Not enough Canadians to fill the farm and meat plant jobs? Make some more.
Gregg Badger has seen his company successfully recruit 350 foreign workers into Canada and he says most employers are richer for the experience.
“In Canada, we’re failing to produce $2 billion in the meat industry alone because we can’t fill all of the jobs that are available,” said Badger of R.A. Chisholm Ltd.
His company is a major food products distributor that decided several years ago that it could use its international knowledge to import as well as export.
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“The world is full of hard working people looking for an opportunity to make new lives in a place like Canada or to send money home,” said Badger.
“We can’t just keep raising wages here either or we become uncompetitive with other food producing nations.”
Badger told farmers attending the Saskatchewan Pork Symposium in Saskatoon Nov. 15 that their industry is losing out to the United States, in part because of a lack of workers.
“From barns to the plant floor, there are shortages,” he said.
Florian Possberg of Big Sky Farms and packer OlyWest, said the problem is severe for many producers and throughout the meat industry.
“The plant in Red Deer is an example. That plant was supposed to have a second shift running. It doesn’t. We can’t find enough workers, especially in that overheated Alberta economy,” he said.
Harold Fast produces pigs in Spiritwood, Sask.
“Our farm is growing. Spiritwood is not. The labour pool there … is aging and shrinking. It causes you to consider not expanding even when the economics say it’s right to do so,” he said.
Badger said foreign workers could overcome some of hurdles they encounter through skills training once in Canada. Canadian regulations allow temporary, unskilled labourers to work for up to one year. He said in that time, an unskilled labourer can become a skilled swine technician who qualifies to immigrate to Canada.
“Once they are here under the less complex temporary programs for farm labourers or industrial butchers, it is far easier to upgrade their skills and keep them. The delays are far shorter when it comes to processing their paperwork too,” he said.
Badger said the temporary federal programs and provincial nominee programs take from six to 12 months to process, while the federal unskilled labour system needs just 30 to 60 days.
Once the worker is in Canada and converted from a temporary labourer to a provincial nominee candidate, it costs about $2,700 to register them with the government.
The total is likely to be in the range of $5,500 for a family of three plus transportation.
He said the employer is required to ensure that adequate housing is available that doesn’t cost more than one third of the worker’s income, and producers should expect to provide limited assistance in helping the new employee settle into Canadian culture.
“For the most part these folks fit in quickly and are hard working people with strong work ethics. They have lower absenteeism than typical Canadian workers and are very productive,” he said.
Possberg said his hog production company has made significant investment in attracting foreign staff, but none stayed permanently.
“We’ve been very lucky to be able to attract local workers in Saskatchewan. If we were in Alberta, I’m not sure we’d be as fortunate,” said Possberg.
