DRESDEN, Ontario — Agriculture may be facing a critical labour shortage, but resolving the problem will likely need to wait.
“I don’t think the Conservatives will want to touch it until after the election,” said Mark Chambers, co-chair of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Task Force.
Chambers has heard that Liberal leader Justin Trudeau may make the issue part of his party’s platform, which would be a positive development.
“It’s like banging your head sometimes, working with government,” said Chambers, whose task force developed the Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Workforce Action Plan and is led by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council, which represents more than 60 organizations representing farmers and processors.
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“The agriculture industry needs more workers. Labour shortages are affecting … operational success. Finding workers to work and live in small rural communities is very challenging.”
Much of rural Canada has become depopulated and in some instances lacks the necessary infrastructure to attract new residents when jobs are available, Chambers said.
“If you back up 40 to 50 years, there would be a family with three or four kids on two or three sections.”
The Workforce Action Plan was released in October 2013 and updated earlier this year in the wake of changes to the federal government’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP).
Primary agriculture, unlike other sectors, escaped caps on the employment of TFWP workers, but Chambers said the overall approach to the recruitment of foreign workers could be better.
The Workforce Action Plan recommended clearly defining and better co-ordinating the roles of Employment and Social Development Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Agriculture Canada. It also called for reducing the wait times for Labour Market Opinions and the time it takes to recruit offshore workers.
As well, the plan recommended a centralized resource to support the recruitment of foreign workers in a “standardized, efficient” manner and the development of an agriculture and agri-food stream within the TFWP to complement the long-standing Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP).
“The current narrow focus of primary agriculture and SAWP is not in sync with the current value chain concept on which our industry’s viability depends,” the plan said.
“It is important to understand (that) the chronic, year-round labour shortages that many food processors experience have a direct effect on primary agriculture. If processors cannot process, farmers cannot farm.”
The plan also recommended a fundamental shift in the TFWP philosophy, especially in how it applies to offshore workers who are needed for permanent positions.
Chambers said it speaks to the need for “dual intent:” helping workers become permanent residents as well as filling immediate labour needs.
“We always recruit and hire Canadian workers first,” Chambers said.
“But when domestic workers are not available to meet workforce requirements, we need this dedicated Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Workforce Program to hire willing international workers with improved pathways for their permanent residency.”
Chambers said the company he works for as a swine production manager, Alberta-based Sunterra Farms, supports workers interested in permanent residency.
Many of those who are brought to Canada as low-skilled workers receive the necessary training to become high-skilled workers, which then makes permanent residency a realistic goal. Unfortunately, that opportunity doesn’t always exist.
For example, workers in a mushroom operation have little if any opportunity for advancement.
Chambers said workers whose four-year limit has run out may choose not to comply with the new requirement that they return to their home country.
The Workforce Action Plan ad-dressed the need for foreign workers but there’s also an emphasis on recruiting more Canadians.
However, Chambers said the expectations of some Canadians may be too high and they do not want to accept lower paying jobs.
