Mr. Speaker, I have heard some bizarre things in this debate, but that takes the cake. It could not be further from the truth.
As it is, temporary foreign workers have to be paid the prevailing median wage, which is more than the starting wage. In other countries there are higher wage floors for all employees, both domestic and those coming from abroad.
The one thing we want to ensure is that we do not allow abuse, that we punish those who do abuse the program, and that we do not allow distortions of the labour market. If there are shortages in particular areas of the labour market, employers should be paying more to get Canadians to do the work.