Human Resources Committee on Dec. 4th, 2025

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Trois-Rivières, QC]

In fact, the labour shortage is jeopardizing the survival of certain businesses and even some communities. That's why I find it absolutely important to use our time in committee to come up with solid recommendations. I hope that’s what we’re going to be able to do. I hope we can conduct a real study and set partisanship and political games aside, because this issue is too important.

Ms. Zé, what you experienced is absolutely unacceptable. I want to begin by stating unequivocally. We know that we need to do more to address the mistreatment you told us about. As my colleague Mr. Genuis mentioned, even though we know that most employers act in good faith, abuses nonetheless occur.

That’s why we proposed the migrant workers support program. That’s also why federal collaboration with the provinces, which have jurisdiction over housing, security and working conditions, is absolutely essential.

Thank you very much for sharing your experience with us. I think we need to do more. I think we can do more. I would really like to hear your opinion today. I know that you work closely with workers on the ground. Based on your experience, now that these abuses are publicly condemned more frequently, has the number of reported cases increased?

Have you noticed that people are more informed now about where to find the tools put in place by the federal government to report abuse?

[Bénédicte Zé]

I would say yes and no. For example, in Montréal, a person who speaks French like me can easily find out where to go for help. However, I was in a remote region, like many temporary workers. Eighty per cent of them don't speak French, which means that many won’t know where to turn.

The solutions are theoretical, not realistic. I already spoke French very well on arriving here. Still, I didn’t know where to turn for help because I was in a remote region. I only listened to my employer.

As it’s currently structured, the program doesn't inform employees how to ask for help or report mistreatment. The program causes employees to keep quiet out of fear, because they feel threatened or traumatized by what they’re going through.

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you, Ms. Zé.

If I understand correctly, more work needs to be done on raising awareness and sharing information in the regions to show workers how to use the helpline, for example, and where to find information.

Do you also think that workers in vulnerable sectors would be better protected if we took a different approach to evaluating the impact on the labour market and if we had stricter rules?

[Bénédicte Zé]

I think so, yes, if we study the impact on the workforce better.

Take the example that Ms. Richard mentioned to us in her region. They need workers, even a permanent pool of workers willing to settle there. We need to study the situation and bring in labour where it's truly needed, with more openness, for these employees, because some may want to integrate while others may simply want to come seasonally. I believe that all of this should be studied, so that people who come know why they are coming to work in a certain region, and that they have the option to integrate, stay or leave, without putting up with abuse.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Desrochers and Ms. Zé.

Mrs. Gill now has the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I’d like to ask Ms. Richard another question. In fact, I’d like to ask her several questions.

Earlier, you mentioned that the departure of foreign workers and the current reduction in program caps were affecting everyone. You said it was affecting your colleagues and businesses.

I’d like you to tell us about the impact on the foreign workers themselves. Personally, I’ve seen families be separated, but sometimes a spouse joins the worker. I’d like to hear your thoughts on that.

[Meggie Richard]

It certainly does affect them. I'm not in their situation, but I get a sense that it's very stressful. There’s a lot of uncertainty at the moment.

Some employees need to renew their agreement in the coming weeks, but they don’t know if they’ll be able to stay in the country, or if they’ll get their renewal. So it’s a very stressful time for them. They don’t know what lies ahead for them. They want to stay in the region, to settle there for the long-term, and live their lives in the community.

Honestly, I think a lot about my business owners and the people in our area, but also about these workers, people who actively contribute to our economic development during times like these. Changing the frequency of permit renewals from three years to one year involves additional steps that cause stress every time and compound the administrative burden on businesses that hire temporary foreign workers. Some entrepreneurs have told me how hard it is to go through the process over and over again, when what they want is stability.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC]

I don’t want to interrupt you, but I’d like to ask you one last question. I have very little time left.

I applaud these entrepreneurs. I’m thinking of Ms. Petitpas from the restaurant La Promenade, for example, which you mentioned earlier. Obviously, the entire community would be affected if it closed. We really don’t want that. We want to find solutions.

We heard that a standardized approach wasn't the right answer, but I'd like you to clear up the idea that young people can’t get jobs because of temporary foreign workers, and that these workers are competing for jobs with young people.

[Meggie Richard]

No, that's not something we see in our region; it’s completely different. There’s work for everyone. All the businesses I mentioned earlier have vacant positions. Some companies are full, but most are always looking for workers. As we said, we need teens, young people and retirees to work and fill shifts to keep our businesses open. So, there’s no competition.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mrs. Gill.

We conclude with a three-minute round. We go to Mr. Genuis for three minutes and, then, to Mr. Joseph for three.

Mr. Genuis, you have the floor.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

This has been a really interesting discussion.

I want to refocus on the purpose of this study, which is to evaluate the performance and the issues around the temporary foreign worker program.. There are, of course, vast differences in this country. There are variations in terms of the employment rates. There are skill needs. Recognizing the high level of unemployment for young people, I think we need new, bold, creative policies to help young people have the skills and the ability to go to the regions where they can take these jobs.

Our proposals around the temporary foreign worker program have included extending existing permits in regions of low unemployment because we understand the need for those adaptations and the timelines required. We also can't go on with the present reality in which we have issues of skill gaps, geography gaps and extremely high youth unemployment. We need to have solutions that don't ignore that problem but seek to solve that problem.

In the time I have left, I want to go to Mr. Parton on the issue of the integrity of the existing program and then come back to this issue of whether the program is working the way it's currently structured.

You talked about wages being offered that are below the rates that have been negotiated, and that's not supposed to happen. You talked about Canadians being bypassed, and that's not supposed to happen. Maybe the government would come back and say that they were abuses of the program. Certainly they are abuses of the program, but the problem is that the structure of the program seems to allow these kinds of abuses.

When you have power imbalances and when you have situations where an employer puts a job on a job bank, they might get a lot of applications, but they ignore those applications from Canadians. Then they can proceed to say that they didn't find an appropriate application.

Do you think there are problems with the structure of the program around integrity, around facilitating enforcement of these rules? Is it salvageable, or does there need to be a broader rethink?

[Doug Parton]

I do think there are problems with it. I think you're absolutely correct there, but I also think that's why we're here today. This government, with the help of the opposition as well, I think has a newfound vigour, I guess, to fix the problems of the past. We need to look back to see where those mistakes occurred, but looking forward, I think we can fix this.

We talk about labour shortages, and I go back to the 1,000 TFWs with that one company I spoke about. Last year, I put through 132 young Canadians—young ladies and young men—and 102 are still with me. That's an 80% retention rate. Over 10 years, there are 1,000 people.

From my lens in the construction industry specifically, we haven't had a skill shortage. We can fix this problem. We still have the tools to make this work. There may be a time when there's a TFW need, but the building trades certainly need to be central to that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Parton.

Thank you, Mr. Genuis.

We'll conclude with our next member.

Mr. Joseph, you have the floor for three minutes.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I will speak briefly to Ms. Richard in reference to a response she gave to my honourable colleague. She talked about the survival of businesses in her region. I have an article in front of me that says Pierre Poilievre was going to end the foreign worker program. Although my honourable colleague is trying to rewrite history, the fact remains that Pierre Poilievre proposed ending the program entirely.

What impact would it have had on your region if the Conservatives’ proposal to abolish the program has been implemented?

[Meggie Richard]

Ending the program would definitely have had a major impact. As I explained throughout my remarks, this program is vitally important to businesses in our area. The Côte-Nord actively contributes to Canada's development and economic growth through large-scale hydroelectric and energy development projects, mines and critical minerals throughout the region. If we want to attract these major projects and keep contributing to economic development, we need healthy SMEs. To achieve this, we have to counteract the demographic decline that we’re experiencing in our region, and be prepared to receive people who want to come and actively participate in our growth as part of a great community.

As we see it, this program is unquestionably important, just like immigration.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

We all know that foreign workers make an invaluable contribution to the economy.

Thank you very much for your honesty.

[Meggie Richard]

I'd like to add something.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Go ahead.

[Meggie Richard]

That contribution is also important at a social level. A lot of talk centres on the economy but, in my opinion, foreign workers also make a very important social contribution. That’s why we put a lot of emphasis on good integration, to have these people contribute not only to our economy but also to our social fabric.

As we see it, that's extremely important, and I wanted to mention it.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

I'd like to extend my sincerest apologies to Ms. Zé for everything she's been through and assure her that our government is working very hard to stop it from ever happening to anyone else.

Thank you for being here.

[Bénédicte Zé]

Thank you.

I'd like to add a comment.

I don’t believe that the program is the problem. After listening to the testimonies, the need for labour is clear. The problem, however, is that the government refuses to accept that people who come here to work are human beings and must be allowed to make choices. They must be given the right to choose whether to integrate, stay or leave. They must be given the opportunity to live a normal life and work in good conditions, without ending up with a malicious employer. That’s why the program's conditions need to be reviewed, to get rid of closed permits and replace them with open permits that allow the possibility of integration.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Zé.

Thank you, Mr. Joseph.

That concludes our round.

I will advise the committee that our next meeting is December 9, when we will continue our study on the Canada Labour Code.

Is it the will of the committee to adjourn?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.