Thank you, Phil.
There has been much discussion and debate recently on the topic of bringing in foreign workers to meet the shortages of the Canadian labour market; yet more efforts should be made to maximize and effectively utilize the Canadian labour pool.
Our approach is to seek a way to increase labour mobility within Canada with relative ease for our workers. Any framework of labour mobility, of course, should include minimum standards governing recognition of skills, training, and knowledge. There are currently federal and provincial labour mobility programs available to assist employers and employees, but they exist largely for the regulated occupations, professions, and trades.
What the NSSC is seeking would be a non-regulated, sectoral approach to assist inter- and intra-provincial mobility. The essence of the program would provide some financial assistance to relocate, and a framework or measure of social support to assist workers in their new locale.
While there are seasonal foreign worker programs that could also assist in addressing these labour shortages, there is a desire on the part of the Canadian industry, and that includes labour unions, to offer employment opportunities to Canadians first and foremost. With the appropriate mechanism, our council believes, this can be achieved.
Optimally, the development of a program to assist workers to move to other areas would enable all these support mechanisms.
Immobility in the seafood industry is particularly important, as the seasons for employment can be short. Broader food-processing seasons can be linked together to extend the period of seasonal employment. This would allow fish workers to engage in employment opportunities in other areas.
A number of the skills are transferable, especially in the areas of quality control sets. There must be at least some incentive, however, to assist the workers to move to other locations. The Province of New Brunswick is working with fish processing employees to provide a measure of support to facilitate employment in other seasonal industries that complement the crab season, for example particularly in blueberry and potato processing.
Given the limits of time, I'll cut back on further descriptions, but I would like to get through the recommendations, if I may.
The first one is that government should provide integration assistance for workers moving from one location to another within Canada. It's similar in concept to the provincial program at the local level.
Incentives should be made available to promote worker mobility.
The third one is to provide assistance and programs for non-regulated professions, in addition to the current emphasis on the regulated professions or occupations.
Our final recommendation is to create a dialogue between the various levels of government—including provinces—and employers to facilitate mobility.
Thank you very much.