Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER NOVEMBER 2018 NEWS 3 Employers in agricultural sector looking for positive changes to TFWP Hoping for faster processes, greater ease of use considering labour shortages BY MELISSA CAMPEAU AGRIC ULTUR AL business owners who employ seasonal migrant workers have been keep- ing a close eye on news headlines recently. at's because Employ- ment and Social Development Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are expected to publish findings from a review of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). e most recent phase of the review included a national call- out for evidence-based research from groups impacted by the program, to be reviewed by an independent contractor. While former prime minister Stephen Harper's government conducted a review and overhaul of the system in 2014, many groups still see op- portunity for significant changes and improvements. Labour shortages More than one-third (34 per cent) of Canadian farmers use the pro- gram and of those who use it, 94 per cent said it does address some of their labour shortage problems, according to a 2014 survey by the Canadian Federation of Indepen- dent Business (CFIB). However, Canadian farms are facing a labour gap of 52,000 po- sitions, according to the Canadian Farming Association (CFA). And the new Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) processes — where employers must prove there is no Canadian worker available to fill the positions — are causing delays and complications for urgent labour needs. "One concern many of our members have is the time it takes to process the requests, get the permits issued, and get workers here," said Linda Delli Santi, exec- utive director of the B.C. Green- house Growers' Association in Surrey. As of Sept. 2018, the number 1 limitation on sales or production growth for farmers was a short- age of skilled labour, followed by a shortage of unskilled and semi-skilled labour, said Mandy D'Autremont, director of market intelligence and agri-business at the CFIB in Toronto. "One of our agri-business members told us about her frus- tration that their operations slowed instead of expanding in 2016, only because they couldn't find employees." Eighty-two per cent of farmers believe the federal government should make the program easier to use, found the CFIB survey. ere are definitely some chal- lenges with process, according to Reg Ens, executive director at the B.C. Agriculture Council in Abbotsford. "When you're dealing with multiple government depart- ments, multiple layers of govern- ment, and multiple regulators, it's a very fragmented area and there are competing jurisdictions. So, ensuring you're following all the rules, that you're putting every- thing in place to get applications (done) quickly and efficiently, is a challenge." For the farming industry, it's not always possible to plan every detail well in advance. "For seasonal agricultural work, timing is so unpredictable and weather-dependent, and some crops are incredibly fussy and there's a very tight window around when they can be picked," said Ens. Changing requirements Another concern for many farm- ers is the introduction of biomet- ric requirements (fingerprints and a photograph). e new federal requirement for many groups en- tering Canada will apply to sea- sonal employees from specific countries in the program whose work permits are issued later than Dec. 18 of this year. "e implementation of bio- metrics is a big concern," said Ens. "We're not confident that the government has investigated ad- equately to understand the practi- cal nature of what they're asking employees to do." For a worker in rural Mexico, for example, the extra trip to and from Mexico City is lengthy and cost-prohibitive, he said. "It's like someone in Canada travelling from Prince George to Ottawa and back again. To a worker with limited financial wherewithal, that presents a prob- lem and we're concerned about what that's going to mean." e program should incorpo- rate a "trusted employer" provi- sion, as originally suggested by former immigration minister John McCallum, said Ken Forth, NO > pg. 9 Labour Reporter Canadian Canadian Labour Reporter is a weekly newsletter that is designed to provide labour professionals, lawyers and the industrial relations industry with valuable information and strategies on how to assess, monitor and approach labour collective bargaining agreements. 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