Canada is a country that's been built on immigration. We in the labour movement acknowledge that and we celebrate it. We also agree, here in Alberta and across the country, that there is a constant need for people to come to the country from elsewhere in the world. That's how we built our economy and that's how we'll do it in the future.
However, we don't think this particular program, the temporary farm worker program, is a way to build a workforce for the future. If we need people in this country to build houses, work on our construction sites, serve our coffee, then we should bring them in as permanent residents and prospective citizens, rather than as a new second class of disposable workers.
We're very concerned that what's happening with this program is incredibly counterproductive for the economic future of Canada. We are a country that relies on immigration, but we're afraid that we're in the process of tarnishing our hard-earned international reputation by allowing a program that is, frankly, mistreating workers. People from around the world have choices to make. They could go to other countries. If we continue down this road, we're going to be driving away exactly the people we need to build our economy.
We should stick with the tried and true. We have an immigration program that has worked for us. We have a social compact with immigrants. I think this is important. We've made a deal with immigrants historically: they come here, they work hard, and in exchange we give them citizenship. What we're doing now is saying we'll take your work, and when we're finished with you, goodbye. That's not the Canadian way, and it won't build the country we want for the future.