In March, under political pressure to do something about the housing crisis, the federal government announced changes to the amount of temporary residents that would be allowed in to Canada beginning May 1.
On the surface, this may not seem to directly impact agriculture if farms and agri-businesses typically access the seasonal worker programs. However, in digging in to three key aspects of the change, Canadian agri-processing could face serious work shortages.
To explain the new policy and the potential fallout, host of RealAg Radio Shaun Haney is joined by Lauren Martin, senior director of government relations with the Canadian Meat Council. Martin explains that there are immediate issues — including the lower total number of workers a company may be able to hire under any temporary worker program — and procedural issues too that could make accessing a labour force that much harder.
In short, the policy shift seems rushed and cumbersome for program participants and unlikely to make any difference in the housing issue at all. Listen on for that discussion:
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