Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of the temporary foreign worker program saga, the government has been justifying its laissez-faire attitude with claims that there is a shortage of skilled workers.
For example, the Minister of Employment talked about scientists with such cutting-edge skills that they had to be brought in from halfway around the world. Fine, but if we look at the numbers from 2010 to 2014, 15,000 work permits were issued for minimum-wage jobs.
How can the government say that the program is for finding skilled workers when it is really for recruiting minimum-wage workers?