Canada has long had a
reputation as a country with open doors.
This is what our country was built upon. I
hope it continues.
However, federal regulatory changes to
Canada’s
Temporary Foreign Worker Pro-
gram
mean that the agricultural industry
(and other like-minded labour sectors) is
going to require out-of-the-box thinking
when it comes to staffing shortages and
recruiting pitfalls.
After months of refusing to budge on
the topic, then Employment Minister
Jason Kenney announced in February a
one-year bridging program to help those
in the process of becoming permanent
citizens. This measure, which came into
effect on Feb. 1, 2015, still leaves many
ineligible to apply.
But the issue of temporary foreign
workers (TFWs) speaks to a bigger prob-
lem of born-and-bred Canadians spurning
primary agriculture jobs in favour of
other options, including joining the EI
ski team. Meanwhile, thousands of ready
and able TFWs are coming to Canada
from the U.S., the Philippines, Mexico,
Dubai and Saudi Arabia, only to be found
anxiously waiting thanks to the changes
to this program. They are being denied a
chance at a new life for reasons unknown.
Look back at the history books. They
document an influx of Dutch migrants
who took up permanent stock in Alberta
and Ontario throughout the first half of
the 20th century—much to the chagrin
of local residents. Yet Canada welcomed
them and a meaningful labour shortage
was addressed.
We should learn from our past. This
country’s citizens should continue to
welcome other TFWs as they work to find
their place in our vast, diverse landscape.
Look no further than the Gomez and
Hurtado families from Mexico (p. 26) for
qualitative evidence of this. After all, if
we look back far enough, we are almost
all immigrants ourselves. Those who look
at Canada as their home will end up being
the biggest community supporters and
members of our society.
The suggestion that companies are
taking the easy way out by hiring TFWs
simply does not stand up to analysis.
New measures enacted by the federal
government mean securing the requisite
Labour Market Impact Assessment can
take longer than ever, and will now cost
$1,000 per person instead of the previous
cost of $275.
It’s quite a process and certainly not the
path of least resistance when you consider
the time, money and effort employers
must now put in before they learn if their
application was successful.
Although the process is onerous, a
distinct labour shortage and a willing for-
eign worker pool have made it necessary.
Instead of lamenting why “Canadians”
don’t want these jobs, we should appre-
ciate those hired hands who are willing
to work.
Rick Paskal of Paskal Cattle Co. in Pic-
ture Butte may have said it best: “They’re
the backbone of my company. They’ve
taught us a lot—they’ve taught us about
the value of relationships, that people
aren’t just numbers.”
Needless regression
EDITOR'S
MESSAGE
RED TAPE HAMPERS ABLE-BODIEDWORKERS
Instead of lamenting why
“Canadians” don’t want these jobs,
we should appreciate those hired
hands who are willing to work.
Spring
2015
Grains
West
6
By Trevor Bacque
PublisherS
Lisa Skierka & TomSteve
ManagingEditor
Trevor Bacque:
Editorial Advisory Board
Bryan Adam
Cole Christensen
Lynn Jacobson
Jason Lenz
Greg Porozni
Victoria Russell
Greg Stamp
JohnWozniak
Sales&ProductionCoordinator
TommyWilson:
STAFFWRITER
Cullen Bird
COPY EDITOR
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Contributors
Agriculture and Agri-FoodCanada, Cullen Bird, Stan Blade,
Rachel Boekel, BoMill AB, Mary Buhr, Jeff Davis,
Ian Doig, Jon Driedger, Sydney Duhaime, Electric Umbrella
Photography, Gerald Finster, GlenbowMuseum, RobGraf,
Peter Gredig, Lee Hart, Michael Interisano, Janet Krayden,
Tamara Leigh, PortiaMacDonald-Dewhirst,
MaureenMcNamee, KyleMetcalf, BryceMeyer,
JohnO’Donovan, Scott Rollans, Dan Ropchan, Jeremy
Simes, Sheri Strydhorst, Duncan Thompson,
Transport Canada, SarahWeigum, Kenton Ziegler
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Volume2, Issue2
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