The Peace Region’s MP says his government's moratorium on temporary foreign workers in the fast food industry could be lifted by early June.
"There isn't any hard date. We're looking at a solution within the next month," Prince George-Peace River MP Bob Zimmer said on May 22.
"A solution needs to be there and be accepted by cabinet. I know [employment minister Jason Kenney] wants to have something in place [by early June.]”
Zimmer stressed that he "can't say for sure it'll be ready” by that time.
Businesses and chambers of commerce across northern Canada have called for a reversal of the moratorium on foreign workers since it was put in place in late April in response to widespread abuses of the program in the fast-food industry.
The Dawson Creek Chamber has complained publicly that northern communities are being penalized for something they did not do, and that the program is vital in communities that face labour shortages.
Every politician in the Peace Region contacted by the Alaska Highway News recently said they supported a quick end to the ban (with the exception of Zimmer himself, who asked everyone to be patient while Kenney worked on a solution).
Early reports indicate the federal government might reform the program by requiring employers to pay temporary foreign workers better than minimum wage and tying eligibility for the program to regional unemployment rates.
However, some fast food operators have bristled at the idea, saying that requiring better than minimum wage would put a strain on already razor-thin profit margins.
