Additional Improvements Made to Temporary Foreign Workers Program
Retailers Pleased with Government's Commitment to Dealing with Labour Shortages
Vancouver, September 24, 2007 – Retail Council of Canada (RCC) welcomed the announcement made today by the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Canada, and the Honourable Colin Hansen, Minister of Economic Development for British Columbia, on the additional changes made to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program.
RCC is pleased that Retail Sales Persons and Sales Clerks were included on the list of 12 occupations that will be receiving faster approvals.
"We are very impressed with the hands-on, efficient approach taken by the federal government and the B.C. government on the issue of labour shortages," says Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO of Retail Council of Canada. "Retailers all over the country and most acutely in British Columbia and Alberta are facing unprecedented staffing challenges."
RCC has strongly advocated at both the federal and provincial levels for improvements to address the labour shortage challenge. For instance, RCC believes that fiscal rules should be altered to encourage a longer participation by older Canadian workers and efforts should be made to ensure that the Temporary Foreign Workers Program is a clear part of the government's broader national immigration strategy to address the long-term labour needs of the Canadian economy."
"RCC is very encouraged by today's announcement," adds Brisebois. "Minister Solberg has stated from the onset that there was no magic bullet to solving this issue and has continually been true to his word in delivering improvements and realistic solutions for the business community."
About Retail Council of Canada
Retail Council of Canada (www.retailcouncil.org) is the Voice of Retail. It is a not-for-profit association representing more than 40,000 stores of all retail formats, including independent merchants, regional and national mass and specialty chains, and online merchants.
For more information, contact: Stephanie Petroff, Manager, National Public Affairs, (416) 922-0553, ext. 228; e-mail: spetroff@retailcouncil.org.