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.