1. Temporary Foreign Worker Program Review of Issues for the Residential Construction Industry Presentation to the National Education and Training Advisory Committee June 6, 2008

2. Changes in the Context – New Opportunities? More provincial responsibility More flexibility for eligible occupations Fewer restrictions on numbers New money to improve processing

3. Recent Developments New federal-provincial immigration agreements Length of time that temporary foreign workers can stay in Canada increased from 12 to 24 months in February 2007 Temporary Foreign Worker Units set up in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal (2006) and Toronto and Moncton (2008) Budget 2007 provided increased funding for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program Opportunities to move from temporary to permanent status: e.g., Canadian Experience Class Introduction of regional lists of “occupations under pressure” that reduce documentation requirements relating to recruitment efforts of employers

4. Recent Developments – British Columbia and Alberta Electronic Labour Market Opinion (E-LMO) Pilot Project introduced in British Columbia and Alberta in September 2007 and expanded in January 2008 to speed up application processing CHBA - Alberta actions on hiring foreign workers Alberta – Temporary Foreign Workers Qualification Certificate Program

5. Are these changes making a difference? Little evidence so far about impacts of program changes on the residential construction industry No evidence yet about the impacts of the Electronic- Labour Market Opinion (E-LMO) Pilot Project

6. Key Gaps for Residential Construction Industry Information about the Temporary Foreign Worker Program application processing system and the roles of different government agencies Support for small and medium-sized firms Recognition of the characteristics of the residential construction industry Recognition of skills shortages in the residential construction industry

7. Problems – Program Design Complexity Mobility Multi-employer applications Recognition of residential construction trades

8. Problems – Program Administration Timing – Speed of the application process Lack of industry input into lists of occupations under pressure Rapid change

9. Other Problems Under current rules, employers must allocate significant human resources (HR) to navigate the system Smaller companies can apply collectively – for example, through an industry-based organization – but this increases the complexity of application processing

10. Industry Challenges No history of using the Temporary Foreign Worker Program Costs of hiring a foreign worker Administrative / human resources capacity Resistance to foreign workers from some parties

11. Questions / Topics for discussion What recommendations does NETAC have for changes that need to be made to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to make it work better for the residential construction industry? What representations need to be made to federal and provincial governments to make improvements to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program? What could the residential construction industry do to make better use of the program: e.g., provide support to companies (like CHBA-Alberta); develop mechanisms to support multi-employer applications?