2-hour wildfire evacuation notice issued for some Fort McMurray neighbourhoods
A wildfire evacuation alert for some Fort McMurray residents has been updated to a two-hour evacuation notice.
Canadian meat packers are lobbying the federal government to let them bring in more temporary foreign workers in light of a labour shortage crisis they say has reached an "all-time high."
The Canadian Meat Council -- which represents Canada's federally registered meat packers and processing plants -- said Friday there are more than 4,000 empty butcher stations at meat production facilities countrywide, working out to an average job vacancy rate of more than 10 per cent.
In Quebec, the situation is even more severe, with job vacancy rates approaching 40 per cent, said Canadian Meat Council spokeswoman Marie-France Mackinnon. Alberta plants are also struggling, with vacancy rates hovering near 20 per cent, she said.
"Without a workforce, you can't operate," Mackinnon said, adding several Canadian packing plants were forced to temporarily shut down production lines over the summer due to a shortage of workers.
"It really limits our ability to have made-in-Canada protein. It means more meat is being processed in the U.S. and other countries, and more meat imports for Canadians," she said.
Mackinnon said the industry is asking the federal government to relax the rules governing how many temporary foreign workers meat processing employers can employ at any one time -- from a current cap of 10 to 20 per cent, depending on the facility, to 30 per cent, which was what was allowed under Canada's temporary foreign worker program before it was overhauled by former prime minister Stephen Harper's government in 2014.
"We need a reset to the cap," Mackinnon said. "One of our members is reporting losses of $700,000 per week due to lack of manpower, so nearly $3 million per month."
Labour force shortages have long been an issue for Canada's meat-packing sector, which for years has said it struggles to find Canadians who want to become butchers. Though the jobs offer unionized wage rates and benefit packages, they are also physically demanding, rurally located, and many find them unappealing.
But COVID-19 has worsened an existing problem. Richard Vigneault, spokesperson for Quebec-based pork and poultry processor Olymel, said some workers may have chosen to stay home and rely on government support programs rather than work in the industry during a pandemic.
"It's tough for any manufacturer to find employees right now," Vigneault said. "The competition on the market now is really tight. But we're working very hard to cope with the labour shortage across Canada and we're working on all fronts to be able to operate as normally as possible."
At Cargill Foods, which operates beef processing plants in Guelph, Ont., and High River, Alta., the company is offering signing bonuses and increased base pay in an effort to attract talent, as well as exploring benefits like child care, on-site medical services, and housing support, said company spokesman Daniel Sullivan.
"Of course, we are also looking at what the workplace of the future looks like which will absolutely include more digitalization and automation," Sullivan said in an email.
Cameron Bruett, spokesman for JBS Foods -- which operates a major beef packing plant near Brooks, Alta., -- said the facility is currently operating "as normal" though he acknowledged that labour is a challenge at this time. He said the company is doing a number of things to attract and retain employees, including offering paid community college tuition to workers and their dependants.
In the early days of the pandemic, the Cargill plant at High River became the site of Canada's then-largest outbreak of cases at a single facility, with more than 900 employees getting sick and two worker deaths. An outbreak last spring at the JBS facility near Brooks sickened more than 600 workers and resulted in one death. Olymel has also dealt with significant outbreaks, at locations in both Quebec and Alberta.
However, mass on-site vaccination clinics at the country's largest meat-packing facilities earlier this year have significantly reduced the toll of the virus on the industry's workforce in the last half of 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2021.
A wildfire evacuation alert for some Fort McMurray residents has been updated to a two-hour evacuation notice.
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
The Israeli flag is flying at Ottawa City Hall today to mark the country's national day, with plans to hold a private ceremony to mark Israel's Independence Day. There is a significant police presence at City Hall, including security barriers outside the main doors.
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
A bus carrying farmworkers in central Florida overturned on Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring about 40 other passengers, authorities said.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.