Expanded foreign worker program praised, but more hiring help needed, businesses say

April 7, 2022

Some New Brunswick business representatives say the expansion of the temporary foreign workers program is a step in the right direction.

They also say Ottawa still needs to do more to make it easier to hire foreign workers in response to critical labour shortages.

“So everything that was said, that was announced, I agree with it. It’s a plus,” said Mario Cormier, owner of M & M Cormier, a fish plant near Cap Pelé.

“It’s just, it’s a step in the right direction but [the federal government] still got to go further.”

About 100,000 temporary foreign workers come to Canada each year, under the federal program, which allows employers to hire them if no Canadian or permanent resident is available.

On Monday, Employment and Social Development Canada announced that sectors experiencing labour shortages will be allowed to hire more employees from abroad, and in some cases those employees can stay longer under the temporary foreign worker program.

Those include companies in seasonal industries such as the seafood processing sector, which are no longer subject to a cap on the number of “low-wage” positions that employers can fill through the program.

Source: CBC News