Canada's Employment Disaster, a Reality!

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 36) July 16, 2914

Summer is here and it’s hot – ideal for a relaxing golf game or enjoying a leisurely family barbecue – so who in their right mind would want to talk about the various screw-ups in Ottawa?  Well people are talking politics and a good number are furious with Mr. Harper and how he is dealing with the country’s employment development programs

Canada’s Employment Strategy Not Working

The Canadian economy lost close to 10,000 jobs in June over May – and the national unemployment rate rose by a tenth of a percentage point to 7.1 percent – Alberta’s unemployment rate rose three tenths of a point to 4.9 percent.  Saskatchewan is the only province operating at full employment, its unemployment rate at 3.9 percent.  What is particularly disturbing is the country’s youth unemployment rate.  For those seeking work between the ages of 15 and 24, the unemployment rate is over 13 percent nationally (over 17 percent in Ontario and about 8 percent in Alberta).   

Canada’s Current Employment Development Strategy a Disaster

An important element in Prime Minister Harper’s economic development strategy was to meet the immediate investment needs of the resource development sector, specifically in western Canada.  To accommodate the employment needs in the booming resource sector Mr. Harper’s government relaxed the important and necessary restrictive measures attached to the decades old Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP).  After the rules were relaxed by Jason Kenney things have gone downhill to the extent that a good number of businesses are now dependent on the TFWP for their very existence. 

The Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) has become a debacle, creating a problem without an easy solution.  Officially it is estimated that there are 338,000 temporary foreign workers in Canada (as of December, 2013), some have estimated the figure to be closer to 500,000 but who knows, there are no exit controls placed on the workers once their visas expire.  It is also estimated that there are something like 25,000 businesses that are highly reliant on TFWP with over 1,100 businesses having over half their employees classed as temporary foreign workers.

A Final Few Thoughts

Recently Minister Kenney made changes to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program and demanding employers using the TFWP follow the rules.  Unfortunately there has been no discussion on the consequences of the policy as it was (is) being implemented.  From my perspective I would like to make two points.  First the government is clearly establishing a “slave” class of worker and there is no turning back.  Secondly, the longer term consequences of Mr. Harper’s employment initiatives and the likely impact these initiatives will have on Canada’s respected work ethic – particularly amongst Canada’s young people who are now only adjusting to a new reality.