'With more than 78,000 job vacancies, current immigration levels threaten the viability of many restaurants'
Restaurants Canada is calling on the federal government to take immediate action on immigration reforms, urging Ottawa to grant immediate work permits to asylum seekers.
The advocacy group also wants the government to reinstate economic immigration allocations, particularly through the Provincial and Territorial Nominee Program (PTNP).
“With more than 78,000 job vacancies, current immigration levels threaten the viability of many restaurants, particularly in rural, remote and tourist areas,” said Kelly Higginson, president and CEO of Restaurants Canada. “It is essential that foodservice be permitted to provide jobs for newcomers.”
Labour shortages, she said, 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.”
Changes to eligibility requirements
Late in June, Ottawa revised the eligibility requirements for international students under the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) to align with the 2025 Express Entry priorities. Effective June 25, 119 new fields of study in key sectors such as health care and social services, education, and trades have been added.
However, migrant workers across Canada are increasingly losing their legal right to work due to prolonged delays in the processing of key employment documents, according to a previous report.
“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,” said Higginson.
“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.”
Previously, a group of academics called on the federal government to ensure that migrant agricultural workers arriving in Canada through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) are provided with adequate housing.
‘A collaborative federal-provincial framework’
Restaurants Canada’s call came after Canada's premiers called for a more regionally responsive, transparent, and effective immigration system at the Council of the Federation meeting on July 23.
And the industry group welcomed that particular call.
“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,” said Higginson.
The federal government has made numerous changes to immigration rules in the past couple of years, including a planned reduction in the total number of immigrants.
