2024-02-27 19:43:11
A reduction in the number of temporary foreign workers would be a difficult blow for the tourism industry, which is asking the Legault government to do things with discernment.
Monday, Employment Minister Kateri Champagne Jourdain said she wanted to reduce the number of foreign workers in Quebec and instead fight the labor shortage by supporting businesses in their effort to achieve the digital shift, a statement that has caused a stir in the tourism industry.
“The proportion of foreign workers in the restaurant and hotel industry is higher than in other sectors,” explained the interim general director of the Quebec Tourism Industry Alliance, Frédéric Dubé, in an interview.
“Photo taken from the website of the Alliance de l’industrie tourisme du Québec”
“So we are certainly concerned when it comes to reducing access to one of our solutions to combat the personnel shortage that is plaguing our industry.”
In reality, more than 23% of Temporary Foreign Worker Program permits are intended for the agricultural sector, but manufacturing and IT are also increasingly going through this program, according to the Institut du Québec.
But the fact remains that, in the last year, more companies in the catering sector (12%), the hotel industry (10%) and the tourism sector (9%), have hired foreign workers, than the average of the entire economy in Quebec (7%), according to Statistics Canada data.
“We are not against a certain digitization of our activities, because at a given moment, we must indeed select value-added positions,” continued Mr. Dubé. “On the other hand, there is really an important part of what is done and experienced in the industry which involves people, the warm welcome, the experience that we can give to visitors.”
“We therefore want to ensure that the minister does not consider that the tourism industry is an area where she can reduce,” he added.
Asked what would happen to tourism businesses if they did not have access to temporary foreign workers, Mr. Dubé did not answer directly. “We have a bouquet of solutions. Workers aged sixty and over, and for example the proposals that the minister tabled yesterday with the employers’ council [NDLR : un projet d’accompagnement des entreprises pour intégrer des ainés sur le marché du travail]we were delighted,” he said.
As of December 31, 59,820 workers were in Quebec thanks to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and 107,615 thanks to the International Mobility Program, which falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
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