Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough’s department in a briefing note boasted it processed a record number of permits for migrant workers, even as auditors warned foreign labour may cost Canadian jobs. “The Temporary Foreign Worker Program has processed a record high number of files,” wrote staff..“Employer demand for the program has significantly increased given the impact of the pandemic on the labour market,” said the briefing note Labour Market Impact Assessment Processing. Applications for permits in the year ending March 31 increased 22% to a record 68,307..“The program has seen a significant increase in demand,” wrote staff. In one province, Québec, the number of employers’ applications for migrant labour permits was up 55% year over year, said the briefing note..“The program is designed to be responsive to the Canadian labour market by ensuring Canadians and permanent residents are first considered for available jobs,” said the note, adding: “The program aims to strike a balance between protecting the Canadian labour market, informing employers of their obligations and protecting workers once they arrive.”.So many employers applied to hire foreigners the department had a backlog of 11,723 applications awaiting an answer, it said. Applications were processed through the COVID recession including in May 2020 when the number of Canadians who were either jobless or working reduced hours numbered 5.5 million, the worst employment market in 40 years..The briefing note followed a 2021 Evaluation Of The Temporary Foreign Worker Program by the same department that concluded migrant labour may cost Canadian jobs and wages. “The impacts of the wage program may be significant in sub-labour markets,” wrote auditors..Research suggested migrant labour cost Canadians in construction, trucking, beauty salons, restaurants, fish processing and farming “where foreign workers are willing to work for lower wages than what a Canadian or permanent resident would consider acceptable.”.“There is no evidence pointing to a risk for job displacement or wage suppression at the national level in Canada,” said Evaluation. “In 2019 temporary foreign workers represented only 0.5% of the total labour force in Canada.”.“There is however evidence of varying factors affecting unemployment and working conditions in localized labour markets,” wrote staff. “This points to some risk of job displacement or wage suppression in some specific sectors, occupations and regions.”.In the carpentry trade from 2016 to 2018 real wages declined 3% in British Columbia and 9% in Ontario while wages for migrant carpenters grew 1%, wrote researchers. Data on Atlantic fish plants show companies that hired foreigners typically paid labourers $1.03 to $1.69 less per hour than those that hired Canadians..Employers who applied to hire migrants complained Canadians were not interested in “physical labour,” shift work or repetitive or “uninteresting work.” Companies surveyed by the department said they did not hire locals who applied due to “lack of previous experience” or “lack of work ethic” while foreigners were rated “more reliable,” “more hard working” and “more likely to stay with the organization after being hired.”
