Where have all the jobs for young people gone?
In the Flin Flon area, that’s a question I have heard inexperienced job-seekers and their parents ask with growing frequency over the years.
To be sure, there are still many employment opportunities available for new applicants looking to get their foot in the workforce door.
But like Thompson, The Pas and so many other communities across Canada, Flin Flon has seen something of an influx of workers coming from foreign lands to fill low-skill jobs.
How many foreign workers are in Flin Flon? There is no official data in this regard, at least that I can find, so we must rely on anecdotes and observations that point to a small but growing number.
There is nothing wrong with foreign workers, of course. Since its early days, Flin Flon has been a multicultural mosaic. Our international roots run deep, and we are proud of that.
But there is the obvious concern that by adding foreign workers, we diminish current and future employment opportunities for locals who at least want to try and stay in Flin Flon as they come of working age.
There is worry also that wages can be somewhat artificially suppressed through the importation of foreign workers, rather than allowing traditional free market principles to act as they will.
Flip side
The flip side of this coin is represented by some area business owners who report dire challenges in drawing quality applicants from the local pool.
If you know someone in business, chances are you’ve heard about this problem. One now-former business owner even told me that her (very) small business had to shut down because she couldn’t find good help.
I have sympathy for anyone in her predicament. Outside of mining, small businesses are the economic backbone of Flin Flon and area.
Nevertheless, the Harper government has just tightened up considerably rules for hiring individuals through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) that supplies so much of Canada’s low-skilled labour.
This week Employment Minister Jason Kenney even made it clear that the wholesale elimination of the TFWP for low-wage jobs will be on the table in 2016, according to The Globe and Mail.
The program has been abused, the Conservatives argue, at the expense of Canadians.
Niki Ashton’s NDP has also been critical of the TFWP, though it should be noted that, according to the National Post, our MP wrote to the government seeking approval for temporary foreign worker permits on behalf of at least one employer in her riding.
What’s clear is that, at least on a national scale, the TFWP has become a source of cheap labour for businesses that, in some or many cases, could and should have hired Canadians instead.
Tightening up or eliminating the TFWP is not about xenophobia. It is about maximizing job opportunities for Canadians so that we can have the most successful nation possible. It is about letting the market decide compensation.
Communities like Flin Flon in particular need all of the jobs they can get. I am sorry for any businesses that might suffer, but I applaud the Harper government for (very belatedly) caring about this issue.
Local Angle runs Fridays.
