Report from Parliament's Hill - April 10

By Prince George - Peace River M.P. Jay Hill

    Help Wanted: Solution to Labour Shortage Sought At Home and Abroad

“Help wanted”.  “Serious Labour Shortage”.  “Labour Shortage Isn’t Going Away”.  These are news headlines demonstrating the desperate search for skilled and unskilled labour not only in Prince George-Peace River but throughout the country. 

The labour shortage remains one of the primary concerns raised to me by area businesses.  Some local companies have spent thousands of dollars advertising for employees – to no avail.  They’re passing up new opportunities and contracts and they’re having to look outside Canada’s borders for the workers they need to operate their businesses right now.

Every day, my staff work with businesses, constituents, and the departments of Human Resources & Skills Development and Citizenship & Immigration (CIC) completing the lengthy process to hire foreign workers to fill these vacancies. 

Under the former Liberal government, the immigration backlog ballooned from 50,000 to over 800,000 because their legislation involves onerous and repetitive processes.  Canadian taxpayers deserve a better-managed immigration system that meets Canada’s social and economic needs.

In our first two years in office as we’ve struggled to reduce both the labour shortage and the immigration backlog, our Conservative Government implemented a series of non-legislative and administrative measures.  This includes training programs for older and laid-off workers and aboriginals, as well as new initiatives to encourage people to train in skilled trades.  Education and training programs are the centrepiece of our efforts to ensure Canada’s labour force can meet our future needs.

Among other measures to meet TODAY’S labour needs, we reduced the time it takes for employers to hire foreign workers in twelve professions that are suffering due to labour shortages such as the construction, hospitality and tourism industries.

Yet, skilled workers can still wait up to six years to come to Canada, compared to six months in Australia and New Zealand, two of our key competitors for global talent.  The Canadian Federation of Independent Business recently reported that one-third of its members are having problems filling skilled jobs. 

Our government knew we had reached the point where parliamentary approval was urgently required to truly fix this dire shortage.

And so, in Budget 2008, we allocated $22-million over two years, growing to $37-million per year after that to help reduce the immigration backlog and improve the immigration system.  The Budget passed. 

Now the opposition parties are using our proposed immigration solutions in their fear-mongering campaign against our Conservative Government by suggesting we want to discriminate against certain groups of potential immigrants.

Citizenship & Immigration Minister Diane Finley outlined this week the principles that will guide the new immigration measures.  They include: compliance with anti-discrimination laws; consultation with the provinces, employers and organized labour to identify priority occupations; aligning the immigration system with Canada’s labour market needs; supporting family reunification; upholding Canada’s humanitarian commitments; and, ensuring faster decisions.

The current immigration backlog is NOT fair to Canadian employers who want to hire skilled workers.  It is NOT fair to legitimate applicants who, in good faith, apply to live and work in our country or want to join their loved ones.  And it is NOT fair to taxpayers who deserve efficient, accountable government.

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