big part of that."
CELESTE MACKENZIE
Sunday, August 13, 2006
OTTAWA (CP) - A federal program that brings low-skilled foreign workers to Canada is not meeting the needs of labour-hungry employers, says a new report.
The problem is that the program only allows workers to stay in Canada for a maximum of 12 months, says the Canadian Bar Association report.
Author Wendy Danson, an Edmonton lawyer, said the 2003 federal pilot program to bring in low-skilled workers makes employers provide worker housing, pay return airfare, and doesn't let workers bring families or eventually apply for landed immigrant status.
'There is such a demand for labour here (in Alberta) because of the oil sands,' she said. 'It's just crazy. You can earn 19 dollars an hour just for sweeping the floor. Our clients just can't get the labour they need.'
The association includes 800 immigration lawyers who represent a variety of businesses.
Danson submitted the report to the Department of Human Resources, which is completing a review of the program's impact on employers. The review will feed into a general assessment of its Foreign Workers Program.
Susan Nutt, who runs Alberta Bridges, a bridge maintenance and construction company in Pickardville, Alta., says she employs up to 19 workers year-round at a minimum of $18.65 an hour. In 2005, Canadians she hired never showed up for work, or quit after a few weeks, so this spring she employed six Filipino workers through the program. They will be replaced with six more next year and Nutt says she'll be sad to see the first batch go.
'Much of the year is just getting people trained, and safety is a big part of that."
posted by Tina Kyrtsos and Mario Ferrer at 6:55 AM
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