Hi, and good afternoon. My name is Jason Ottey. I'm with LiUNA Local 183, and my colleague Jason McMichael is also with LiUNA.
I just want to give you a little summary of what LiUNA is about, a little bit about the trades we represent, and why this issue is so important to us. LiUNA represents more than 100,000 construction workers in Ontario. In the GTA, specifically under Local 183, we have more than 53,000 members, all working in various components of the trades. We're a multi-skilled trade union. Our membership literally built the city of Toronto, and is, in a large degree, a reflection of the multicultural makeup of the city. Our union was founded by newcomers to the city. Their background and their experiences are what shape LiUNA and the work that we do.
This issue of immigration consultants is one we routinely hear about from members, not only those who have completed the process and have been subject to some degree of abuse, but also those who are here now and trying to bring other family members. We hear day after day stories of tremendous amounts of money being spent to facilitate their applications to no avail. They are being taken advantage of. Even in speaking today and getting some information from our membership, there was fear of reprisal if they were to give specific details that would somehow colour their application. It was very hard to have a free discussion, which is why we're less focused on the immigration consultant role and more on changing the way the government views immigration to one that is less focused on immigration as an entitlement and more as an economic necessity. We have an increasing labour shortage in our market, specifically in the GTA. Immigration is going to be a necessary vehicle to solve that, and if the process is overly cumbersome and fraught with abuse, we will not be able to meet our labour market needs.
Our organization would like to see clear pathways that would limit the need for an immigration consultant. Obviously, in complex cases, there will be a need for somebody to help an applicant stickhandle that process, but in today's day and age, there should be clear lines and pathways where people can inform themselves of what the application process is. It should not take a 15,000 page document—I'm exaggerating—but rather something that is relatively streamlined and easier to complete, something they can actually process themselves, limiting the need for immigration consultants. There will always be a need in the more complex cases, and my colleague Jason can speak more to some of those issues, because he is a former immigration officer.