Trucking, Construction Expect ‘Labour Crisis’ With New Temporary Worker Rules

Dominique Lamothe said the trucking firm she works for will be in trouble once new rules for high-wage temporary foreign workers take effect on Friday. Groupe Nadeau, a Quebec-based trucking company, has a fleet of around 200 trucks and 1,400 trailers serviced by 70 full-time heavy mechanics. Human resources director Lamothe said half those mechanics are temporary foreign workers. Most of them were hired through the programs’ high-wage stream, which used to apply to jobs that paid a wage above the median income in that province. On Oct. 22 Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault announced that the high-wage stream income cap would be increasing to 20 percent above a province’s median income. This is equivalent to a $5 to $8 per hour pay increase depending on the province or territory....