'We pray that they'll change the rules': Ottawa urged to extend TFW contracts
Temporary foreign workers, employers on P.E.I. plead with government for extension to 6-month contracts
Some temporary foreign workers and their employers on P.E.I. are pleading with the federal government to extend their work contracts in Canada.
Most of the migrant workers arrived on the Island this spring with six-month, non-renewable contracts to work at fish processing plants. Those contracts are set to expire this fall, which will force the workers to leave Canada and return home.
-
P.E.I. fish plant worker from Philippines studies nursing at UPEI
-
Changes to Temporary Foreign Worker Program get thumbs up from Charlottetown Chamber of Commerce
-
Seafood plants able to hire more temporary foreign workers this year
"We pray that they'll change the rules in Canada to extend our contracts, so that we can help our families in the Philippines," said Jackson Arcangel, who arrived on P.E.I. in May to work at the Tignish Fisheries plant.
"If I go back there, I have no money, I have no job, and it's the same for my family."
If I go back there, I have no money, I have no job.- Jackson Arcangel, Filipino plant worker
Seasonal employers like Tignish Fisheries have long been able to bring in temporary foreign workers under longer, renewable contracts that have allowed the workers to continue working season after season, without having to leave Canada.
But back in 2014, the federal government started placing limitations on the percentage of a workforce that could be made up of temporary foreign workers.
'It made a difference'
This year, Tignish Fisheries was still able to hire 30 migrant workers on 11-month, renewable contracts.
-
Ottawa looking for 'middle ground' when it revamps temporary foreign worker program
- Canada doubling visa offices in China to attract more high-skilled workers
But Arcangel and 16 other additional Filipino workers were only brought in this spring after the government offered fish plants an exemption allowing them to hire as many migrant workers as necessary, but only on six-month, non-renewable contracts.
"[The exemption] allowed the plant to be able to process all the product we got," said Tignish Fisheries manager Francis Morrissey.
"And by doing this with the whole industry in P.E.I. and New Brunswick, it made a difference. So we're very thankful for that."
Bracing for labour shortage
But with those 17 six-month contracts set to end in the next couple of months, Morrissey is worried Tignish Fisheries won't have enough workers to handle all the lobster coming into the plant this fall — especially with dozens of students he hired this summer heading back to school.
"We'd really like it if there's some way the government could extend [the contracts] for a couple of months, because it's crucial for our processing industry with Sou'western Nova Scotia's season starting in November," said Morrissey.
"Seventeen people in a processing plant means a lot. And we won't be able to do the amount of product we should be able to put through. And all the other plants are in the same situation."
Working at a loss
The Cooper Institute — a group that advocates for temporary foreign workers — has sent a letter to the provincial and federal governments asking that the rules be changed to ensure migrant workers can extend their time in Canada.
The letter includes messages from 15 anonymous workers brought to P.E.I. on the non-renewable contracts laying out their concerns.
- IN DEPTH | CBC News coverage of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
- Canada needs a substantial increase in immigration, minister says
"The folks I have spoken to were aware it was a seasonal contract, but they were not aware it was a non-renewable contract," said the Cooper Institute's Josie Baker.
"They also weren't prepared for the [lower yields of the] lobster season this year that has meant they've gotten far less work hours and pay than they were expecting. They worked most of the season at a loss."
'The payoff isn't there'
Baker said some of the workers paid thousands of dollars to recruitment agencies to arrange their contracts and travel to Canada.
This exemption has been a Band-Aid solution.- Josie Baker, Cooper Institute
"In the process they've incurred a lot of debt ... so they've invested a lot of money and time to come to Canada to work for this short period of time, and the payoff isn't there," said Baker.
"The issue is that this exemption has been a Band-Aid solution. And unfortunately, there's no plan for follow up for what happens to these workers after this period of time."
Tignish Fisheries covered the administrative and travel costs to get Arcangel to P.E.I. from the Philippines, but he was still hoping for more work to help him support his family.
TFW program under review
It's not clear whether Arcangel or any workers on six-month contracts have any hope of staying in Canada when those contracts expire.
"When a temporary worker applies for a work permit in Canada, it is very clear that a temporary work permit does not authorize a person to stay in Canada forever," the federal government said in a written statement to CBC News.
"Workers agree in their application that they are coming to Canada to work temporarily."
Employment and Social Development Canada — the federal government department that oversees the Temporary Foreign Worker Program — also sent a letter back to the Cooper Institute, saying a federal government standing committee is reviewing the entire program and plans to make recommendations to Parliament sometime this fall.
P.E.I.'s Department of Workforce and Advanced Learning responded to CBC News with a statement, saying the province "will reiterate the concerns raised by its current temporary foreign workers and looks forward to mutually beneficial discussions with its federal counterparts to address the program's impacts on P.E.I.'s highly seasonal economy."
