Canadian ski resorts face labor shortages, government delays issuing work visas

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Canadian ski resorts that rely heavily on international workers are bracing for a labor shortage this winter as the federal government’s visa approval process slows down.

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With the reopening of international borders for vaccinated travelers and vaccine passports allowing for increased guest capacity, Paul Pinchbeck, CEO of Ski Canada, said the long-awaited ski season is “creating an enigma” for resorts. of all country.

“We have significant demand for our products, exemplified by early season travel bookings and season pass sales, but we have just a few thousand employees across the country and that is going to hamper our ability to deliver their services this year, “he said. said. “The magnitude of this cannot be underestimated.”

Michael Ballingall, senior vice president at Big White Ski Resort in Kelowna, said that about 60 percent of his staff members were international workers on an International Experience Canada visa two years before the pandemic.

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He said the complex typically has an influx of seasonal worker applications in the fall, but the pandemic is making it difficult for people to obtain work visas. The complex is currently at 45 percent staff capacity, and Ballingall said secondary services, such as hospitality, will suffer if nothing changes.

Irish visa applicant Lili Minah has already been offered a waitress job at one of Mooney Supply Group’s three restaurants in Big White Village and hopes to receive a response from Immigration Canada before her flight to British Columbia on November 20.

“If they don’t send me an invitation to apply for a visa by then, I suppose it will be just a vacation,” he said.

Ana Mooney, who offered Minah the service job, said 60 percent of her staff are typically visa holders. He said his restaurants are short of about 50 employees heading into the season and three staff members have already opted to return home because the visa process took too long.

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“Tourism is being hit hard by COVID and having a second year of this means that some people will not weather the storm,” he said. “It is not only in the ski industry, it is tourism in general. As the borders open, there will be more people visiting, but we don’t have the manpower to take care of them. “

Ballingall said only a small number of the visas are being processed, while permits for people who were allowed to work last year are expiring, leaving both workers and resorts in limbo.

“When the pandemic hit, many (international workers) still had their visas in force, so they were able to work for us last year,” he said. “This year, most of those people are still in the country, but their visas have expired, so we are pressuring the government to return them because everyone in this industry is in a similar boat.”

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Gemma Nicolle, 30, has worked two winters in retail at Big White and hopes her work visa will be reinstated in time for the ski season.

“I’m going to have to start work again very soon to be able to stay here, so by the end of November, if nothing improves, I will probably have to go home,” he said.

Ballingall said the Western Canada Ski Areas Association and the Canadian Ski Council teamed up with Big White to hire a lobbying firm to convince the government to reinstate expired visas.

“We need more people and we are asking the government to help us get our business back, but also to bring recovery to Canadian tourism in general,” Pinchbeck said.

“Last year, we didn’t have this obvious need because we were targeting the various COVID waves and we expected to have scaled-down operations. This year, we have shown that this is an industry that can operate safely and responsibly and because governments know much more about this virus and its transmission now, we are sure that we are going to need those people to increase services. “

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Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said in an email that continued international travel and border restrictions, limited overseas operational capacity, and inability for clients to obtain documentation due to the pandemic have created barriers to processing, resulting in That, he says, hampers his ability to finish applications, creating delays that are beyond his control.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, the IRCC has prioritized the applications of workers in essential occupations in agriculture and healthcare, where labor is most needed to protect the health of Canadians and ensure a food supply. Enough, ”the department said.

While it said it is concentrating resources on resettling Afghan refugees through existing programs, there has been no pause in processing other lines of business, including International Experience Canada, the department said.

“Despite these efforts, we know that some applicants have experienced considerable wait times with the processing of their applications. We continue to work as hard as possible to reduce overall processing times. “

Ballingall said the Big White administration is not panicking yet. He said he hopes to attract Canadian workers this winter when the Canada Emergency Response Benefit ends.

“We will start to panic around November 1 if nothing changes because there are simply not enough Canadians in the group right now to satisfy the industry. Something has to give. “