HUMA Committee Report

Skills Mismatch & the Labour Shortage Crisis: The Liberals must act now

Conservative members of the committee understand the impacts the labour shortage crisis is having on local businesses and employers across every sector. Solving our labour shortage crisis will take a comprehensive approach with long- and short-term solutions, and the Liberal government have unfortunately not taken action to seriously address these shortages, leading us to the present situation.

Therefore, Conservative members recommend:

• Recommendation #1: That the Government of Canada undertake further efforts, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, to remove unnecessary barriers to labour mobility and work on implementing a pan-Canadian licensing model that would allow people without barriers to work where the needs are the greatest. 
• Recommendation #2: That the Government of Canada streamline processes for qualified immigrants to be certified to work in their field of specialization within 60 days of application.
• Recommendation #3: That the Government of Canada look at ways to back private and charitable study loans to help qualified immigrants upgrade their skills to work in Canada.
• Recommendation #4: That the government of Canada expand training and upskilling capacity for high demand industries, skilled workers, the care economy and heath care workers, and law enforcement.
• Recommendation #5: That the Government of Canada streamline the LMIA process.

Background:

The labour shortages in Canada are multipronged, and the recommendations proposed by Conservatives will help address the shortages we face in our labour market from different areas.

We know skills training and development in areas where chronic gaps exist is something that must be better addressed. Rachel Wernick, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister at the Skills and Employment Branch, acknowledged to the committee that “labour shortages are not a purely numbers issue. It is also a skills mismatch issue.”

By eliminating unnecessary barriers to labour mobility within Canada, expanding training and upskilling in high demand industries, and ensuring our qualified and skilled immigrants are able to work in their fields – we can better ensure that employers and businesses can find the workers to close the gap on this mismatch.

Furthermore, we’ve seen clear evidence of government services and programs being broken after Liberal inaction – this includes our immigration processes and credential certification for our skilled immigrants who sometimes wait years for answers – resulting in massive backlogs which the Liberals have failed to address.

It’s time the Liberal government streamline the process – and Conservatives propose that the system be improved by ensuring immigrants receive a yes or no on their certification to work in their field of specialization within 60 days of application. With a 60 day service standard, immigrants will be able to more quickly get into their field, and ensure employers have a larger skilled pool to address job shortages.

The LMIA process is simply not working for most industries. Is an onerous process. Extreme backlogs at IRCC is leaving workers and businesses in limbo in many cases for years.  Small businesses are disproportionately affected as they do not have the resources to devote the extreme amount of time needed to complete and follow up on applications. Both workers and employers are left hanging. Employers are forced to go through the same process year after year.

Naomi Lightman, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Calgary, told this committee that her research showed the need for the process of transferring credentials to be accelerated – and that “it needs to be faster, it needs to be easier and it needs to be more affordable.”

Professor Lightman also highlighted the fact that many immigrants do not have the financial means to upgrade their skills – and that in many cases those most affected are immigrant women. Conservatives propose that the Liberal government look at ways to back private and charitable study loans to help our qualified immigrants upgrade their skills so that they are able to work in Canada, and pass this significant financial hurdle.

While the Liberals are focused on raising taxes on our workers and skilled immigrants - including by increasing payroll taxes and the carbon tax, Conservatives are focused on lowering the cost of living, control government spending, and keeping workers in our labour force & skilled immigrants in Canada by allowing them to keep more of what they earn.