A generation or so ago, seafood processors in Atlantic Canada would have little to no difficulty finding workers to fill the many positions at their fish plants.
In fact, many rural economies were intimately tied to this, oftentimes, seasonal employment. Workers would be employed during the various fishing seasons and compile enough hours to qualify for employment insurance that would carry them through to the next season.
However, with changing norms and demographics, this pattern is no more.
Seafood processors are now dependent more than ever on temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to fill any employment gaps on their processing lines.
Given the economic importance of maintaining the cogs holding this multi-billion-dollar industry together, numerous reports have been penned to address these ongoing human resource issues.
This past winter, Food Processing Skills Canada (FPSC) released a study aimed at tackling these acute seafood worker shortages.
“As this study concludes, the situation is projected to worsen under status quo conditions. In 2017, 1,800 job vacancies went unfilled due to the lack of available workers in regions where processing plants are located and an additional 2,500 workers will be needed over the next five years to replace retirees (7,500 by 2030). Unfortunately, this recruitment need will be occurring within the context of very tight regional labour markets that are currently experiencing labour shortages during peak seasons and which are predicted to continue during this period.”
The FPSC stated that in Atlantic Canada, the seafood processing industry is at a crossroads in its development.
“There are currently more than 700 companies comprised primarily of small-to-medium-sized businesses with only one-quarter of companies having more than 120 employees. Many of the plants rely heavily on a seasonal, low-wage, low-skilled labour force to produce a single or limited number of lower value products. This makes it challenging to potentially transition to higher value products that rely on advanced automated methods, which in turn require significant upfront investment (technology, R&D investments), as well as potentially different skill levels among the workforce (and likely higher labour costs). This contrasts with the European processing plants that tend to be highly specialized according to species, but which produce an array of product forms.”
The FPSC went on to note that other challenges such as the precariousness of natural resources, ongoing impacts of climate change, resource management regimes and fluctuations in quota and supply of labour from both local and temporary sources may negatively impact the ability of companies to invest in operations and raise capital for technological investment.
From all accounts, the onus to manage/handle this ongoing issue falls, at least on the macro level, to Ottawa.
The FPSC report proposed that the federal government consider the following actions to help remedy the situation:
- Taking a cross sectoral approach to promoting short term peak fish and seafood processing work within Atlantic Canada, especially among seasonal workers who are out of season.
- Change the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program to be inclusive of seasonal fish and seafood processors.
- Revive the Career Focus Wage Subsidy Program for fish and seafood processors as it was an extremely effective recruiting tool for recent post-secondary graduates, with 90 per cent of hires staying on.
- Changing how it defines the industry’s “foundational” jobs away from “low skilled.” This would aid perceptions of the sector and improve immigration options for employers.
- Creating a fish and seafood processing seasonal worker program akin to the agricultural worker program. This would help reduce the amount of catch lost due to labour shortages, particularly at peak periods.
- Lifting restrictions on the number of times a TFW can return to work for sector employers.
- Removing the cap on the number of TFWs a sector employer can hire per year.
- Lowering the cost of applying to the TFW program.
- Simplifying the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process.
- Adjusting the current immigration pathways so that TFWs would be more likely to find work in the sector an enticing option (e.g., allow sector employers to work with those in other industries to pool hours to create a full-time job, assistance with housing and transportation).
Will yet another report and list of recommendations make any difference this time around? Well, it appears the bureaucrats in Ottawa might actually be listening.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently reported that it is working towards the creation of a new foreign labour stream.
The stream will focus on filling labour shortages in Canada’s agriculture and fish processing sector.
According to reports, the new program will include a corresponding sector-specific work permit.
“The stream may also expand partner country agreements, which could streamline the hiring of foreign workers from specific partner countries in this sector. The department has stated that it plans to work on policy development and public consultations to support the creation of this new stream alongside Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in 2025–2026.”
According to the department, this stream is part of broader efforts to better manage temporary resident levels and support Canada’s economic objectives.
The 2025–2026 Department Plan also mentions goals to prioritize temporary foreign worker applications in essential sectors, with agriculture and food processing listed as essential sectors.
While it might be a start, the IRCC plan, at least in the short term, will not be enough to stem the tide of processing vacancies. It is critical all levels of government get on the same page as the seafood industry and further seek out permanent solutions to this workforce crisis, more than applying knee-jerk, Band-Aid solutions.
