Restaurants Canada strongly supports Premiers’ call for immediate work permits for asylum seekers and reinstatement of economic immigration allocations

Restaurants Canada welcomes and supports the collective call by Canada’s Premiers at yesterday’s Council of the Federation meeting for a more regionally responsive, transparent, and effective immigration system.

Labour shortages are having a devastating impact on the foodservice industry in Canada. Our sector employs 1.2 million Canadians, many of whom are youth, but those jobs are at risk if hard-to-fill and skilled positions, like cooks, remain vacant.

We urge the federal government to respond to the premiers’ call to reinstate Provincial and Territorial Nominee Program (PTNP) allocations to ensure access to economic migrants, especially in rural, remote and tourist areas and hard-to-fill positions. With more than 78,000 job vacancies, current immigration levels threaten the viability of many restaurants, particularly in rural, remote and tourist areas. It is essential that foodservice be permitted to provide jobs for newcomers.

As Canada continues to welcome a significant number of asylum seekers, Restaurants Canada supports automatically granting work permits to them so that they can fully contribute to society and the Canadian economy while their claims are processed. As a major employer of newcomers across the country we have the ability to ensure a smooth transition into employment for asylum seekers. We also share the concerns of the premiers that processing times not just for asylum seekers, but for all immigration streams need to be faster.

 A collaborative federal-provincial framework that is responsive to regional realities is essential. We look forward to continuing this conversation with all levels of government.

— Kelly Higginson, President and CEO, Restaurants Canada

Media Contact:

Milena Stanoeva, Restaurants Canada | media@restaurantscanada.org | 647-921-1758

About Restaurants Canada

Restaurants Canada is a national, not-for-profit association advancing Canada’s diverse and dynamic foodservice industry. Restaurants are a $120 billion industry employing nearly 1.2 million Canadians and the number one source of first-time jobs in Canada.