Human Resources Committee on April 4th, 2022

[Éric Dionne]

First, concerning foreign students, I can tell you that the demand is there. From what we hear, a very large number of foreign students want to come here. What happened for them to all leave for Ontario at the same time and no longer be coming to us? That's a question that has to be investigated.

Second, the question of Canadian students has to be addressed. At present, students from other provinces who come to Quebec pay less than foreign students, but they still have to pay. That is another aspect that needs to be studied. I'm talking about students in general, but I'm also thinking about young people. We have a huge amount of expertise here.

Third, we see a complete change happening among young people, who are prepared to go back to school if they are paid. They are prepared to leave a little job or take a training course if they are paid. That is a change we have seen recently, and I think that by providing grants, we have understood that fact. The courses to which the grants are attached are full. We really have to look into this.

Concerning training, we follow the industry as closely as possible and we are prepared for the 4.0 shift, but we can't stop, and this calls for a lot of investment. We are not capable of following the total investment, because the costs involved are very high. The industry therefore has to help us. That's why we are connected with the companies and CAMAQ to make the transition to digital technologies right here. The better trained our students are in digital technologies, the more the transition...

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Dionne.

Do you mind, Mr. Chair—I know it was a late start with Mr. Dionne—if we let Mr. Guénette speak for a moment?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

You have a little over two minutes, Madame Zarrillo, so continue.

[Jasmin Guénette]

I will be very brief.

There are some things we are recommending for businesses to be able to hire more youth. One is to implement measures to reduce the cost of hiring and training youth. Maybe that could be done through an employment insurance holiday for hiring and training youth and recognizing the informal training that many small businesses are doing when they hire youth. Let's expand the availability of the Canada summer jobs program to make sure that it is open to more businesses and is available at other times of the year, not solely, as was the case, during summertime. Also, let's offer a tax credit to businesses that would hire students in those placements through institutes, colleges, co-op programs and internships.

We released a report on youth employment a few years ago in which we listed many recommendations that could be put forward to help businesses not only hire more youth, but retain them and train them so they can continue to be a force for the small businesses that hire them.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Zarillo.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Chair, can we ask for that report to be tabled, or to be brought to the committee, to the analysts?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Yes. If you could file the report you're referring to, Mr. Guénette, to the committee, it would be appreciated.

[Jasmin Guénette]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

I'm going to conclude with a three-minute round to Madame Kusie and three minutes to Mr. Van Bynen.

Madame Kusie, you have the floor for three minutes.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

In the previous round of questions, I talked about launching the government's plan. I would like to ask Mr. Guénette for specific comments about each part of that plan.

My first question, Mr. Guénette, is about the seasonal peak period. The number of low-paid positions that employers in seasonal industries, like fish and seafood processing, can fill using the TFWP will no longer be limited. That measure makes the exemption from the seasonal cap in effect since 2015 permanent. As well, the maximum length of employment in those positions will go from 180 to 270 days per year.

Given your plan and your recommendations, what are your comments on that subject?

[Jasmin Guénette]

Thank you, Ms. Kusie.

I think the maximum length, which is going from 180 to 270 days per year, is a step in the right direction. However, there would certainly be a way that would allow for even more flexibility and opportunities for entrepreneurs to be able to keep these workers more long-term.

That is why the CFIB is calling for an introduction to Canada visa for workers coming here under the TFWP. After a certain number of years when workers come to Canada to work here and contribute to the Canadian economy, that visa would make it easier for them to stay here, and this would mean that companies could continue to rely on these workers more permanently.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Thank you.

There are two other [Technical Difficulty—Editor] that are going to be in effect immediately. The period for which an LMIA, a labour market impact assessment, is valid will go from nine to 18 months. As well, the maximum length of employment for workers in high-paid positions under the Global Talent Stream will go from two to three years. What are your comments on that subject?

[Jasmin Guénette]

Extension of the validity period of an LMIA to 18 months is a good thing. In fact, sometimes the assessment may take so long that it finishes when the period of employment is nearly over. As well, what I would say is that we have to make sure these assessments are done faster. It's a good thing to extend the validity period, but most importantly, these assessments have to be speeded up.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Guénette.

Thank you, Ms. Kusie.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

We now have Mr. Van Bynen for three minutes to finish this round.

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to direct my questions to Mr. Guénette as well.

I know that small businesses employ a very large segment of the labour force and contribute significantly to job growth in our economy. Are the labour shortages in the Canadian economy having a different impact on small businesses as compared to medium-sized or large corporations? If that's the case, please explain how.

Knowing that we only have three minutes, following that, could you provide us with your recommendations on how small businesses can deal with the shortfall in their labour requirements?

[Jasmin Guénette]

Yes, the impact of labour shortages on small businesses is quite massive. Small businesses tend to be more labour intensive, so when you have a small business with five to seven employees and you lose one or two of them, that's 10% or 20% of your entire labour force that you need to replace, so the impact is quite significant on smaller employers. As I have shown during my presentation, some of the most successful ways that small businesses are trying to cope with the current shortages of labour are by investing in automation, by using the TFW program and also by allowing greater flexibility with working hours. Any measure that government can take to increase the use of automation, to make it easier to have access to temporary foreign workers and also to help businesses by making sure the cost of doing business doesn't increase so they have the financial means to hire new employees and keep those they already have are measures that are desirable for many small businesses.

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

You also mentioned that the biggest concern is that you need to correct the mismatch between labour market needs and the qualifications of unemployed individuals. Given the current urgency of labour shortages, the traditional educational timelines are probably not going to be able to respond to these shortages, and there have been suggestions around implementing work-integrated learning programs, microcredential programs and industry-led training programs. How would small businesses go about implementing and accelerating those types of programs? What would your recommendations be for the government's consideration?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

If you could give a short answer or provide it to the committee in writing, it would be appreciated.

Monsieur Guénette, please give us a brief answer.

[Jasmin Guénette]

Any measure that can be taken to speed up training and speed up availability of workers through work-integrated programs or any other type of training will be highly beneficial.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you.

Thank you to all the witnesses for appearing on the second panel and for providing detailed information to the committee for this important study.

Before committee members leave, I want to bring to your attention that the second study we're doing is on the housing accelerator fund. What are members' thoughts on setting April 22 as a deadline to submit possible witness lists to the clerk? That will be the end of the second constituency week. I don't see any objection, so we'll set that date.

The other point I want to raise with the committee is that we anticipate that version one of the draft report prepared by the Library of Parliament will be circulated to all members of the committee this week, likely Thursday. This is the report on seniors that we asked for. I am advising you in advance of consideration of the draft report. Members are encouraged to submit their proposed changes in both official languages to the committee prior to April 25, 2022. You should have this by Thursday, and we have set a deadline of April 25 to submit any draft changes to the clerk in both official languages.

With that, I adjourn the meeting.