(File photo/farmnewsNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

New Program

Ag sector set to benefit from feds plan to make it easier to hire temporary foreign workers

Aug 11, 2023 | 3:56 PM

Canada’s agriculture sector is expected to benefit from the federal government’s plan to make it easier to hire temporary foreign workers.

They announced earlier this week the launch of the Recognized Employer Pilot program which will allow companies with a good track record to only have to prove once every three years that they need to hire from outside the country. Previously, they were required to do so every 18 months.

Agriculture producers will be the first to benefit from this new program as applications will start being accepted in September 2023. All other employers can start to apply in January 2024.

The ag sector is getting a head start due to the low number of jobs currently being filled.

Bob Reid, who farms in the Smeaton area, previously told farmnewsNOW finding younger people who want to be farmers becomes harder each and every year, and the ones he does find simply can’t meet the demands.

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“I had one guy from Moose Jaw, he lasted one day… one day, we paid him to leave,” he said.

Reid agrees with the federal government’s ideology on foreign workers as he believes more are desperately needed.

This has already started on his farm as he’s had the same South African man on his payroll since late 2021.

“We sponsored the whole family, and he now works for us five days a week. When we’re rolling up a grain bag, he’s out of that truck and right there doing exactly what he’s supposed to do.”

Meanwhile, a report by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) suggests there will be a massive shortage in the sector in the coming years.

It claims by 2033 there will be around 24,000 fewer workers mainly due to the average age of a Canadian farmer, right now, being around 56 years old.

The report says foreign workers will help, but only in the short term.

It explains the country needs to find a way to encourage more domestic workers to choose farming as a career which could include incentives and promoting agricultural education at different colleges and universities.

-With files from The Canadian Press

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow