Evidence of meeting #37 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cases.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the presenters.
I want to pick up on a point that was made earlier. I know you're optimistic that the agreements will be in place with all the provinces in due course and shortly. Is it also accurate, though, to say that approximately 80% of the temporary foreign workers are in Alberta, so we already have a mechanism in place that deals with the issues around the violation of labour codes? Is that a reasonable comment?
Director General, Temporary Foreign Workers, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Employment and Social Development
Yes. In fact, we've had an agreement with Alberta since I think 2008 or 2009, whereby we have been systematically sharing information between the temporary foreign worker program and the Alberta government in terms of their own programming. They are aware of where foreign workers are going. We are aware of where there have been inspections taking place. That information flow is moving well.
As a result of recent reforms, we are making sure that all these agreements are state of the art, so that all information can flow seamlessly between the two levels of government to make sure the two levels are working together regardless of what happens.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Good.
There's another question that's perhaps in some ways related and it's about the international mobility program. For example, when someone from Canada goes to Australia, they go with their work permit in their hand, and then they look for opportunities. I've had some of my seasonal operators asking how they can connect better with perhaps the Australians who are coming to Canada. Is there any mechanism in place that would allow the matching of young adults coming here on that particular program to the opportunities that might be available, for example, at a ski resort?
Robert Judge Director, Temporary Resident Policy and Program, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
On the international mobility program, I think you're referring in particular to the International Experience Canada program that allows young Canadians an opportunity to go abroad to certain countries where we have an agreement, in exchange for their young foreign nationals coming to us. Our international experience team that administers that program actively works with employers to ensure they're aware of the opportunities to use that program. We also anticipate that going forward we'll be making more active efforts to promote opportunities to participate in that program to young Canadians as well.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Thank you. I appreciate that, because certainly as I was touring the riding I represent, I heard from employers who aren't looking for someone for a year but might be looking for someone for a few months in a particular ski resort or others.... I think that a better ability to connect our travelling young adults with that potential would be of benefit to everyone. I appreciate that. Maybe we can create some better opportunities in the future.
My next focus is to look at the changes. I'm just wondering, following the amendments to the act, how many additional full-time and part-time members will be hired for the SST in the next year. How long do you believe it's going to take to eliminate the backlog? Also, how do you see this piece moving forward over the next year or two?
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Processing and Payment Services Branch, Service Canada, Department of Employment and Social Development
We see the amendments being proposed as essential to being able to reduce the backlog. The capacity that is available from the number of members currently in place and the new number of members that could be put in place is a significant driver to improvements, obviously.
Currently, there are 73 full-time members and 21 part-time members that we're accelerating for the government to be able to appoint, and the 73 are in place. The expectation going forward is that the number of members will actually be determined by how quickly both the number of new claims and the number of the existing ones can be reduced.
There's no fixed number. That's part of the reason for the amendment. We want to be able to provide the government and the tribunal with the flexibility to determine how many new members they need and to, over time, adjust that up and down, given that the cap on part-time members will also be lifted.
There's no specific number yet. Really, it will depend on how the volume of processing takes place in the tribunal, as well as in the department.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Phil McColeman
That would be the end of your round, unless you want to use 10 seconds for a comment, because that's what you have.
Conservative
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I thank the officials for being here.
Most of the changes that have taken place with the temporary foreign worker program have been focused on the low-skilled, low-wage aspects of it. Is that fair to say?
Director General, Temporary Foreign Workers, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Employment and Social Development
Certainly I would say that the changes to the low-wage side of the program have attracted the most attention, but a lot of the changes are on inspections and other things that apply across the program. Whereas on the low-wage side particularly, the big policy change has been to cap the number of foreign workers, on the high-wage side of the program we are asking employers to put together transition plans to show how they're going to hire more Canadians.
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
It constitutes about 7% of the foreign workers into the country. The big percentage, 25%, is with the international experience program, and there doesn't seem to be any changes. It still doesn't require a labour market assessment.
Is there a rationale for that?
Director, Temporary Resident Policy and Program, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
There is no LMIA requirement, labour market impact assessment, for International Experience Canada by virtue of it being a reciprocal program. There are quotas set annually, so that just as we receive young persons from countries abroad, an equivalent number of Canadians have an opportunity to go to that country as well.
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
The original objective of the program was diplomatic, as you indicated, but now on your department's website you advertise “a great way to address labour shortages”. CFIB has it on their website. It's referring people to the program because it allows them to deal with labour shortages.
I know that my colleague Ms. McLeod had indicated in her remarks....
Don't you think there is fear that without a labour market assessment...? When we have a youth unemployment rate at twice the rate of the national unemployment rate, would you not see that would be a dangerous precedent to set?
Director, Temporary Resident Policy and Program, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
There are two things.
First, the bulk of the International Experience Canada participants are coming in with open work permits that don't tie them to specific employers, and while not part of these legislative amendments, the government did announce that they would be charging a privilege fee to open work permit holders. One of the significant objectives we would have with using that financial resource is to do more labour market impact studies on open work permit holders in the Canadian labour market to ensure that the program is being administered effectively.
Liberal
Director, Temporary Resident Policy and Program, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
That wouldn't be done by regulation. The fee would potentially be established in a regulation, and the resources raised by the fee would—
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
But before the hire is made, would there have to be an assessment in place?
Director, Temporary Resident Policy and Program, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
No. This will be looking at how the program is administered and operated.
I would also say that about 15% of International Experience Canada participants have work permits that tie them to a specific employer, and that is covered in this bill. We will be looking to collect information from employers on the jobs that are offered. That will be the basis for subsequent employer inspections, to make sure that they are using the program as intended.
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
I think most young Canadians would have a problem with this as a reciprocal agreement. In 2005, there were 30,000 young people accessing this country through the program and there were 22,000 Canadians. That's pretty close. That's a reciprocal agreement. However, by 2012, we had 58,000 students in Canada and only 18,000 Canadians abroad, so the reciprocal aspect of it wasn't great.
Again, keep in mind that the youth unemployment rate is twice the national average, but then a decision was made to increase.... You would think that if there was a decision to be made, it would be to bring down the number of young people coming into the country to make it more of a reciprocal agreement, yet the shackles have been taken off the agreement with Ireland.
What would be the rationale for increasing the number of young people coming from Ireland to work here in Canada?
Conservative
Director, Temporary Resident Policy and Program, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Well, as part of that open work permit fee, we will also be looking to fund much greater outreach efforts to young Canadians to promote their opportunity to go abroad so that we can restore a greater level of reciprocity in the program.
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
Mr. Chair, could I ask that Mr. Judge present the committee with a couple of numbers?