Recent changes to the temporary foreign worker program could negatively affect Jasper's businesses. Like, the Other Paw and Bear's Paw bakeries, which both depend heavily on the program for reliable employees.
"Plain and simple my business would not exist or survive if I did not have foreign workers," said owner Kim Stark. "I honestly, truly try my best to recruit Canadians for jobs at my store, but Canadians do not apply. They do not want to work as a night shift baker, nor as a full-time, year-round barista."
Stark has been hiring foreign workers through the program for four and a half years. Before she was approved for her first Labour Market Opinion (LMO)鈥攚hich proves a need for foreign workers鈥攕he was working 16-hour days, seven days a week for 11 months a year. When she found out she was approved, she literally wept.
鈥淚 actually started crying,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or the first time, I actually get to be an employer and a business owner, working on my business, as opposed to just working in my business. It鈥檚 a huge difference.鈥�
The reason for the program reform鈥攊ncluding increased government authority, increased fees, the suspension of the accelerated LMO process and the removal of existing wage flexibility鈥攊s to minimize abuse and to ensure Canadians are getting first dibs on jobs.
鈥淭he temporary foreign worker program was intended to fill acute labour shortages on a temporary basis only, not to displace Canadian workers,鈥� said Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney during a press conference, April 29.
This comes in response to public outcry after the media revealed two cases where the program was being abused. One in B.C. where a mining company hired Chinese workers after an advertisement seeking Mandarin-speaking employees failed to attract resumes from Canadian workers. The other, the hiring of foreign workers by the Royal Bank of Canada, in order to outsource labour.
In a report by the Alberta Federation of Labour titled 鈥淔rom Last Resort to First Choice,鈥� it states that Alberta employers are bringing in more foreign workers than are needed to fill new jobs.
鈥淭here is no economy-wide labour shortage in Alberta,鈥� it states. 鈥淭here is a shortage of people willing to work for less, and that is why Alberta continues to bring in thousands of temporary foreign workers every year, even when the economy sheds jobs.鈥�
In response to such statements, Stark said Jasper is an anomaly and shouldn鈥檛 be considered alongside every other community in the province or the country.
鈥淲e are tourism driven, with a higher than average cost of living and nowhere to live,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hose attributes don鈥檛 make it easy to recruit long term employees or retain foreign workers once they achieve permanent resident status. I pay above average wages and I pay the same to Canadians and foreign workers alike, and my wage increases are based on work performance and loyalty, not colour of skin.
鈥淏ring me a Canadian that wants to stick around and wants to work at night and wants to be a barista for more than three months before they go back to university. That鈥檚 not happening.鈥�
The Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce is currently assessing how the program changes will affect Jasper鈥檚 businesses.
Wayne Hnatyshin, chair of the chamber advocacy committee, said it鈥檚 not yet clear what the affects will be, but the chamber is committed to assessing the issue.
鈥淲e are asking our members to provide us that feedback so we can assess a proper strategy to assist them as we move forward,鈥� he said. Once that information has been collected, the chamber will share its findings with the Alberta Chamber of Commerce and its other affiliates.
鈥淲e鈥檒l work with the existing groups either locally, provincially or federally to help us ensure that we meet the demands that are required of our total membership.鈥�
Stark is just one of many business owners in Jasper who depends on foreign workers. The program is utilized by Mountain Park Lodges, Petro Canada and many more.
Employers are going to suffer because of the changes, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
鈥淭emporary foreign workers often do the jobs where there are not enough Canadians willing and available to do them,鈥� Dan Kelly, CFIB president, stated in an April 29 press release.
鈥淲ithout the TFW program, a growing number of employers simply won鈥檛 be able to find the workers they need.鈥�
