Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: Indeed, the labour shortage is a blow to the agriculture and agri-food sector and many other sectors, but especially agriculture. It is absolutely true. Roughly a month ago, the Minister of Employment, Carla Qualtrough, announced important changes that affect processing plants in particular.

We have increased the maximum limit, and the number of foreign workers at processing plants can go from 10% to 30%, which provides more flexibility to our businesses. We extended the duration of the labour market impact assessment to 18 months, which is something the sector asked for. We also extended the work permits from two years to three years in some sectors for skilled workers, among others. A certain number of measures have already been brought in this past month to primarily help the processing plants.

As for farmers, the reform of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is making progress. We are implementing a program for what is referred to as “trusted employers,” who are the vast majority of employers. Unfortunately, some are not, but for the trusted employers who treat their employees well, who provide them with housing in good condition, who respect the salary rules and meet health care and other requirements, we will ensure that they do not have to go through the entire process every year. I very much look forward to making the announcement.

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Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: I completely agree. The labour shortage is very difficult, especially for the regions. We have been able to implement specific programs to make it easier and faster for temporary agricultural workers to get permanent resident status, particularly in the Atlantic region. This pilot program has become a popular and permanent program in Atlantic Canada.

There is also a program in Ontario specifically designed for workers in the processing, greenhouse and mushroom industries, and it works well. There is still room for more participation. I would have hoped that such a program could have been created in Quebec, but the situation is different, since the provincial government makes the decisions about economic immigration. It was, however, something we were asked to do.

In my mandate letter, the Prime Minister asked me to develop an agricultural labour strategy. This all obviously requires improvements to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Investments also need to be made in employment or internship programs for young people to get them interested in the agricultural sector. This sector is not limited to farm work; it also relies on new technologies and science, for example.

The Minister of Finance’s mandate letter also includes tax incentives to keep seniors working longer. By investing in child care services, we are trying to bring workers back to the workplace and to the regions. I come from a region, the Eastern Townships, and housing, which is a problem everywhere, is known to be associated with the labour shortage. As you know, the government is investing billions of dollars through the National Housing Strategy. Our strategy is quite broad, when it comes to labour.

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