I want to clarify this. I'm sure Mr. Van Kesteren wasn't attempting to confuse the farm workers programs with the temporary foreign worker program. In his area, he has manufacturing and other industries as well as the agricultural programs that he's familiar with. Nothing in these changes would impede in any way the valuable work of farm workers, who for many years have come to Canada and helped us in the agricultural sector. Nothing in this proposed amendment would inhibit an employer from hiring temporary foreign workers where there is a legitimate skills shortage. What this amendment is aimed at is employers who have used the temporary foreign worker program to undermine the prevailing wage here in Canada.
We've all read about some high-profile cases of this, and we understand how viscerally Canadians feel about it. We saw the reaction to the Royal Bank when it was found that they were laying off highly skilled people. There were a very small number of temporary foreign workers brought in, and a huge reaction came forward. I don't want any confusion. We're not against immigration. We support newcomers to Canada, and we want them to have all the rights to become Canadian citizens that others have had in years past. We support the farm worker program and we support bringing in temporary foreign workers where there is a legitimate skills shortage. We do not support a program that undermines Canadian jobs or undermines the Canadian standard of living. We do not support a program that is more an exploitive measure than anything else. That's what this measure and the changes presented here are designed to prevent.