XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ab.politics   
   XPost: ont.politics, sk.politics   
   From: {~_~}@nyet.ca   
      
   On 4/25/2014 8:01 PM, {~_~} Раиса wrote:   
   > "A moratorium" does not mean any of these foreign workers are going to   
   > be let go.  Until Canadians start talking with action, McDonalds will   
   > continue as it's doing.   
   > Boycott McDonald's - until the foreign workers are sent home and   
   > Canadians are working again in Canadian restaurants.   
   >   
   > _______________________________________________   
   Canadian Press, The Canadian Press   
      
   McDonald's continued alleged abuse of foreign worker program leads to   
   moratorium   
      
      
   VANCOUVER _ The government's decision to bar the food service industry   
   from hiring temporary foreign workers is a wake-up call for employers   
   across the country, says federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney.   
      
   There will be no tolerance for employers trying to skirt the rules of   
   the Temporary Foreign Worker program, Kenney said in Vancouver on Friday.   
      
   ``Let me be clear: the Temporary Foreign Worker program must always and   
   only ever be a last and limited resort for employers who have made every   
   possible effort to hire and train Canadians but can't find them for   
   available jobs,'' Kenney said.   
      
   Kenney announced the moratorium on the food service industry Thursday   
   night, after the controversial program made headlines yet again over   
   allegations of misuse of the temporary workers at three McDonald's   
   franchises in Victoria and a pizza restaurant in Weyburn, Sask.   
      
   Canadian employers must do more to attract employees, Kenney suggested.   
      
   ``We are distressed that wage rates have barely kept pace with inflation   
   since the global downturn, which is not indicative of a tight labour   
   market. We are disappointed that Canadian employers invest less than   
   virtually any other developed country in training,'' Kenney said.   
      
   Wages and working conditions must improve, and employers must invest   
   more in training, in particular among under-represented groups such as   
   immigrants, youth and aboriginal Canadians, he said.   
      
   ``We've put them on notice that we expect Canadian employers to do   
   better,'' Kenney said.   
      
   The temporary foreign worker program was first under fire in the fall of   
   2012, when it came to light that approval was granted to Chinese-owned   
   HD Mining International to bring more than 200 people from China to work   
   at its coal mine near Tumbler Ridge, B.C.   
      
   The controversy prompted Kenney's predecessor to announce a review.   
      
   A study released this week by the C.D. Howe Institute found the program   
   has grown from about 100,000 people in 2002 to as many as 338,000 now   
   working across the country.   
      
   It also found the program actually increased jobless rates in B.C. and   
   Alberta., which Kenney calls home.   
      
   Last April, facing a Federal Court lawsuit launched by unions over the   
   HD Mining workers, the federal government introduced reforms to the   
   program, including removing a provision that allowed employers to pay   
   temporary foreign workers up to 15 per cent less than the prevailing   
   Canadian wage. The government also put a stop to an accelerated process   
   for approvals.   
      
   The moratorium and Kenney's assurances did little to assuage critics   
   this time around.   
      
   The B.C. Federation of Labour said there's been a dramatic increase in   
   the number of temporary foreign workers filling entry-level jobs in   
   recent years in the westernmost province.   
      
   And the Alberta Federation of Labour said problems with the program   
   extend far beyond restaurants. The group said records for 2012-2013 show   
   224 cases where businesses in Alberta paid foreign workers less than the   
   prevailing wage rate.   
      
   President Gil McGowan said these businesses included hotels, gas   
   stations, casinos, convenience stores, greenhouses, feedlots and nurseries.   
      
   ``Minister Kenney has now banned the use of temporary foreign workers in   
   food services,'' McGowan said Friday. ``But while the food service   
   industry may be the worst offender, it is by no means the only industry   
   that has been using the program to displace Canadians and drive down   
   wages.''   
      
   McGowan said the government must scrap low-wage jobs from the program   
   and suspend its use for medium to high-skilled workers pending an   
   investigation by the auditor general.   
      
   The federal New Democrats welcomed the moratorium on the food service   
   industry but said an independent inquiry of the ``defective'' program is   
   needed.   
      
   Criticism was not limited to opponents of the program.   
      
   Joyce Reynolds, head of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices   
   Association, said it was surprising that government would take such a   
   broad, sweeping approach to just one sector.   
      
   ``Our members are worried, they're very concerned that restaurants will   
   have to close because of a lack of staff,'' Reynolds said.   
      
   As far as wages, she said restaurants can't compete with oil companies   
   in Alberta offering $30 an hour.   
      
   ``The vast majority of TFWs are in Western Canada, because it's been   
   very difficult to get people to move from the East to jobs out West.   
   Every sector is experiencing labour shortages there,'' Reynolds said.   
      
   Stephen Cryne, head of the Canadian Employee Relocation Council, said   
   the moratorium is short-sighted.   
      
   ``The government is to blame for this mess,'' he said. ``They should   
   have begun working with the food services industry long ago to address   
   the issues specific to that industry.''   
      
      
      
      
   Read more at   
   http://www.stockhouse.com/news/newswire/2014/04/26/mcdonald-s-co   
   tinued-alleged-abuse-foreign-worker-program-leads-to-moratorium#   
   gL5jtsXdVKmuvc7.99   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)