Alberta Business Coalition Reacts to Foreign Worker Program Fraud Allegations
(firmenpresse) - EDMONTON, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/12/13 -- The Alberta Coalition for Action on Labour Shortages (ACALS), which includes representatives from every major sector of Alberta's economy, is calling Alberta Federation of Labour allegations of widespread fraud in the accelerated stream of the federal Temporary Foreign Worker program (TFW) unduly provocative and exaggerated.
"There are perennial critics who believe the TFW program in all its forms should be eliminated completely. In an effort to turn public opinion against foreign workers and the important role they play in helping to address acute labour shortages, some critics continue to make over-stated claims in the media" stated Richard Truscott, Alberta Director of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB).
Truscott was responding to allegations made by the Alberta Federation of Labour that there was widespread abuse of the Accelerated Labour Market Opinion (A-LMO) process that was announced by the Federal Government in April 2012. ACALS members applauded the accelerated program because it reduced the processing of applications from months to a matter of days. To be eligible to apply for accelerated processing, qualifying employers must have a track record of compliance with employment, labour and immigration standards and rules. Part of the process also includes ensuring that eligible employers are subjected to potentially more rigorous audits of their operations once the workers are in place.
"We recognize that finding qualified employees is primarily the responsibility of employers, and we take that responsibility seriously," said Jim Rivait, CEO of the Canadian Home Builders' Association - Alberta. "Coalition members continue to up-train and re-train their employees to better meet workforce challenges, and tapping into non-traditional markets in Canada and abroad."
Over the past few years, government and industry have effectively worked together to ensure Canadians are given the first chance to benefit from these opportunities. These initiatives include:
Despite these ongoing efforts, there remains a shortfall of available workers domestically to fill the needs of the growing economy.
In 2012, the Conference Board of Canada predicted that Alberta would create over 130,000 net new jobs over two years and the Alberta government forecast that there would be shortage of 114,000 more jobs than people to fill them in coming years. According to Statistics Canada, Alberta workers continue to receive the highest wages in the country. Alberta also consistently experiences extremely low unemployment rates.
While the Coalition recognizes that there may be some isolated problem cases, the Federal Government, as indicated in the recent budget and in meetings prior to the tabling of the budget that it is reviewing measures to ensure all immigration programs are responding appropriately to Canada's economic and social needs. With the one year anniversary of the A-LMO process upon us, the Coalition believes it is premature to conclude that program rules are being flagrantly violated because the Federal Government has not yet had time to conduct the employer audits that were part and parcel of the process when it was developed and introduced.
Alberta Enterprise President Tim Shipton stated, "The TFW program continues to be an important recruitment tool of last resort for employers that are unable to find workers in Alberta and Canada and must at the same time take care of their customers. It's important that we do not throw out the baby with the bath water when dealing with isolated cases of non-compliance. Members of the Alberta Coalition for Action on Labour Shortages look forward to participating in consultation discussions with all levels of government and all stakeholders to ensure that all immigration programs are achieving results that are in the interests of all Albertans and Canadians."
Attention editors: Please see the following backgrounder for more information, and to contact businesses who use immigration programs to meet labour requirements.
BACKGROUNDER: The Alberta Coalition for Action on Labour Shortages (ACALS)
The Alberta Coalition for Action on Labour Shortages is:
ACALS member companies are utilizing immigration to meet Alberta's workforce needs
For more information on how various Alberta businesses are attempting to use immigration programs to meet labour requirements, and the challenges they face, please contact any of the supporting organizations.
Alberta Coalition for Action on Labour Shortages (ACALS)
Participating Organization Media Contacts :
Contacts:
CFIB
Richard Truscott
(403) 444-9290
CHBA-AB
Jim Rivait
(780) 915-8546
AEG
Tim Shipton
(780) 909 -8584
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Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 12.04.2013 - 10:43 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 1216028
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contact information:
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Town:
EDMONTON, ALBERTA
Phone:
Kategorie:
Construction
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