Agriculture committee  There are lots of things that we need to be doing. We need to be looking at not only people who are aware of working in the industry but also the business students and the science students and pull them into this industry. There aren't enough youth, though, to fix this labour shortage, so we need to be thinking much more broadly.

Agriculture committee  It's a great question. This labour challenge that the industry is facing is very complicated. You've heard from many witnesses, including the witnesses today, about various aspects. At CAHRC, we've been working on this with different industry stakeholders from across Canada, and we've always said that a multi-faceted problem needs a multi-faceted solution.

Agriculture committee  Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to your study. I'm the executive director of the council. Our presentation focuses on the need for a national labour strategy to stabilize worker availability through the pandemic and beyond. The workforce needs of Canada's agricultural industry are something we've been examining for more than 10 years.

Agriculture committee  I will.

Agriculture committee  Yes. The research is clear: The industry cannot continue to produce healthy, safe and affordable food for Canadians and for global consumers without ensuring that workers are secured and in place to do their jobs. The COVID pandemic has put a greater spotlight on this, and it has confirmed that there's no more time to waste.

Agriculture committee  That's a really good question. The cost of hiring and the impacts of turnover on a business are often very much underestimated. The estimates are all over the place in terms of the figures. We've done some research on that, and we have cost of turnover calculators so that those who are in this industry can assess exactly how much it costs for them to lose somebody on their farm and in their location.

Agriculture committee  We've done some significant labour market intelligence for the industry. We know that all sectors are investing in their workers, certainly—they are investing in their businesses and in training workers—but in agriculture, because there have been shortages, the capital-per-worker investments have skyrocketed.

Agriculture committee  That's a good question. I'll start. At the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council, we do extensive research on improving access to the industry and improving the knowledge that it is a great place to work. Agriculture is a great business to be in. There's lots of potential, it's a growing business, and there is growing demand, so we need to celebrate that more and explain that more.

Agriculture committee  We are doing extensive research on working with under-represented groups—women, persons with disabilities, new Canadians, etc.—and with all the different commodity associations—cattlemen, etc.—and trying to collect the best practices on how we can engage all of these Canadians and get them interested in doing this work.

Agriculture committee  Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here with you today to highlight the ways in which worker shortages are impacting the industry's growth potential and increasing farm debt. We all enjoy the benefits of abundant, healthy, safe, and affordable food in Canada due to a world-class food system, one that feeds our 37 million Canadians and a multitude of people around the world.

Agriculture committee  It is a challenge. It's a challenge for those who bring in temporary foreign workers to provide housing that is affordable under the $30 rule. Rural Canada doesn't have all sorts of housing options, so it is a challenge moving forward. In one of the key pieces of research that we've done with new Canadians, encouraging them to consider working in the agricultural industry, the best approach that has worked has been to take groups to rural communities and have the communities sell themselves to those families.

Agriculture committee  Absolutely. Thank you.

Agriculture committee  We are certainly concerned about ensuring that all under-represented groups in the Canadian labour market find their way to agriculture—we are talking about youth, persons with disabilities, indigenous people, and women—to ensure and encourage broad access. I like your idea about part-time.

Agriculture committee  Retention is definitely an issue in the industry. There are some commodities that are doing really well. The aquaculture industry is able to retain its workers. We are not sure why, but the data bears that out. Perhaps they are doing a really good job selecting the right candidates.

Agriculture committee  Yes, you mentioned succession issues and certainly there are pockets of really great practices. There are examples of family farms that have no one from the family who is interested in taking over the farm, working with somebody else outside the family and figuring out a plan, so creative solutions have been tried.