She
says she was only joking, but the federal labour minister has said
she’d be happy to see an end to the temporary foreign workers
program.
It’s
not clear what her views are about the seasonal farm workers program,
also facing heavy criticism from labour unions.
The
Canadian Meat Council is among those who strongly support the program
to meet their demand for eager workers in less than ideal conditions.
Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk made the remarks at a private
gathering in Ottawa with the executive of the Canadian Labour
Congress and its nationwide affiliates this spring, where the mostly
friendly crowd comprised a few dozen people who were themselves no
fans of the program.
"She
made comments along the lines (of) it will be a happy day in her
office when she cancels the program and stuff like that," said
Joseph Maloney, the international vice-president of Canada for the
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers.
Mihychuk
says she meant it as a joke, but she is nonetheless standing by her
message that she hopes one day soon, the program will no longer be
necessary.
"I
was talking about the low-skilled temporary foreign workers, because
there's a lot of systemic changes that need to happen to the program
and if we had full employment, if we had those that are unemployed
working, it would probably eliminate all temporary foreign workers,"
she told the Canadian Press in an interview.
"It
would be an indication our economy is booming and that would be great
news."
The
controversial temporary foreign workers program — characterized as
crucial by some, broken and abuse-prone by others —is currently
under review by the House of Commons standing committee on human
resources, which is expected to deliver its report before MPs go home
for the summer.
