Fantastic.
In closing, I'm going to ask you to review our written submissions, which detail what we see as a progressive immigration system.
I also want to thank the federal government for having the courage to take the step of reviewing this desperately broken program.
This submission is part of a web of submissions from industry, unionized employers such as Maple Leaf Foods and HyLife, grassroots organizations such as the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, and UFCW Canada, which is a prominent voice for labour on migrant workers' issues. We've worked together towards what we see benefits Canadians, the Canadian economy, and workers.
For instance, what we did in 2014 was ingenious. UFCW Canada and our employers negotiated a memorandum of understanding that laid out the shared understanding of a sustainable immigration regime and what it should entail.
I'm just going to quote this one little piece:
The temporary foreign worker program has never been a coherent, strategic, or reasonable alternative to what the Canadian economy requires, an immigration regime allowing individuals with a variety of skill sets to become permanent residents and eventually citizens of Canada.
That's the union and the employer talking about those two facts together.
Thank you for your consideration and the opportunity to present today. Subject to any questions you might have, those are our comments.