Proposals on foreign workers another blow to Canada’s middle class

EDMONTON—Do we really want to sell our well-paying Canadian jobs to the lowest bidder? Do we actually want to outsource our high-skilled work to countries that don’t respect our standards in safety and training? The long-awaited report by the Commons Human Resources Committee on changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, released on Monday, would add another brick to the dangerous structure that, should we let it happen, will transform Canada’s workforce, and not in a good way. The proposed changes to the TFW program, combined with Liberal efforts to implement the so-called Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal and make far-reaching changes to immigration, will put downward pressure on the earnings of Canada’s skilled workers and perpetuate the role of underpaid McJobs in our economy. Let me declare right off the top that our union has made good use of the TFW program. Boilermaking is a skilled trade that requires a four-year apprenticeship and, over the last few years, we have not been able to find enough qualified boilermakers in Canada to meet the demand. So we have used TFWs in situations where crucial work, such as regular maintenance-related shutdowns of huge energy facilities, could not be completed otherwise. Ours is a TFW program with a difference. We don’t use so-called labour brokers who force workers to pay a commission. We make sure our employers pay for transportation and housing of the workers they need. And all of the TFWs who work with us are paid at the union rate and get all the benefits outlined in our collective agreements, including pension contributions and health coverage. Canadians first When our union first heard of the government’s plans to back away from the TFW program reforms introduced in 2014, we strenuously objected. In our view, Canadians deserve first chance at all of the jobs we use TFWs for. When we do need them, we think TFWs should be paid the same as Canadians; they shouldn’t be used as cheap labour to replace our own citizens. But the government seems to have fallen into line with the corporate interests who want lower wage bills and higher profits. They propose to double the proportion of foreign workers that can be hired by one company. Instead of raising wages to attract Canadian workers, the government wants to loosen the regulations that prevent companies from using foreign workers to depress their labour costs. While they claim to be making an effort to protect the human rights of foreign workers, the Commons committee proposes a change that could further erode their status. By eliminating employer-specific permits, they’ll allow unscrupulous labour brokers and middlemen to import what amounts to a reserve army of low-wage workers, who wait on the sidelines without any income until someone figures out how to take advantage of them. We have actually seen this practice in the construction industry; accepting this proposal would amount to condoning it. We do see some good recommendations in the committee’s report. We’ve long suggested that trusted employers, who play by the rules and don’t use the TFW program as a source of cheaper labour, should be entitled to expedited treatment. We heartily agree that more should be done to increase the availability of training in areas where skills shortages exist. But even here, the committee’s report reveals itself as a hurried and ill-considered effort. Our own trade’s apprenticeship training program, for example, is bursting at the seams because there aren’t enough accredited educational facilities, which are the responsibility of the provinces. It’s fine to say we need more co-operation between the feds and provinces, but how do we make it happen? The committee blithely leaves it to others to figure out. Woefully inadequate As both the Conservative and New Democratic members pointed out, the time the committee put into this report was woefully inadequate. The committee held only five sessions, some of which were cut short. Witnesses didn’t have enough time to give their full testimony, and others were not heard at all. This report is not good enough for Canadians. When coupled with the provisions of the TPP and even less stringent controls on the hiring of foreign workers through the so-called International Mobility Program, it opens the door to yet another attack on our beleaguered middle class, the very group the Liberals promised to defend in the last election campaign. With our economy stalling, it’s exactly the wrong time to attack workers’ incomes. If the committee had any integrity, it would withdraw its report and give the entire issue of foreign workers the consideration it deserves. Joseph Maloney is international vice president for Canada of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. The Hill Times