Weeks to go until agreement to increase limit on temporary foreign workers, Labor Minister says

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Relief for Quebec’s understaffed hotels and restaurants is on the way.

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The province is finalizing an agreement with Ottawa that will allow more foreign workers to enter in the coming weeks to work in industries such as retail, food service and accommodation, Quebec Labor Minister Jean Boulet said on Friday. The temporary visas will be issued under a fast track system, he said.

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Like many other jurisdictions, Quebec is grappling with a labor shortage that has left tens of thousands of job openings in a wide range of industries. A pan-Canadian study on the labor shortage, Posted last month by BDC, the Canadian Entrepreneurs Bank, found the hiring difficulty to be the highest in Quebec.

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“We are going to make sure there are jobs in the restaurant and hospitality sectors that have access to simplified treatment,” Boulet said at an event organized by the Montreal Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

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“We are almost there. We are almost done identifying the jobs. We have done it in partnership with employers, unions and the world of education. This should be up and running in a few weeks.”

Quebec could also alleviate labor shortages by following the lead of European countries and hiring disabled or elderly employees, Boulet said. More efforts could also be made to attract Quebecers in welfare, indigenous or former prisoners to join or re-enter the workforce, he said.

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“We must not neglect this working group,” he said. “Experienced workers want flexible hours, more vacations. There is great potential here and it is one of my concerns ”.

Data from Statistics Canada shows that just over 36 percent of Quebecers aged 60 to 69 had a job in 2019, less than the Canadian average of 41 percent and that of most OECD countries. In Ontario, the activity rate for these “experienced” workers was 42.9 percent.