Debates of April 28th, 2014

Employment and Social Development

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I wish that I could commend the Minister of Employment and Social Development for the same level of broad consultation and action on the issue of temporary foreign workers. However, we will have a fulsome debate tomorrow on this topic, and the call for an independent audit by the Auditor General. I look forward to the support from the Government of Canada in the same way that it is starting to reach out on the issue of rail safety.

On April 1, I put a question to the Minister of Employment and Social Development about a concern brought to my attention by ironworkers who work in the oil sands in northern Alberta. Their concern was that 65 Canadian ironworkers were laid off and replaced by temporary foreign workers. Their concern is the dearth of oversight and enforcement in the delivery of the temporary foreign worker program.

Initially it was called the accelerated program in Alberta. There was a call by the industry that there was such a shortage of skilled workers that it should not have to do a labour market analysis, and so it was removed. That program has ended, and now there is a pilot project, which has been extended.

I look forward to a response, given the concerns and the government's response on the service sector, which some would think is heavy-handed. We hope that it is willing to look more widely and to do an in-depth review and consultation, in particular with the workers who are being impacted by this program.

On that day, April 1, the minister responded by alleging that all of the Canadian workers were immediately rehired. He also undertook that the government was going to throw the book at non-compliant employers who violated the temporary foreign worker rules. In fact, this was not what happened. Today I delivered a letter to the minister from the ironworkers, with a very clear outline of the facts of what has occurred on the site over the year.

The facts are that these layoffs were not identified by his department but were identified by the ironworkers themselves. That is their deepest concern, that there is simply no oversight. It was only brought to light when the Canadian workers approached me and I raised the matter with the minister.

As I have mentioned, the ironworkers have informed the minister. That was almost a month ago, and the minister undertook that he would do an investigation. A month later, my understanding is that there still has been no specific action against Imperial Oil, which employed these 65 Canadian ironworkers and then laid them off.

Among those Canadian workers was an aboriginal apprentice. There has been a lot of talk in the House about how the government is supporting Canadian companies to make apprenticeships available, particularly for aboriginal Canadians. This young man was in the middle of his apprenticeship. He has a young child. He was dismissed outright and had to find other work, which he eventually did.

If I were to backtrack, it was the fall of 2013 when the ironworkers were first approached. In the oil sands, there are apparently brokers who bring in both Canadian and temporary foreign workers. The broker had tried to get the ironworkers to certify and approve these workers, but they said, firstly, that they were not appropriately skilled, and, secondly, that there were a lot of Canadian workers that were ready, willing, and able to work on the site. Regardless, Canadians were employed and then removed from the site and replaced with temporary foreign workers.

We have a clear example of a breach of the rules. Sadly, prior to that there were up to 300 Canadian workers who were replaced by temporary foreign workers at another oil sands site.

I would like to hear from the government on what it has been doing over the last month, who has been sent to the site, who exactly is investigating, and when we can expect a response.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, at a time when there are so many unemployed Canadians seeking to fill available jobs, we think it is unconscionable for employers to try to circumvent the system by hiring foreign workers to do those jobs instead.

Let us be clear about the purpose of the temporary foreign worker program. Canadians must always come first for available jobs, no exceptions. Temporary foreign workers can only be hired as a last resort when all other efforts to hire Canadian workers have failed. Employers have to demonstrate this when they apply.

In 2013, over 14,000 negative labour market opinions, or LMOs as we call them, were issued. Not only that, but after an LMO is issued, if employers do not follow the rules, we will suspend or revoke their LMO and place their name on a blacklist, named and shamed for all to see. Our government will not tolerate any abuse of the temporary foreign worker program. Every allegation of misuse will be vigorously investigated. There are serious criminal sanctions including fines and jail time if employers lie about their efforts to hire Canadians.

We made a series of reforms to the program last year and the program remains under ongoing review. Amendments were introduced to give the government the authority to conduct on-site inspections to make sure employers are meeting the conditions of the program; bar non-compliant employers from applying for labour market opinion for two years; immediately add the names of these non-compliant employers to a public list; and introduce application fees and fees for work permits, so that hardworking taxpayers no longer subsidize these costs.

The temporary foreign worker program is employer demand driven and there primarily to fill temporary labour shortages where Canadians are not available. This government will not tolerate any abuse of the temporary foreign worker program and we have even more improvements coming to the program soon. There are no two ways about it. We will throw the book at any employer who does not respect the rules of the temporary foreign worker program. We will investigate allegations of serious abuse. Those found guilty will face the due consequences. There are no two ways about this.

On March 28, my colleague, the hon. Minister of Employment and Social Development, announced the introduction of legislative amendments that will give the government authority to impose serious financial penalties on employers who break the rules of the temporary foreign worker program. These are tough penalties. We are sending a clear message to employers who abuse the temporary foreign worker program that they will be publicly named and barred from the program.

We have no tolerance for employers who displace Canadians. We have no tolerance for employers who abuse the program and temporary foreign workers. We have no tolerance for employers who break the rules. This is also a clear message to Canadians in all circumstances that they will be first in line to fill available jobs.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is strong language, but we have yet to see what actions are going to be taken against these major fossil fuel companies in the oil sands. Strong action across the board, some say, overly heavy-handed against the restaurant industry. In this case, this is not the first incident. There was another even more egregious incident with Husky Energy where it replaced 300 Canadian workers with temporary foreign workers and what do we see in response? It is one thing for the government to talk about these strict, serious penalties it is imposing, but who is out there identifying the problems?

We also heard about the strict requirements for LMOs. Well, there is no LMO for the oil sands. It is like open season, so the brokers for workers can just continuously bring in a stream. The question that the ironworkers are asking and it includes welders and other skilled tradespeople who are approaching me over the last month, is who is providing the oversight of these brokers? Are these brokers able to bring temporary foreign workers into the country with no need for any kind of skilled labour shortage study? Where is the action? Who is on the ground to identify violations?

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we totally reject the notion that regulations governing the temporary foreign worker program have no teeth. On April 7, the member will know, the Minister of Employment and Social Development made public a list of employers who broke the rules. This shows our determination to protect the rights of Canadians who are qualified for jobs that have been offered to temporary foreign workers.

We will take no lessons from New Democrats, who decry the program publicly but privately ask for more foreign workers for their ridings, often on behalf of employers who have had their LMO applications rejected, as they did not meet the criteria about putting Canadians first.

Employers who plan to hire temporary foreign workers must first demonstrate that they have made every effort to hire qualified Canadian workers first. This is a rigorous process. In 2013, we issued 14,000 negative labour market opinions.

Our government will not tolerate any abuse of the temporary foreign worker program. Every allegation of misuse will be vigorously investigated. There are serious criminal sanctions, including fines and jail time, if employers lie about their efforts to hire Canadians. All allegations made to Service Canada about misuse of the program will be vigorously investigated.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7:19 p.m.)