Chinese Miners In Canada-Say It Isnt So Jake

Chinese miners raise spectre in Canada

October 13, 2012. 2:23 pm

 

In total, anywhere from 1,600 to just under 2,000 Chinese nationals could find full-time work in four coal mining projects being proposed in coming years for northern B.C.

• Posted by:
  Douglas Todd

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The Conservative government’s welcoming of 200 Chinese nationals to work in northern B.C. mines made front-page news across Canada this week, including in this thorough article by The Vancouver Sun‘s Peter O’Neil.
The hot media attention, and in some cases anger, confirmed my January prediction that Canadians, facing tough economic times, will increasingly see menace in the rapid rise in temporary foreign workers in this country.
Canada now has roughly 300,000 temporary foreign workers, about double the number before the Conservatives came to power in 2005. The burst of interest in the arrival of Chinese national coal miners has provoked discussion about whether this trend is something to fear.
Specialists agree there will always be a need for a small number of temporary foreign workers, to fill skilled or semi-skilled positions for a short time. Employers often claim they need temporary foreign workers because there is a “shortage” of Canadians prepared to fill the jobs.
But critics say what the employers really mean, in many cases, is there aren’t enough Canadians to do such work for poor wages and conditions.
Even conservative critics, such as as Martin Collacott, of the Fraser Institute, worry that the flood of temporary foreign workers is driving down wages and taking the pressure off governments to properly train Canadians.
How are things from the other end? The typical temporary foreign worker is in a vulnerable position, unable to speak up for him or herself while in Canada, officially allowed to stay only four years. But many end up applying for citizenship.
Here is an excerpt from my Jan. 8th column headlined “Five Trends in Canadian Immigration:”

4. Temporary foreign workers will be spotlighted
Metro Vancouver’s 80,000 diligent Filipinos form the centre of a growing concern over temporary foreign workers. Since taking office in 2005, the Conservative government has hiked the numbers of these short-term foreign workers from 160,000 in 2006 to 283,000 in 2010.
Although temporary foreign workers have traditionally been brought into fill short-term skills shortages, they are increasingly being welcomed into the country to do unskilled, low-wage jobs as fast-food workers, nannies, farm labour and security guards.
In a rare display of agreement, economists from both the centre-left Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and centre-right Fraser Institute have come out against the rise in temporary foreign workers, many of whom are from the Philippines.

Both sides of the spectrum say the over-use of temporary foreign workers is lowering overall wages, hurting productivity and, perhaps most importantly, discouraging Canadians and landed immigrants from upgrading their skills.
University of B.C. planning specialist Prod Laquian (photo left), who has Filipino heritage, adds another dimension to this thorny issue. He is among those who points out it is often devastating for developing countries to lose their more industrious citizens to richer countries such as Canada.