Businesses call on government to make it easier to hire foreigners
Companies believe that this will help them make up for staffing shortages.
Labour shortages are one problem Canada has faced before, but the pandemic has exacerbated it. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) reports that more than half of small businesses suffer from labour shortages, according to their survey.
About a third of small businesses noted that they close or delay projects, refuse new contracts and lose profits because of personnel problems. And 16% of companies have to spend more money to retain employees: they have to offer higher salaries, flexible schedules and even pay employment bonuses.
CFIB notes that raising wages in order to retain employees is not the answer, because increased costs for companies will inevitably lead to higher prices and inflation.
Business leaders believe the most effective solution is to automate work processes and bring in employees from abroad. Looking by sector, historically foreign workers have been most successful in agriculture and professional services. They have also often been able to address labor shortages in manufacturing and retail businesses, as well as in financial and administrative institutions.
Despite this, only 16% of the companies surveyed responded that they hire foreigners to fill vacancies. The fact is that hiring foreign specialists is a time-consuming and expensive process that small companies cannot always afford.
In order to hire a foreign worker, a business usually has to confirm that there is no suitable Canadian citizen or resident applicant for the position and pay a sizeable fee.
CFIB says the Canadian government should improve its temporary foreign worker program so that more people can come to the country on work visas. There have also been requests to modernize the immigration system so that newcomers are in demand in the labour market.
The Canadian government has not yet announced any initiatives to make it easier to hire foreigners. But Canadian provinces are already targeting workers in high-demand sectors. Nova Scotia has extended the list of professions that can immigrate with simplified requirements, Saskatchewan announced the launch of a new immigration pilot for in-demand professionals, and New Brunswick is holding several job fairs at once for the second consecutive far.
