Description
In recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) participating in Alberta's labour market. This is a trend largely related to the strong performance of Alberta's economy. Until 2006, less than one per cent of the province's total labour force was TFWs. However, with the federal changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program in 2007 and Alberta's growing economy at the time, the province saw a significant spike in the number of TFWs in the province to a high of almost 58,000 in 2008. In 2010, Teresa Woo-Paw, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Employment and Immigration, was mandated to carry out a series of public consultations to identify where the TFW Program fits in Alberta's labour force planning, what role TFWs fill in Alberta's labour market and how to ensure the program is best serving the needs of Albertans. Over an eleven-week period, 14 consultation sessions were held in 12 different communities across...