Citizenship and Immigration Committee on April 1st, 2008

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

In a moment or two we will ask the Alberta Federation of Labour, Catholic Social Services, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union to come to the table, please.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Committee members, come to the table, please.

I want to welcome today, from the Alberta Federation of Labour, Mr. Gil McGowan, president; from Catholic Social Services, Alice Colak, chief operating officer of the immigration and settlement division; from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 424, Al Brown, assistant business manager, and William Begemann, assistant business manager as well; and from the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 1118, Michael Toal.

Welcome.

You have been sitting and watching the other proceedings, so you're aware that you have opening comments of about seven minutes. I will give it to you first, Mr. McGowan, or whomever. Go ahead.

[Gil McGowan, President, Alberta Federation of Labour]

Good afternoon.

As the chair said, my name is Gil McGowan. I'm president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. As you probably know, the AFL is the largest union organization in Alberta. Unions affiliated with our federation represent about 140,000 workers across the province in both the public and private sectors.

At the AFL we deal with a broad range of issues, everything from labour law to workplace health and safety, to oil sands policy, to fighting to preserve our public services. Over the past two years we've been focusing a growing amount of our energy and resources on a new issue, and that's the issue of temporary foreign workers. In particular, as an organization we've been attempting to focus both public and political attention on what we perceive as the growing problems caused by the massive—and we would argue ill-advised and ill-conceived—expansion of the federal government's temporary foreign worker program.

Towards that end, our federation decided about a year ago to establish our own advocacy office for temporary foreign workers, and you heard from our advocate, Yessy Byl, earlier this afternoon.

We opened our advocacy office partly to gain a window into the inner workings of the temporary foreign worker program, but we also did it for purely human and compassionate reasons. Temporary foreign workers were literally showing up on our doorstep with horror stories to tell and nowhere to turn. These were people who had experienced mistreatment and outright abuse at the hands of employers and so-called employment brokers.

But at the time the federal government wasn't helping them and the provincial government wasn't helping them, so we knew we couldn't turn these people away and we knew we couldn't turn away from the issue. That's why we're so pleased that your committee has decided to launch an investigation into what's going on with the temporary foreign worker program.

Alberta has become ground zero for what is essentially a huge social and economic experiment, an experiment that we think is in the process of going horribly wrong. We think your hearings are just what's needed to shine a light in what are frankly some dark corners and to rein in what has become, in our view, a runaway federal program that is no longer functioning in the broader interests of the Canadian public.

With the limited time available to me today, I'd like to do three things. First, I'd like to underline for the members of the committee the scope and scale of the changes that have been made to the temporary foreign worker program over the past five years, changes that have accelerated particularly dramatically since the election of the Harper government in 2006.

Second, I want to talk about how these changes are affecting temporary foreign workers, Canadian workers, and the Canadian labour market, particularly the Alberta labour market.

Finally, I want to highlight a number of concrete policy recommendations that our temporary foreign worker advocate presented in her report, entitled “Alberta's Disposable Workforce”, which I'm told we're not allowed to distribute to you because it's not translated. We will see if we can get over that hurdle, because I think it's important that you guys read what we've seen and the lessons we've drawn from our experience here in Alberta.

When it comes to the scope of the changes that have been made to the temporary foreign worker program, you can't help but use words like “massive”, “sweeping”, and “unprecedented”. It's true that the program has been around for more than 40 years, so the name is not new, but almost everything else is. In particular, the size of the program is new, the kinds of workers brought into the country under the program are new, and the purpose or use to which the program is being put by employers is new. I'd like to take a minute to unpack each of these points, starting with the size of the program.

Until relatively recently, the temporary foreign worker program was a relatively small, sleepy corner of the federal bureaucracy. Ten years ago, for example, the program was used to bring only about 7,000 or 8,000 workers into Alberta each year. But in 2006, which is the last year for which full statistics are available, nearly 24,000 workers were brought into Alberta under the program. This number is significant because it marks the first time in Canadian history that a province brought more people into the country as temporary foreign workers than under the mainline immigration programs. We had more temporary foreign workers in 2006 in Alberta than people accepted as permanent residents.

As large as the 2006 numbers were, we now know that they pale in comparison to the number of temporary foreign workers we have in Alberta today. Just last week, Service Canada told the Calgary Herald that it had processed 100,000 individual applications from Alberta employers looking for temporary foreign workers in 2007—100,000 applications in one province in one year.

Now, we know that all these applications probably didn't actually lead to visas being issued, but we think it's fair to estimate that there are now between 50,000 and 60,000 temporary foreign workers in Alberta alone. Clearly, the temporary foreign worker program is no longer a sleepy corner of the bureaucracy. And clearly, from our perspective, it's being used to do an end run around the mainline immigration system.

As I said, it's not just the size of the program that has changed. There has also been a significant change in the kinds of workers brought into the country under the program. The program was originally designed and conceived for use by professionals--engineers, accountants, professors, specialized technicians. In general, they are workers who are in a better position to take care of themselves in the labour market. But now the doors have been thrown open.

In November 2006, Monte Solberg unveiled the government's now infamous list of occupations under pressure. Here in Alberta there are now more than 170 occupations on that list. In the old days, employers could use the temporary foreign worker program only for a narrow range of workers, and they had to prove that they had literally beaten the bushes looking for Canadians before they were granted the right to use the program. Now, as a result of recent changes, the list is no longer only for professionals. In fact, the majority of occupations on the list and the majority of workers being brought into the country under the program fall into the semi- and low-skilled categories.

But the list isn't only being used to widen the pipe. It's also being used to grease it. If you're an employer and you're hiring for an occupation that's on the list, it is assumed that there's a shortage, so there's no need any more for proof or due diligence.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Maybe I could stop you there, because you're going into eight minutes. I'm sure you'll get your points across.

I have three more. We have two from the same federation.

We'll go to Ms. Colak. Thank you.

[Alice Colak, Chief Operating Officer, Immigration and Settlement Service, Catholic Social Services]

Good afternoon.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in these hearings and the opportunity to share our observations and experiences. I guess they are based from the front lines. I work for Catholic Social Services, which is a social service agency, and among our other responsibilities we are a settlement service agency working with many immigrants and refugees, basically facilitating their settlement, integration, and contribution and participation in all aspects of life in Canada.

We have programs in Edmonton and Red Deer, and the comments I'm going to be making reflect our experiences in both of those communities. Red Deer is in central Alberta, about 150 kilometres from Edmonton. I also wanted to note that in addition to comments I'm making on behalf of my organization, we are a member of our provincial umbrella group, the Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies.

I think some of my colleagues may have been here ahead of me earlier this afternoon, Jim Gurnett from the Mennonite Centre and so on, so probably some of my remarks will be similar to his. Our 20 member agencies represent communities from Fort McMurray to Medicine Hat and Brooks. So we're throughout Alberta, in large and small centres, and the complex issues facing temporary foreign workers are a concern to all of our members.

To start with, as I say, these are observations and experiences from the front lines of a community social service agency. As Gil has mentioned, with the issue of temporary foreign workers we have seen such a tremendous increase over the past two years. Going back to our records through 2005, we saw maybe five, ten workers approaching our organization for assistance. In 2006 and 2007 that number rose significantly to more than 100 to 130 per month. So it's a significant increase and an unexpected piece of business that we are attempting to manage.

Before I go on, I just want to say that we are a social service agency, so people who come to us have issues and problems. I do want to acknowledge that of the employers who bring in temporary foreign workers, I don't know how many there are, but probably a significant number, if not the majority, are responsible employers who do provide adequate support for the workers they're bringing into Canada. I just wanted to make that note.

I know I have limited time, so to summarize, as I said, we provide services to over 100 temporary foreign workers. They come from various countries, but the top source countries are Mexico, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and numerous eastern European countries, such as Poland, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, etc.

The majority come to our office indicating that they feel they are mistreated, neglected, and often exploited. There are four areas that they come to us to seek support and assistance for. I should also say they come to us because many of them—the majority, we feel—are vulnerable. They don't speak sufficient English; they're not fluent in English. They don't know their rights and responsibilities in their position as a temporary foreign worker in our country.

So the four key areas are employment-related concerns, employment standards. Basically they're not receiving the wages they were promised or they expected before they arrived in Alberta. The work conditions have changed. They're not being compensated for overtime. Their work conditions regarding responsibilities, what they expected to do and what they are actually being asked to do on the job, are at significant variance.

Housing and living conditions: the majority complain that they are concerned about poor and crowded conditions and the high cost of paying for those poor and crowded conditions.

Brokers and recruiters are a significant source of concern.

On the fees, people who come to us tell us they had to pay between $6,000 and $25,000 to secure a job in Alberta. The cost of recruiters continues after they are here, because the recruiters continue to charge for things like translation of documents, interpretation of services, settlement services, and so on.

Probably the biggest distress faced by temporary foreign workers is that they feel they were provided inaccurate information about what their lives would be like in Canada. They expected a fast track to permanent residency, and that is not always possible. They expected to be reunited with family members shortly upon arrival. So there is a lot of stress and distress that people are faced with, in addition to the high fees they need to repay. Many of them are living in poverty, accessing support from community organizations, food banks, faith and church communities, cultural communities, and so on, to make ends meet.

I think those are the key issues, and there are some recommendations.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Thank you. That was very interesting indeed.

Mr. Brown will be presenting for Local 424.

Go ahead.

[Al Brown, Assistant Business Manager, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers - Local 424]

Thank you.

On behalf of the over 6,000 members of the Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 424, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to hear our submission.

As you are aware, Alberta's economy has been growing at an astounding rate for a number of years. While there is no doubt that this has put a strain on the availability of labour in the construction industry, the use of temporary foreign workers is nothing more than a band-aid solution.

Those Canadians and Albertans who have worked through the apprenticeship program to receive their journeyman's certification are proud of this accomplishment. They believe their trade certification will provide stability and prosperity for them and their families. However, they now look around and see temporary foreign workers doing the same job they are.

Quite often they see temporary foreign workers segregated from other employees, possibly due to language barriers. In northern Alberta they saw a 27-year-old Chinese scaffolder and a 33-year-old electrical engineer killed, and four others injured, when the roof of the oil tank container they were working on collapsed. They saw a second tank collapse on the same project and wondered if these workers were safe. They work alongside some of the temporary foreign workers and question if they are really qualified to do the work. The temporary foreign worker can only work for one employer, and they wonder if they will be laid off before the temporary foreign worker. These are the concerns of the working electrician in this province.

For the first time in the history of Alberta, in 2006 there were more temporary foreign workers than permanent immigrants arriving in our province. As Gil said, the number of temporary foreign workers in Alberta has tripled since 1997. The use of these workers has become the norm for business owners, to the extent that in 2006 Canada had more guest workers than the United States.

We believe there are enough electricians available across Canada to deal with the upcoming construction. We only need to look at the training systems and available manpower pools to come up with viable solutions.

The evidence shows that thousands of people are getting into the trades in Canada, but less than 60% are completing their apprenticeships. This bill you have raised is unacceptable, and it is a clear indication that the system is failing both workers and employers alike. Although Canada is one of the 20 most wealthy industrialized nations, Canada is also one of the lowest spenders on skills training and other labour supports.

Let's look to where we can find these pools of new workers.

There is the Canadian youth. Stats Canada figures for February 2008 show that the unemployment rate for workers aged 15 to 24 is 11.4%. This is the group of workers our industry needs to focus on as baby boomers begin to retire. We need to increase funding within the school system to change the existing perceptions of tradespeople and remove the existing barriers to mobility. Incentives to relocate, subsidies for housing costs, and child care funding could be offered to young workers in areas of high unemployment.

Another large untapped pool in Canada is aboriginal peoples. In 2001, the unemployment rate for aboriginal men was 21.4% compared to the average national unemployment rate of 7.6%. The rate for aboriginal women was 17% versus 7% for non-aboriginal women. We need to increase funding for training programs on reserves and other rural and urban aboriginal communities.

There are women in the workforce. In 2006, females accounted for 53% of Canadians classified as having low incomes. Skills training initiatives geared toward low-income women, including child care and post-training support, are crucial elements in reducing women's poverty.

With respect to immigration--and we spoke on this earlier today--Citizenship and Immigration Canada's point system is biased towards economic class immigration applicants with university education. The points system should be adjusted to recognize prior learning in a range of occupations. This would allow workers of various skill levels to emigrate to Canada.

On the issue of NAFTA, perhaps the best avenue for qualified trades people would be to allow work permits to be issued from the United States. They have similar codes and practices, no language barriers, and they use a similar training system.

In the past, Canadian electricians, including me, have worked in the United States on a work visa program. With the United States being our largest trading partner and with their economy slipping, we could provide much needed job opportunities.

This is not to suggest that there is no problem. However, the problem is not so extreme as to warrant the widespread use of temporary foreign workers. Should we require the use of temporary foreign workers, then we need to protect the rights of these workers as well as the rights of the Canadian workers they may displace.

The AFL found that foreign workers are at a disadvantage because they are not aware of their rights, do not know how to access these protections, and can be easily persuaded or dissuaded by employers from seeking due compensation. Most importantly, Alberta’s employment standards system is complaint driven. Therefore, no complaint, no problem.

In fact on May 30, 2007, the Honourable Iris Evans, who at the time was Alberta's Minister of Employment, Immigration and Industry, said, “we don’t know how to protect them because we don’t even know who they are”.

The IBEW endorses the following recommendations made by the AFL advocate on behalf of temporary foreign workers.

One, temporary foreign workers who have worked the equivalent of two years' employment within a three-year period should be entitled to apply for permanent immigration status. A similar system is in place already for domestic live-in caregivers.

Two, temporary foreign workers' work permits should not state the employer name. Permits should be issued for a particular occupation and province so the temporary foreign worker is not tied to a specific employer. This would allow them to switch to another qualified employer without penalty if required.

Three, the federal government should explicitly prohibit the charging of fees to temporary foreign workers by brokers or by employers.

Four, employer obligations regarding housing should be clarified and strengthened. Accommodation standards (i.e. occupancy limits, and quality criteria) should be explicit, and employers should be prohibited from earning profits from accommodation of temporary foreign workers. These obligations should be encoded in the LMO approval.

Five, employers importing workers in the certified trades should be required to provide proof of efforts to use and train domestic apprentices before being issued an LMO.

And finally, six, certified trade occupations should be required, as part of their LMO approval, to provide training, education support, and language assistance to temporary foreign workers, and to provide proof that such training is arranged before a worker is issued a work permit. Employers who fail to provide assistance should be barred from future LMOs.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Thank you, Mr. Brown.

Mr. Toal, from the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, welcome.

[Michael Toal, Representative, Local 1118, United Food and Commercial Workers Union]

I am primarily here today to advise that I've been dealing with temporary foreign workers in the program since 2004. My focus and representations to you are on some of the recurring problems we see. So I'm basically speaking from the trenches, because I deal with these people on a daily basis.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the influx of temporary foreign workers is being driven by employers, particularly in the province of Alberta, notwithstanding the fact that numerous Canadians and landed immigrants--shall we say, Canadian residents in Alberta--are unemployed. Employers still maintain there is a labour shortage and therefore strive to maximize their production through the lowest common denominator: cheap labour.

For example, in Calgary within the last three weeks, Gienow Windows and Doors laid off 22 of its highest-paid workers on the basis that there was a work shortage. Ironically, that same company is bringing in 54 Mexican workers at a lower rate of pay. The LMO they applied for had to be in place prior to this layoff, but they still pursued the LMO at the expense of already working Canadians.

This is particularly noticeable with employers ignoring those guidelines established by HRDC, jumping on the cheap labour band wagon, requesting accelerated LMOs, and endeavouring to bypass all stakeholders, including unions. The process the government has in place is here and presumably will not go away, so it is now necessary to revamp, re-establish, and reorganize the process, given the ever-increasing number of abuses, infractions, and outright human rights violations perpetrated by large and small companies alike. We have many examples in the UFCW of inappropriate behaviour by employers, so-called labour brokers, and, ironically, HRDC itself.

Dealing with important issues, I would bring to the attention of the committee brokers or so-called brokers. Canada has initiated a new industry of third-party recruiters answering to no one. These brokers are not interested in the well-being of the workers; they are interested in lining their pockets with dollars from the unfortunate in other countries, dollars being their focus.

For example, one such company is Golden Horizon. It is sanctioned by the Alberta government, endorsed by the Alberta government, and blatantly acting illegally. One hundred and ninety-five workers from the Philippines were each charged between $3,000 and $5,000, supposedly for fees over and above those paid out by companies and/or the government. They have found a way around the system and continue to do so.

Although the Alberta government has been advised, Golden Horizon remains endorsed. Many questions need to be answered. This company should be held accountable, if not boycotted, until answers are received. I am talking about real answers, not wishy-washy answers from Golden Horizon itself.

The 195 Filipino workers are prepared to lay witness to the act of labour trafficking. This is just one example of many openly ignored by the system and those supposedly overseeing it.

Misinformation provided by large companies is a primary concern. Workers in Latin America are told they will earn $15 an hour when the actual wage is $11.08 per hour. They are told they are going to Lethbridge and then sent to Edmonton. I have work permits issued by the federal government as proof. The workers are not informed of taxes, CPP, EI, or the cost of living. In essence, they are not provided with the correct information to make an informed decision. They have basically been shown a carrot.

The regulation or licensing of these brokers and more open submissions to HRDC by employers should be required to substantiate a request for an LMO or ELMO and should include all information, particularly copies of the contract, in their native language. The fast-tracking of LMOs should cease.

Where there is union involvement there should be clear and open communication. Companies who enter into agreements with a union should be held to that agreement, as per the HRDC regulations. It is clearly stated that the unions are to be involved. If not, the employer should provide reasons that are open for discussion.

The undermining of union involvement can only lead to ill feeling and grave suspicion. Because of requests for ELMOs, HRSDC is ignoring the detail necessary to ensure union involvement and communication, giving employers the example to do likewise. Maple Leaf, a leading Canadian company and supposedly a leader in the process, has ignored the UFCW 1118 agreement and refused to address the numerous concerns raised by this union, particularly the issues presented here today. This flies in the face of HRSDC and Alberta government guidelines.

Notwithstanding the so-called efforts of employers, many new Canadian workers--and I call them “Canadian workers”, not “temporary foreign workers”--are being misled when it comes to housing, wages, and benefits. Seventeen temporary foreign workers were crammed into a side-by-side duplex. Second-hand, unsanitized bedding was provided and an outbreak of scabies resulted. Despite the infestation, these workers were told to remain at work in the food industry dealing with chicken. No information was given to their co-workers.

To this day, that employer has not complied with a union request to ensure this does not happen again. In fact, this company has refused to admit to the facts, hoping it will go away. The employer's focus was production at all costs. There was a lack of fundamental human rights. This can be corroborated through video evidence. The statement the company made when questioned was that it is a darn sight better than what they came from.

Edmonton has a tenancy law limiting a house to five unrelated adults. A bedroom must consist of a door and a window. This is being abused by employers. As recently as last week, seven individuals were residing in a house, and the open basement was considered a bedroom for both male and female.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Can I stop you there? Maybe you can work in the rest of your points a bit later.

I have 20 minutes. You're first for five minutes, Mr. Karygiannis.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

I want to thank you for coming today.

Primarily, you're union based and your interests are for your union members. Am I correct in this?

[Michael Toal]

Yes.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

The spirit of the foreign worker program is not in question. I think the conditions these people are living under is in question here. Although those conditions could be addressed, I don't think the immigration committee is the prime location for talking about them. We might need checks and balances, but the checks and balances are with the employment standards, the provincial police, and the provincial stakeholders. The need for people to come and work here is something created by the employers.

We had the gentleman before say he's not a unionized shop. But there's nothing to stop you from unionizing that plant, is there?

[Al Brown]

If a temporary foreign worker is indentured to one employer, it's very unlikely he'll support the unionization of his employer.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

But there's nothing to stop you from unionizing the shop. As a matter of fact, if you unionize the shop and you start working with foreign temporary workers, you could probably get them to where you want to bring them, and certainly working with them, you could probably even start doing the new program the minister is planning with the in-Canada working-class experience.

[Gil McGowan]

With all due respect, I have to question the premise of your question. You began by saying that the demand for this program came from employers, and therefore we must expand the program. That's the starting point of our concern and our argument.

Over the last two years especially, this program has been allowed to grow exponentially, and it was in response to pressure from the business community, but it was the result of decisions made by the federal government. Up until very recently, this was a very narrow program that brought in a very narrow group of workers. But over the last five years, and especially two years, it's been allowed to explode into a whole bunch of areas of employment and a whole bunch of occupations that were never being brought in.

What we're saying is that there's a responsibility for the federal government, as the level of government responsible for the program, to make sure that if we are expanding this program, necessary safeguards are put in place. And with all due respect, these reassurances about the provincial governments taking care of these workers and the RCMP taking care of these workers are misplaced. The federal government does have a responsibility because it's the federal government's program—

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Sir, labour standards are set by which level of government?

[Gil McGowan]

The temporary foreign worker program is a federal program, which is jointly administered by the Department of Immigration and—

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Sir, can you answer the question? Labour standards are set at what level of government: municipal, provincial, or federal?

[Gil McGowan]

I'm saying the federal government, more than any other level of government, is responsible for the program and that more than any level of government it has dropped the ball in terms of making sure this program works.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Let me ask the question again, please.

Which level of government looks after labour standards?

[Gil McGowan]

The provincial level of government, and to their credit, our province has actually stepped up to the plate in the last couple of months—

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

It's the provincial level of government.

[Gil McGowan]

But the federal government is responsible for issuing the labour market opinions through HRSDC, and you're responsible for issuing the work permits through Immigration. One of the things we're saying is that the federal government has put in place no mechanisms, no enforcement, to make sure that's what is actually written on the LMOs in terms of wages, for example, the place of employment, the kind of employment. No one has—

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

At which level of government again?