As we said earlier, labour is a serious problem. In our area, 15% to 20% of jobs are vacant because of a labour shortage. That means we have to bring in temporary foreign workers to fill these jobs. That ends up costing an additional $5 an hour.
The problem with bringing in temporary foreign workers is the delays. It could take 8 to 15 months from the time you make the application to the time you receive the worker. Our main recommendation is therefore to shorten the delays at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. It can take a very long time to obtain a work permit; up to four, five or six months.
As for the labour market impact assessments, even though service Canada has begun to operate much more efficiently, the fact remains that if it were possible to create a system of trusted employers, somewhat like the customs NEXUS program, employers that bring in the same workers year after year would have faster access and fewer delays.
The real problem is the considerable delays, which we would like to reduce by half, if possible. We can't change the dates for the harvest season. When employers make an application, they expect the workers to arrive in time for the harvest, not after. That's something that has actually happened.
I also think that interest rates are the greatest problem at the moment. Mr. Bourbeau talked about loans earlier. For the processing companies, stocks are huge because the ordering process is difficult. If restaurant owners or other clients have trouble knowing what their ultimate requirements are, then there will be less demand. To give an example, it used to be that one-year contracts were typical, but we are now talking about 1-to 3-month contracts. The processor therefore needs to keep much more stock in storage, for longer periods, at a time when interest rates are much higher.
We therefore recommend facilitating access to short-term credit, in a manner similar to the way Business Development Canada provides five-year interest-free loans to companies that invest in digital transformation. If we had something equivalent for lines of credit, it would greatly help businesses get through the next 12 to 18 months, which are difficult as a result of higher interest rates and inflation.
Those are our main recommendations.