Restaurants Canada Disappointed in the Lack of Consultation on Recent Changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

The Prime Minister’s announcement, which aims to significantly cut the number of temporary foreign workers in our industry, will have severe consequences for rural, remote and tourist regions of our country. We are deeply disappointed that our industry was not consulted in the lead-up to this decision.

As a $115 billion industry and one of Canada’s largest private-sector employers, our voice is crucial in such decisions. While TFWs make up only 3% of our workforce, these workers have been vital in keeping many restaurants operational during challenging times.

We support changes to the program that strengthen compliance and protections for workers and ensure the program is being used in the manner it was intended – as a last resort for employers struggling to fill vacancies. However, the changes announced today will cause more harm than good in those communities that have few other options to address labour shortages.

Capping the use of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) at 10% industry-wide and reducing the maximum employment limit from 2 years to 1 is a one-size-fits-all approach that doesn’t effectively support the diverse labor needs across Canadian communities. As such, we urge the government to adopt a more flexible approach to these measures, considering geographic and socio-economic circumstances.

We are encouraged by the government’s commitment to collaborating with businesses and organizations to meet labour needs while supporting Canadian workers through enhanced training and education opportunities.

For over a year, Restaurants Canada has been advocating for a matching and training program to connect job vacancies in industries like foodservice (which currently has over 73,000 open positions) with the approximately 1 million unemployed newcomers holding open work permits in Canada. This proposal would benefit both businesses and newcomers seeking permanent employment opportunities.

“We call on the government to engage with Restaurants Canada to better address the needs of the communities we serve across the country. We can play a key role in aligning the government’s goals while minimizing negative impacts on the communities we serve,” said Kelly Higginson, President & CEO of Restaurants Canada.