Federal government launches investigation at fast food chain
Despite the name, the workers who serve Happy Meals at McDonald’s in British Columbia are anything but.
The company — in particular, one of the franchisee’s three locations on the west coast — has been accused of abusing the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and of hiring out-of-country staff ahead of capable and willing Canadians.
As a result, the federal government suspended all pending foreign worker permits and blacklisted the individual franchisee from using the program until the investigation wraps up.
Employment and Social Development Canada launched the investigation following accusations that the fast food establishments were bringing in dozens of Filipino workers despite a steady flow of Canadian resumés. As well, workers alleged their hours had been cut back to make room for temporary foreign workers.
In Victoria, B.C., there are about 26 foreign workers currently employed at the McDonald’s restaurants in question.
As they currently stand, the rules of the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program are such that an employer can only hire a foreign staffer if it can prove there are no qualified Canadians available.
According to Richard Truscott, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’ director of provincial affairs for Alberta, the actions of a few businesses can sour the experience for the rest.
"There’s a few businesses that apparently are breaking or bending the rules and quite frankly it’s going to end up hurting all businesses that utilize the temporary foreign worker program to find people to work in their business," said Truscott. "I can tell you, for many small businesses, temporary foreign workers are an
important part of their business, and without them, many of them certainly would not be able to grow — and many of them would simply cease to exist," he added.
At the end of the day, Truscott explained, there are businesses that have searched high and low and found wanting of a qualified employee, so they look to the foreign worker system. To streamline that process and weed out any would-be misuse of the program, he suggested strict
penalties.
"It would make sense to create some kind of credited or expedited system for those workers that are following the rules, that can show that there’s a persistent shortage of qualified people to hire — they should have continued access to the program," he said. "And for those businesses that have been misusing the program, they absolutely need to be treated very seriously because the actions of the few are having a huge impact on the situation for many entrepreneurs, many small businesses, who are struggling to find enough qualified people to work in their business."
The concern has seeped into other provinces, according to Irene Lanzinger, secretary-treasurer at the British Columbia Federation of Labour.
"It particularly happens where wages are high, for example, Fort McMurray, the oil patch — where wages are being driven up by high cost of housing, high wages in the resource sector and then employers decide they aren’t going to raise their wages to attract local residents, and they go to the temporary foreign worker program," Lanzinger explained.
Often, foreign workers are attractive because they are paid lower wages, she added, calling the system antiquated, likening it to "indentured servitude." The number of temporary foreign workers, especially low-skilled workers in the service sector, has skyrocketed, Lanzinger said, calling for better enforcement of the rules.
"The federal government should get rid of these categories that bring in low-skilled workers to get into service sector jobs," she explained. "There is no reason for those categories to exist, and we have seen employers abuse the rules around these categories…We think there’s a wage gap — not a worker shortage."
She also suggested foreign workers who legally get jobs in the country enjoy the same rights as their Canadian counterparts. That includes information centres where staff can learn about their rights under the program, better enforcement of the rules and a path to permanent immigration.
McDonald’s Canada launched its own investigation and is currently working through the process of terminating its relationship with the British Columbia-based franchisee.
"We do not tolerate infractions of any kind — intended or unintended — against any employees," said a statement from the company. "Our commitment to employees is to always do the right thing and with integrity…Temporary foreign workers represent a very small proportion of our national workforce. We have more than 85,000 employees at McDonald’s franchised and corporate locations across Canada, and only four per cent of those employees are temporary foreign workers."
The consequences for companies that employ questionable hiring practices when it comes to the temporary foreign worker system can be drastic. Should a federal investigation show an employer falsified information, Labour Market Opinions (approval by the government that indicates no Canadian workers are available to perform the job and a foreign worker is needed to fill the position) can be stripped away.
"Our government will not tolerate any abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Any employer found to have broken the rules will face serious consequences," said Minister of Employment and Social Development Jason Kenney. "Our message to employers is clear and unequivocal — Canadians must always be the first in line for available jobs."
Immediately following the accusations against the McDonald’s restaurants, Employment and Social Development Canada launched an investigation. Investigators from the federal department did an on-site inspection at the Victoria location and all Labour Market Opinions and work permits in process for the franchise were suspended, pending the outcome of the investigation.
"I have reasonable grounds to believe that the employer provided Employment and Social Development Canada with false, misleading or inaccurate information," Kenney said, adding that "if the investigation determines that this franchise owner broke the rules of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, I will permanently revoke their existing Labour Market Opinions and prevent them from hiring temporary foreign workers."
