Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program has been a hot button topic for Northerners and Canadians for the past month. This program is delivered in the NWT by the Department of ECE and ITI as the NWT Nominee Program.
This program of last and limited resort is designed to be accessed by employers facing genuine acute labour shortages and only after Canadians are not available to fill the job. Admittedly, opponents of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program argue it takes jobs away and drives down wages. Proponents argue that not enough Canadians are willing to work in certain jobs or relocate to certain communities. To be honest, both sides have valid claims.
I myself, as a past owner in the service industry for over 20 years, employed over 15,000 employees, yet I did not use one foreign worker. However, I have many business colleagues who have and I definitely understand their positions.
Some say the recent federal freeze on the TFWP was a mere over-reaction and that select responsible employers are being targeted. Given the state of NWT of having never received a report of abuse, according to the GNWT employment standards office, tends to lend argument that responsible NWT employers who hire temporary foreign workers are being unfairly punished. I tend to agree.
The TFWP may be the right model in some instances in the NWT, but our real target should be permanent immigration solutions. In essence, what we really need in the NWT is more foreign workers to become citizens. We know that the Canadian government is catching on to this opportunity as it recently announced a new express entry program for 2015. Let’s hope the GNWT through its skilled worker and critical impact worker programs and our entrepreneur and self-employed business programs we’ll be able to harness our government’s aggressive 2,000 population increase during the life of the 17th Assembly.
Let’s face it, adding more taxpayers is a much better solution than a mere temporary band-aid. I will have questions later today for the Minister responsible. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
