Accept jobs taken by temporary immigrant workers-Kenney tells unemployed

Canada, 20th April: In a bid to crack down on unemployed EI recipient Canadians, Ottawa is likely to ask them to take up jobs filled by temporary immigrant workers.

Addressing the National Post editorial board meeting, Canada immigration minister Jason Kenney stated clearly that jobless Canadians are liable to apply and accept available jobs if they want to get qualified for EI(Employment Insurance) benefits.

Canada’s upcoming immigration reform—The federal government is going to act tough in what may be called as a latest swoop on unemployed Canadians seeking to live on EI benefits. The aim of this upcoming immigration reform is to develop a bigger connection between the temporary foreign worker program and the EI scheme, Kenney informed.

By doing so, Canadian government wants to cut down all disincentives to employment. So, the message to all jobless Canadians receiving EI is quite clear and goes like this—‘Take up available work or become ineligible for EI’. And to help unemployed Canadians take up available local jobs, the government will be responsible to remind them about applying for such jobs and accept them, the immigration minister maintained.

There seems to be no logic in inviting foreigners for the jobs when there are sufficient unemployed Canadians available for such work.

Businesses must give preference to Canadians over foreign workers—Canada is asking businesses to make reasonable efforts to hire Canadian workers before immigrant workers. This is keeping in view the fact that a large number of Canadian provinces are experiencing high rates of unemployment. For instance, current unemployment rate in Nova Scotia is said to be 10 percent.

Despite of this, majority of business operators are bringing in Mexicans to work as temporary farm workers through the agricultural worker scheme, Kenney highlighted. And the scenario is almost same in PEI (Prince Edward Island) as well as New Brunswick.

More and more employers are hiring an increasing number of temporary foreign workers while Canada-born workers seem to struggle with unemployment, the minister states.

This is something that needs to be changed, he said. Businesses need to ensure that they are making all reasonable efforts to hire domestic labor force before resorting to foreign workers, Kenney summarized.