With a new prime minister of Canada and dozens of new members of parliament, the country’s agrifood industry is concerned about what changes might be on the horizon.
Among those is the temporary foreign worker program, something on which the industry has long relied.
Several speakers during the recent webinar, “Return to Parliament” shared their views on how the program is viewed by Canadians, and how some sort of continuation of it is needed to keep the country’s food system running optimally. The webinar was hosted by the Canadian Agrifood Policy Institute (CAPI).
Concerns over continuation of program
David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, said surveys have shown immigration is one of the three largest issues on the minds of Canadians, particularly the conservatives. Key immigration-related concerns are a scarcity of homes and health care workers, as well as congestion in urban areas.
“The conservatives have decided that immigration is something they can go even farther on than anyone’s gone in a while, and that is calling for more stringent controls. The temporary foreign worker program is just one example,” he said.
He added that younger Canadians, who feel more insecure about their employment situation, will be more apt to support an end to the program.
Agriculture industries depend on immigrant workforce
While Coletto said conservatives aren’t particularly fond of the temporary foreign worker program, many understand that there is still a need for immigrant workers in agriculture.
“I think people will understand an extension for agriculture. I think that’s well understood,” he said.
What people don’t want, though, is when a restaurant chain selects immigrant workers over young Canadians looking for work.
Lauren Martin, senior director of public affairs and corporate counsel for the Canadian Meat Council (CMC) said that when looking at the immigration issue, it is important to put the realities of the need for a skilled workforce ahead of emotions.
“I think what adds to this conversation is the emotion that is inherent when we’re talking about immigration,” Martin said. “I don’t fault Canadians and I don’t fault the world, really, for having those emotions around immigration. We’re talking about out the future of our children. We’re talking about our cultural identity. When we’re talking about immigration, we’re talking about new opportunities for people wanting to come here and have a ‘better life,’ right? These are really, really human things and really, really deeply felt things.”
But Martin said Canada has a shrinking workforce demographic as there are not as many young people to replace the people who are aging out of the workforce. The agrifood industry has some of the country’s most educated workers, and that education and expertise is valuable when it comes to adhering to rules of food processing and food safety.
Martin also noted that there is a group of people who understand that not a lot of people are “lining up around the block for various reasons” to apply for processing jobs.
What she anticipates to see is a reform of the temporary immigrant worker program, and not an elimination of it.
“There’s no escaping both the facts and the emotion around immigration, and what I think is going to play out this fall is the warring between the facts and the emotion around immigration,” she said.
She said Prime Minister Mark Carney is going to have to “deal with the facts that, like it or not, we are going to need immigration until we start having a bigger population here in Canada. You can’t get around that."
Martin added that the agrifood industry must make sure that government officials “get the facts right,” and “we’re going to have to be really sharp in order to make sure that they do.”
Agri-Food Immigration Pilot
A webinar participant asked Martin if there were opportunities for the revival of the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot, which ended on May 12.
She said CMC has advocated for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot and making it permanent since most of the meat industry’s jobs are year-round, permanent jobs and not cyclical jobs.
She said temporary immigrant workers are brought in as a means to an end. But if the government programs can help them transition on a pathway to permanent residency, it is more advantageous.
