Foreign workers shouldn’t get jobs Canadians can do: Kenney – by Kristy Kirkup (Toronto Sun – October 31, 2012)

http://www.torontosun.com/

OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Wednesday he wants to ensure the temporary foreign work program operates “on the basis of Canadians first” in light of concerns raised about permits granted to Chinese miners at a B.C. coal mine.

“Companies cannot access foreign workers unless or until they have demonstrated to the government that they have advertised the job in Canada, offering it to any qualified Canadians,” Kenney told QMI Agency.

“We never want to give jobs away to foreign workers if qualified Canadians are available and applying for them.”

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada is now investigating why the work permits were granted to about 200 mine workers at HD Mining International Ltd., located west of Grand Prairie, Alta.

Employers who wish to hire temporary foreign workers must apply for a “labour market opinion” from Service Canada that assesses “the impact the foreign worker would have on Canada’s labour market.”

“Concerns have come to light, subsequent to these labour market opinions being approved for that particular mine, that Mandarin was listed as a work requirement,” Kenney said. “I understand HRSDC is taking a look at that to see if that was a valid work requirement.”

The federal NDP has called for an “immediate suspension” of the permits and wants a full investigation to see if Canadian workers were given an opportunity to apply for the positions.

For the rest of this article, please go to the Toronto Sun website: http://www.torontosun.com/2012/10/31/foreign-workers-shouldnt-get-jobs-canadians-can-do-kenney