Red Lake Again Targeting Foreign Workers Program

Dryden Council is backing a Red Lake resolution calling for changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers program.
The seven point resolution recognizes the very critical role the program plays in Red Lake and other communities where labour shortages are a real issue.
It calls for fair and equitable wages and accommodation as well as reporting mechanisms to ensure no one if abusing the program.
The resolution also states that people hired under the program should be able to apply for full immigration status.
Only Councillor Sid Wintle voiced his concern on supporting the resolution pointing to the high unemployment rate in this region.
Wintle and Brian Collins are also concerned with the full immigration component of the resolution.
It did pass a Council vote.
Regional employers who use the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to hire high-skilled workers say they have been sideswiped by changes intended to curb alleged abuses of the program by businesses.
Employers must now pay $1,000 for every temporary foreign worker they want to hire and pass a more rigorous Labour Market Impact Assessment test to prove the need to hire a foreign worker over a Canadian one.
The resolution will be sent to Kenora MP Greg Rickford and the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association.