The temporary foreign worker program, while needed, is expensive, it's administratively burdensome for restaurant operators, and it doesn't solve their long-term structural labour market needs. We need to better develop bridging programs between the temporary foreign worker program and permanent residency. We support government plans to modernize our immigration system so that it better matches workers with jobs and puts more emphasis on Canadian worker experience, but this must apply to jobs of all skill levels and not be restricted to NOC codes A, B, and O.
Finally, we would like to see the working holiday program expanded through the negotiation of a larger cap and longer permit periods.
To conclude, we appreciate the government's willingness to study labour shortages and barriers to filling low-skill jobs. The numbers of people needed to fill job vacancies in the years ahead are daunting for all categories of workers—skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled—and we look forward to partnering with government on solutions that will ensure continued economic growth.
Thank you.