Temp foreign workers distort market: study

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This article was published 08/05/2013 (4751 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO — Canada’s temporary foreign worker program was under renewed scrutiny Tuesday as a new report suggested the increasingly controversial system “could be distorting” the natural supply and demand of the country’s labour market.

The study from the University of Calgary’s school of public policy suggests Canada isn’t facing a wide-scale labour shortage but rather is experiencing a “serious mismatch” between the skills of its residents and the demands of the labour market.

Kevin McQuillan — lead author of the study titled All the workers we need: debunking Canada’s labour shortage fallacy — said improving the balance in the labour market does not require an increase in the workforce.

“The (temporary foreign worker program) is sometimes being used to fill jobs with foreign workers in regions that already suffer from relatively high unemployment rates,” he said.

“Temporary foreign workers could be distorting the labour market forces that would bring together more Canadian workers and jobs.”

McQuillan suggested an improved immigration policy — that could adjust intake levels with labour market needs and reduce the number of temporary foreign workers brought in — as part of the solution.

While stressing he supported immigration and understood employers’ desires to keep costs down, McQuillan said the temporary foreign worker program shouldn’t be used primarily to fill low-skilled, low-paying jobs.

“Looking at ways to make those jobs more attractive to Canadian workers is one of the first things we want to do before we rely too heavily on the temporary foreign worker program,” he said.

“I think (the program) is a good backstop in situations where we do have a booming economy and we have critical needs that need to be filled. I don’t think we’re in that situation now.”

In 2012, some 213,516 people entered Canada via the temporary foreign worker program, more than three times the number admitted a decade ago.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association said last month half its members report difficulty finding qualified workers.

Tuesday’s report conceded there are worker shortages in specific industries and certain regions, but argued young Canadians need to be encouraged to pursue an education and careers in fields where jobs are available.

McQuillan said this could be done through government funding into educational institutions with programs that match labour-market needs and tuition pricing that charges more for study in a field where there is already an excess of labour. He also suggested the government should find ways — such as a tax break — to entice Canadian workers to move from high-unemployment regions to provinces where workers are needed.

 

— The Canadian Press