Citizenship and Immigration Committee on April 15th, 2008

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Thank you very much.

Please be assured that your recommendations will be taken into consideration when we do our report. Again, thank you, gentlemen, very much.

Committee members, don't wander away too far. We're going to get going in just a moment or two. I know how long some of these telephone conversations can be, so try to get back in a couple of minutes, please.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Order.

I want to welcome on behalf of our committee Mr. John C. Robison, president of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association's SkillSearch Recruiting. Welcome, Mr. Robison, to our committee today. If you have an opening statement please go ahead, and our committee members I'm sure will want to ask you some questions afterwards. Thank you.

[John C. Robison, President, SkillSearch Recruiting, Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association]

I think I should start by bringing to your attention a little amendment to the agenda that you received this morning. Peter Nelson actually is the executive director of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association. I'm president of SkillSearch Recruiting, which is an international recruiting agency, and I'm a member of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association. Peter unfortunately could not be here today, and that's the reason I'm here in his place.

I'll begin by first of all thanking you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, for the opportunity afforded to share the views of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association on the temporary foreign worker program.

Secondly, the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association wishes to emphasize its strong support for the TFW program as an indispensable tool in addressing human resource requirements within the trucking industry, in particular for truck drivers, heavy truck mechanics, and trailer technicians.

To place the trucking industry in context, we need to hold in mind that 100% of all goods moved internally in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island are carried by truck. In New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, in excess of 90% of all goods moved are transported by truck. You can easily see that trucking is one of our most significant industries in the region, crucial to all those sending or receiving goods, and an industry which plays a major role in the economy of the region.

As you are aware, one of the most populous job occupations in Canada is that of truck driver, with over 400,000 persons employed. All regions in Canada are impacted by the shortage of Canadians to fill these positions. The temporary foreign worker program plays a vital role in helping alleviate the shortage. It's a program utilized by many of our members who have been able to complement local hiring by recruiting, at least on a temporary basis, skilled, trained, and experienced persons to fill vacancies.

The Government of Canada and the respective provincial governments in Atlantic Canada have adopted a process through the provincial nominee program, of which you've been hearing all morning, to retain such workers through selection and nomination to Citizenship and Immigration Canada for those persons to become permanent residents of Canada. The association strongly supports this cooperative government arrangement.

The Government of Canada, along with the respective provincial governments in Atlantic Canada, has taken a number of progressive initiatives. It has committed to programs allowing the recruitment of temporary foreign workers to fill positions for which some employers are unable to recruit locally—specifically truck drivers, heavy truck mechanics, and trailer technicians. It has also committed to the provincial nominee programs in each of the Atlantic provinces, which allows the Government of Canada and the various provincial governments to accommodate nomination of and subsequent granting of permanent resident status to employees in the industry who initially arrive as temporary foreign workers. Another strong initiative, we believe, is providing for the application to Service Canada for labour market opinion requests electronically, allowing for the quick and efficient processing of such applications.

However, the committee should be aware that obstacles do exist. The truck driver is classified as low-skilled even though the profession requires high-level skills and training. While this by itself is not serious, the problem exists in welcoming and treating newcomer families. Because of the low-skill designation for truck driver, spouses and working-age family members cannot obtain work permits, denying local companies the skills they may possess, but even more importantly preventing their full access into their new community.

Further, because of the low-skill truck driver designation, spouses and family members are denied access to English-as-a-second-language training. This training is available only to family members of permanent residents. This means that up to two years could pass before training in English as a second language is available to family members.

When one considers that upwards of an estimated 75% to 80% of skilled workers arrive in the Atlantic area first as temporary foreign workers, one can see the related family problems brought about by this designation.

While the electronic processing of labour market opinion applications has been a great benefit in expediting this step in the process of bringing in a temporary foreign worker to Canada, extensions of their stays are often necessary. Electronic application for such extensions is not currently available.

The trucking industry in Canada is growing and changing. It's also an industry with a relatively high turnover rate. Some temporary foreign worker employees may seek to change employers while still in Canada in that status. While the industry recognizes there will be staff turnover among such employees, employers have most often borne considerable costs in bringing individuals to Canada. Should employees change jobs, the initial employer is often left with unrecovered costs.

In summary, the following recommendations are made for your consideration:

Continue and improve the temporary foreign worker program as conditions dictate, holding in mind that the transportation industry is a vital, growing industry with a heavy human resources component.

Change the national occupational classification of truck driver to a category that reflects the training, skills, and experience required of that position.

Authorize the granting of open work permits to spouses and working-age family members of the foreign worker, not only making such skills as they possess available to the community but also serving a major role in integrating family members into the community.

Ensure that English or French as a second language is available to family members as soon as possible after arrival.

Ensure that all newcomer families are welcomed into the community as soon as possible after arrival in this country.

Finally, enforce ownership rights for the initial employer of a foreign worker should a temporary foreign worker seek to change employers. This would involve an appropriate notice of intention on the part of the employee to leave that position and a fair return of recruitment costs undertaken by the initial employer in bringing the temporary foreign worker to Canada by the subsequent employer.

In closing, I must compliment Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Service Canada on the excellent employees who serve the industry so well, always in a helpful, professional, and courteous manner. Our industry has been served well by staff, and we are appreciative of the culture of partnership in working with the transportation industry to address human resources issues in Atlantic Canada.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Thank you, Mr. Robison.

You mentioned that truck driving is designated as a low-skill occupation, and as a result it's difficult to obtain a work permit. Are the federal and provincial governments doing anything to change that designation? Have they been contacted on that? It seems to me it should be designated as a highly skilled occupation. Have you ever watched a fellow back an 18-wheeler into a space with two inches on each side? It seems to me it's a high-skill occupation, not a low-skill.

Has either level of government been contacted to do anything about that? The truck driving industry for Atlantic Canada is very important for all of Canada, as a matter of fact. In my part of the country we don't have a railway any more, so 100% of it comes in by truck. Well, it's not 100%; some of it comes in by boat, but it's a great deal of it, so it seems to me there should be something done to have a redesignation of it.

[John Robison]

I should mention that obtaining a work permit for a temporary foreign worker as a truck driver is not a problem. That's not really a serious problem, but because of the designation, certain obligations are placed on an employer--for example, the employer must pay return airfare for such employees--so there are costs.

Even though a truck driver is probably a comparatively well-paid individual, it's a paradox that the truck driver classification is in what's called the low-skilled occupations. I think the reason given is that it's an occupation that does not necessarily require a post-high school education. I'm sure there are others that might be in the same category.

If the NOC, the national occupational classification, were to be at a higher or more skilled level, there is no question that the industry would benefit significantly.

Service Canada has been very cooperative in granting labour market opinions for work permits for truck drivers. Similarly, provincial governments in Atlantic Canada have been very cooperative in reviewing and granting nomination certificates for such employees. The process is not necessarily with the truck driver; it becomes more about ancillary problems, such as fully integrating into the community.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Okay, thank you.

Mr. Telegdi.

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Robison.

I wonder if you could tell me the profile of the average temporary foreign worker hired as a truck driver.

[John Robison]

First of all, I should mention that it's rather interesting, because what you would find in general is that the truck driver arriving here from another country is likely to be more trained than a similar worker in Canada, because there are schools where some of them might have taken the stream for truck driving. In some countries, it's also a requirement for a truck driver to have mechanical skills. So we're rather fortunate and blessed by the skills of the individuals who are coming here, because they're very, very highly skilled in most cases.

Now, the respective provincial governments have also placed minimum standards on truck drivers coming to Canada, including a level of experience that would not be the case, for example, if they were hired from within Canada. But I think it's a bit of insurance that the industry is getting some very high-quality employees.

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

Which countries would they come from? Do you have any specific countries or continents?

[John Robison]

I can't tell you the countries of origin in relative terms, but truck drivers come here from the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and some from Italy, Israel, a few from eastern European countries, and some from the United States.

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

That seems pretty good.

I wonder if you could tell me what the starting wage is in year one.

[John Robison]

I think one would expect a minimum wage for a long-haul truck driver to be at least $40,000 a year. The average in this part of the country would probably be more like $50,000, although there are cases where someone is making a fair bit more than that. The comparable incomes in Atlantic Canada are a bit lower than in central Canada or western Canada, and we do indeed have an exodus of truck drivers towards western Canada—as with a number of other skilled employees as well.

But once someone is operating in Canada, after arriving from a foreign country, their income is usually at a pretty acceptable level.

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

Good.

On the other thing you mentioned, I tend to think that our system for awarding points is quite elitist. I agree with you that truck driving is a very necessary occupation. But to the extent that we can get somebody with great computer skills come in, I think it also has to be recognized that we need services for them, because these people are going to occupy houses and they're going to need transportation. But somehow that seems to be lost in terms of the way the points system is now set up. This is a story that we hear right across the country.

I totally agree with you that, at the minimum, we should make sure that when they come with their families, they're fully integrated from day one, instead of almost putting them in quarantine, if you will, with the inability of spouses and kids to work immediately, and their not having English or French as a second language. This doesn't make any sense, and it's very counterproductive. If you want people to integrate, they should be integrated quickly.

[John Robison]

I think that what you say makes even more sense when you consider the fact that the temporary foreign worker, in the context of the transportation industry, is used simply as a means to get someone here faster for the industry, as Mr. Lampart mentioned earlier. But that person, I'm sure, in almost 98% of the cases has the full intention of coming here to become a permanent resident and will be staying.

So if you consider that fact, we have every reason in the world to make other opportunities available to families. They are going to be permanent residents of this country, and that's why I think we really should extend those ancillary programs, so that they can have their benefit, including getting the open work permits.

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Thank you, Mr. Robison.

Mr. St-Cyr.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Robison. Can you hear the interpreters?

[John Robison]

I do, and thank you.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

Before asking you questions that are more specific to the industry, I would simply like... You briefly mentioned your connection with the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association. I want to understand that. Are you a member of the board of directors of that association?

[John Robison]

Yes, I am a member of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

Right, but are you a member of the board of directors?

[John Robison]

I'm not a member of the board.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

Are you a member as president of SkillSearch Recruiting?

[John Robison]

I'm president of SkillSearch Recruiting, a recruiting company that assists the trucking industry, as well as some other industries, to bring in foreign workers.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

You go outside Canada to recruit workers for businesses here. Do you do consulting work with workers who come to work in those businesses?