The Canadian Meat Council is complaining about a limit on the number of temporary foreign workers (TFW) meat packers can employ.
"Our
meat processors are having a hard time finding Canadians who are interested in
these jobs," said Marie-France Mackinnon, vice-president of public affairs
and communications with the Canadian Meat Council.
Even students who
take training to become meat cutters and butchers at Olds College in Alberta
don't want to work at meat processing plants.
"After their certificate
(they) don't choose to work for any of our members," Mackinnon said.
"They want to… go to Co-Op or Safeway, or open their own butcher
shop."
The limit on the
number of TFW is forcing meat companies to make difficult choices. Some are
shutting down production lines and others are shipping cuts of meat to other
plants, perhaps in the United States for further processing.
The cap on TFW is
detrimental to Canada's meat industry and the country's economy, the meat
council said in a document outlining its priorities for the federal election.
"The cap
restricts growth for abattoirs by limiting expansion plans, restricting
immigration growth for rural Canada, and not allowing the industry to increase
its export capacity."
The meat council
wants the next federal government to adjust the 10-20 percent cap on TFW so
it's fair for all meat packers and allows the industry to succeed, the council
said.
"It's really
a cap on processing capacity and our sector's growth potential," Mackinnon
said.
"It isn't a
partisan issue. It's an economic issue for Canada."
The
caps were introduced in 2014 by the former Conservative government headed by Stephen
Harper.
