The federal government recently announced changes to the temporary foreign worker program, but while other areas may see more harsh restrictions, businesses in Estevan will continue to have quite a bit of freedom.
The changes were made following some misuses of the program that came to light, like a mining company in British Columbia making speaking Mandarin mandatory for its employees, thereby allowing them to import Chinese workers under the program. That led to a change that the only language requirements an employer could demand would be fluency in English and French.
Souris Moose-Mountain MP Ed Komarnicki noted the accelerated labour market opinion (LMO) process has been suspended, and that may be of some concern to employers in Saskatchewan.
"Obviously, they would like the approval process to be as quick as possible for those who have shown compliance with the program in the past," he said, calling that suspension a temporary measure.
A question will be added to the LMO applications that he said would ensure the program isn't used to outsource Canadian jobs.
One of the significant changes is the move to require businesses to develop a firm plan in place to transition to a Canadian workforce over time.
"I have talked to the department officials on that particular one," said Komarnicki. "I said, 'you know it may be easier to have a plan in place in high unemployment areas than it would be say, in Saskatchewan.' How do you put a plan together? But I've been assured that it will be looked at on an objective basis when we look at the circumstances at the particular area of the country."
The requirements of a plan may be different in a high-unemployment area as opposed to a low-unemployment one, and the plans in high unemployment areas may be more rigorous.
"Personally, I felt somehow you have to differentiate between sectors, where there are high demands that you can't fill the skills or the skilled trades, or where there's a very low unemployment rate in a region where you not only have issues in the skilled area but the service industry and the hospitality industry."
He said that will be very important if local economies are expected to continue expanding.
"We want to be sure that the program is fair and that it's not abused, but at the same time we want to make sure it's not shut down. There must be a balance."
Komarnicki chairs the human resources committee and when the proposed changes came before the committee, they heard from a number of witnesses from various sectors. Komarnicki had a small business owner from Moosomin testify before the committee as they looked at the changes.
Business owners will also be charged with paying a fee for LMO processing.
"That ensures that the work permit fees are more in line with what the actual costs of them are," Komarnicki said, noting he expects the fees will be in the $150 range, but the actual cost has not yet been determined.
"I don't think that businesses are really opposed per se, for paying for LMOs, but they would say that if they're going to pay for LMOs, they would like to ensure they get an appropriate level of service."
The level of service businesses most desire is speed, especially for those bringing in seasonal workers for various jobs.
"In an area where the economy is hot, like southeast Saskatchewan, there will not likely be very immediate changes to the situation," Komarnicki said, regarding any immediate changes local businesses might see to their use of the temporary foreign workers program.
Komarnicki noted the changes are temporary as the talks will continue throughout the summer about how the program can be improved. He said there will be stakeholder consultations throughout the country over the summer to see what changes ought to be made.
"The objective here is to deal immediately with what is perceived to be abuses, and then look at the program as a whole and say 'how do we need to redefine it to make sure it does what it's supposed to?' because primarily employers should use Canadians to do jobs that Canadians are able to do."
