Little has happened since the agriculture sector released a report on the labour crisis last fall.
A task force, comprising 11 value chain roundtables and a number of commodity groups and food processors, published a national action plan called Addressing Labour Shortages in the Agriculture and Agri-Food Industry.
It made a number of recommendations:
• Improve access to temporary and seasonal labour.
• Develop a jobs resource centre for the industry.
• Develop a co-ordinated initiative to promote careers in agriculture and agri-food.
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• Align training with industry needs.
Bryan Walton, general manager of the National Cattle Feeders’ Association and a member of the task force, said the group presented the document to the federal government in March but little has happened since.
“We took a long time to work on that and I was insistent this be presented at a high level (of government),” Walton said.
The report was sent to the deputy minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the deputy minister of Employment of Social Development and the associate deputy of Agriculture Canada.
“(But) we had no engagement, we had no response,” Walton said.
“And that is part of the issue here. There has to be more of an interaction and engagement from the policy makers.”
Walton said politicians are sympathetic to the labour shortage in Canada’s red meat industry, but policy debate and discussions tend to focus on basic issues such as industry wages.
“I know the Alberta caucus and a number of Alberta MPs are attentive to this and we appreciate that…. (And) there’s no question the (Alberta) government is attentive to this,” he said.
“(But) simplistic solutions aren’t the option…. We’re paying well right now.”
Walton would like to see an “intellectual exchange” that encourages more sophisticated approaches.
“I’m optimistic we can come up with solutions that would satisfy our needs.”
Doug Chorney, Keystone Agricultural Producers president and vice-chair of the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council, said the federal government is paying attention to the labour shortage in the agricultural sector.
He said employment and social development minister Jason Kenney is engaged on the file and has held roundtable talks about the labour shortage.
“I have met with Jason Kenney’s special assistant, and there’s no question they appreciate the challenges and they (know) it’s not just level of pay.”
Alberta Pork chair Frank Novak isn’t as convinced.
The Alberta producer said the federal government may comprehend the severity of the labour crisis, but given the lack of action it’s hard to know what’s going on.
“I would like to think (they get it), but I’m not sure.”
A copy of the Labour Action Plan is available at www.cahrc-ccrha.ca/publications/.
robert.arnason@producer.com
