Canadians expose foreign worker ‘mess’ in oilsands
Canadian tradesmen from a huge oilsands construction project are waving a red flag about safety hazards and near misses, which they blame on the use of foreign workers who aren’t qualified and can’t speak English. “When you bring in a bunch of workers who are unqualified to do this job it’s only a matter of time before you kill someone,” said Les Jennings, who was an ironworker supervisor at the Husky Sunrise plant until a few weeks ago, when he quit in frustration. [Read more…]Labour group says temporary foreign worker program is a safety risk
The Alberta Federation of Labour says a program that fast-tracked guest workers in the province’s oilsands is endangering the safety of all workers. On Monday, CBC reported Canadian tradesmen from the Husky Sunrise project expressed concerns about “safety hazards and near misses, which they blame on the use of foreign workers who aren’t qualified and can’t speak English.” [Read more…]Foreign workers program fixes backfire
What started in April with complaints that three McDonald’s franchises in Victoria, B.C., were favouring temporary foreign workers over domestic employees culminated in a June announcement by federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney of sweeping policy changes impacting every sector across the country.
The Tories’ sense of urgency was elevated by polls showing the intense media coverage had convinced the majority of voters that a program representing less than 2 per cent of our total workforce was stealing large numbers of jobs from unemployed Canadians. [Read more…]
Ottawa investigating use of foreign workers at Vanscoy mine
A large electrical contractor in Saskatchewan is being investigated by the federal government over allegations it laid off dozens of Canadian electricians while keeping temporary foreign workers on the job. Natalie Cranston was one of about 800 electricians working for Alliance Energy on the expansion of the Agrium potash mine in Vanscoy near Saskatoon. The young woman is one of 58 Canadian workers who were laid off in May. [Read more…]Foreign Worker Shake Up – What Every Employer Needs To Know
The spring and summer have been busy ones for Jason Kenney, Minister for Employment and Social Development. In early April he announced the first businesses ever to have been blacklisted for breaching the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. The media blitzkreig that followed lead within days to the complete shut down of the program for anyone in the food and beverage industry. A few weeks later an entirely new Temporary Foreign Worker Program was introduced changing the rules of the game completely and severely limiting the foreign worker program. The changes to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) are significant and all employers who have a need for foreign labour need to know the new rules of the game. [Read more…]The Burger King Deal: What Happens If Your Job Moves Across The Border?
The recent merger of Burger King and Tim Hortons spurred a lot of comments about the tax benefits that could result from the company setting up their headquarters in Canada. The idea that an American icon like Burger King would consider leaving the United States over tax rates hit a raw nerve in Washington and on Wall Street. You had some saying President Obama’s policies will send Burger King packing, while you had others, including a U.S. Senator, calling for a boycott of the burger giant. [Read more…]Provincial minister supports local businesses on TFWP issue
As the recently announced restrictions to the federal government’s temporary foreign worker program (TFWP) continue to pose significant problems for business owners throughout Alberta, provincial Minister of Skills, Jobs Training and Labour Kyle Fawcett was in town last week to assure the local business community that the province would continue to fight the feds to secure the necessary reforms to the controversial program. Speaking before a crowd of roughly 50 business owners at the Shaw House on Aug. 27, Fawcett said coming to an “acceptable resolution” with the federal government would be a “top priority” for the province once a new leader is announced this month. [Read more…]Industry News
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