The Canadian Meat Council is praising the federal government for opening the temporary foreign worker program for three years to help agricultural companies fill job vacancies.
The pilot program will allow employers to bring in full-time, non-seasonal agriculture workers that will include a pathway to permanent residency.
The Canadian Meat Council said it “has been advocating for many years the need for government to create a program that would help the sector to deal with critical and chronic shortage of butchers and issues with the current Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) Program.
Council president Chris White said “this pilot is vital to our sector. Our members provide year-round, permanent jobs. There’s nothing temporary about meat processing’s workforce requirements.
“We currently have over 1,700 vacancies to fill with 900 butchers looking for permanent residency.
“This immigration Pilot will provide a pathway to residency for butchers in all provinces which isn’t available to us right now,” White said.
