Agri-Food Industry Gets Immigration Pilot

Butchers are essential to our food supply and yet, often overlooked. The federal government recognized butchers and the huge labour shortage in meat processing by officially announcing an Agri-Food Immigration Pilot, that will provide 2,750 spots for Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW)

“A year ago, we met with Minister Hussen, Hajdu and MacAulay, industry members, and the union. Our labour shortage and message to help Canada’s food supply became clear to the government. Today, we are thankful for their hard work, their recognition of our labour shortage, and their appreciation for our butchers and Agri-Food sector by announcing this labour pilot” says Chris White, President of the Canadian Meat Council (CMC).

With more than 1,700 empty butcher workstations across the country, this pilot will allow members to gain access to TFW that are desperately needed to fill the labour gap and more importantly, allow them to transition to permanent resident status.

“Meat Processing remains Canada’s largest food and beverage manufacturing employer with 64,500 workers in rural and urban areas across Canada”

 

CMC has been advocating for almost a decade the need for government to create a program that would help the sector to deal with the high employment shortage and issues with the current TFW Program.

“This pilot is vital to our sector,” adds White. “Our members provide year-round, permanent jobs. There’s nothing temporary about our need for a workforce, and the TFW program didn’t work for our members – this pilot gives them a solution.”

Last fall, Industry Canada’s Agri-Food Economic Strategy Table report highlighted the need to address the immediate labour shortages facing the sector and to modernize Canada’s immigration and temporary foreign worker programs to access the global labour force across all skill levels.

“It’s important to remember that our members always hire Canadians first,” added White. “Allowing entry-level butchers means creating more middle-class jobs – which is what this government is all about – for everyone one temporary foreign worker. We also create four jobs for Canadians.”

Over the last 14 years, meat processing wages have increased by over 50% with research showing that entry-level and experienced butcher positions having increased the most with nearly 1,700 empty butcher stations at meat processing plants across Canada.

Research findings also indicate that beef meat processing capacity in Canada is less today than it was 20 years ago, with pork capacity stagnant and lamb not enough to keep up with domestic demand. However, the labour shortage is having critical impacts of lost sales for meat processors of $750 million annually, plus $396 million lost sales for its value chain producers. This is due to labour shortage which brings the total economic impacts to the red meat sector to approximately $1.15 billion.

Meat Processing remains Canada’s largest food and beverage manufacturing employer with 64,500 workers in rural and urban areas across Canada, while red meat consumption and exports support 288,000 jobs in Canada, generating $6 billion in annual revenues. Over 90% of TFWs who are allowed to stay, remain working in the rural meatpacking plants.

Source: Canadian Meat Council (CMC)