Stop Temporary Foreign Workers

Harper wasn't perfect, but he saved Canada from the downward spiral that Pierre Idiot Trudeau started us on in 1972. I'm 33, I was born at the height of NEP, and grew up in the aftermath and poverty that faced Alberta from 1980-1992. My parents worked hard, and we lived in a lower middle class N.E Neighborhood in Calgary. Pretty blue collar, mostly Italians Polish and Romanians (all english speaking), transplants from Sask (Economic Refugees *As my mom called it*, like my Parents who both came from Sask in 1968 and 1970, to escape the NDP). I watched my whole family struggle (layoffs, 18% interest rates), I watched businesses close, and the riots on Electric Avenue and in Ogden. I remember my Dad and uncles sitting at the kitchen table playing cards, talking about what they were gonna do if they got laid off again (They were able to drive truck to survive, once the patch and construction collapsed). I remember my Dad telling stories about hauling fuel to the Petro Canada tower construction site, that Trudeau ordered to be built higher, using all Ontario and Foreign Labour. His "Middle Finger" to Alberta, built higher than the Calgary Tower, with our own money and none of our workers. In about 1989, I remember the flood of new Liberal immigrants. By 93, the neighborhood was overrun. Crime was out of control, gangs were everywhere, whole #### place was a mess. By 95 about 90% of the families I grew up with had moved to Suburbs to get outa there. We left in 97, one of the last, just in the nick of time (a gang war broke out in the fall of 97). I remember going thru high school with almost no hope for anything, 65 cent dollar, endless factories, steel plants and businesses closing. I graduated in 2001, and it took until 2004 to find a half decent job, which I stayed at until my first layoff in 2015. (The Harper Years) Now i'm seeing the exact same things, businesses closing, 11% unemployment, endless taxes and fees, everyone being replaced with cheap imported labour (some being forced to train their replacements), whole neighborhoods being taken over by gangs who were let in as a group, and crime is out of control.

All this, and the only thing the current generation is concerned about, is "when do we get the weed". Hell, in 7-11 today, some idiot was asking if they got the weed yet. So i'm with you guys, I guess we're cursed with a realistic mentality, work ethic and national pride (though not much longer for the last one).

Should have left when the dollar was par with the US, but believed that this country would stay conservative. I mean why wouldn't it? The prosperity that happened from 2004-2014 was just incredible, not only in Alberta; but Canada in general. But nope, #### all that ####, lets vote for the weed man.

NEP - Never Forgive, Never Forget.

 

How is he the best thing to happen, he done absolutely nothing except flood the country with refugees =/

 

@Runawayscreaming most of the TFW's seem to be unskilled labour. Some companies up north here seem to have TFW's as half their workforce. I talked to a couple TFW labourers a couple years back on a job. Majority of their money goes to their families outside of Canada. All they contributed to our economy was monthly rent and food. They weren't buying houses, cars or anything else. Basically we're selling our economy for cheaper labour.

 

Petro-Canada isn't just privatized, it exists in name only as the retail marketing division of Suncor.

The foreign ownership aspect (of Suncor) is not terribly important. A little less than 66% of Suncor's stock is held by 510 institutions, the bulk of which are foreign and the largest of which holds just over 8% of Suncor's stock (http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/su/institutional-holdings). This is to be expected when you are talking about a large, widely-held, multi-national conglomerate, listed on both the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. As Suncor (and other listed companies) are publicly traded, any Canadian has the right to own shares in the company, participate in the profits of same, and have a voice in the management thereof.

None of this implies foreign ownership of natural resources as those reside with Canadian residents of the provinces and territories in question, to whom royalties must be paid when those resources are exploited. Just like share ownership, Canadians have a voice in the creation and management of resources and royalty programs by way of their elected representatives.

 

If anything, they are contributing more to the Canadian economy that they are receiving. They pay taxes. They are paying shelter costs that are likely higher than what they would pay if they were residents. Not buying houses? Good; they are not increasing demand, therefore they are not driving up the price of housing. Also, they are more than likely paying rent to a Canadian property owner. They are buying food, clothing and other services necessary for the maintenance of daily existence. Not buying cars? Good; most of them are imported anyways. But they still need transportation of some kind, so they are, again, most likely putting money into the pockets of Canadian business owners.

Don't get me wrong, the TFW program has been terribly mismanaged and there have been many egregious violations of both the intent and the actual rules--especially in the transportation and service industries. However, the reality is that, during the boom times, in the absence of the TFW program, goods and services would have cost much more, or been of limited availability. When there was virtually no unemployment in Alberta, the only people that didn't have a job were the ones that didn't want one.

 

D a go

Kinda hard to get an LMiA approval
For Ontario about as rare as hens teeth .

 

Umm... no.

But especially the highlighted part. I know lots of guys that worked on the Petro-Canada Centre project; I happened to be working in the construction industry at the time. The general contractor was a Calgary company--CANA. As unskilled labour, I was making the equivalent of about $30-$40/hour in 2016 (depending on which figures you use for inflation).

As disastrous as the NEP was, it was only one element that affected Alberta's economy. Of much greater impact was the world-wide recession, the oil-glut and inflation.

And a dollar at less than par is good for Canada.

 

Good news actually protects the poor migrant who has given up everything to start a new life in Canada ' from unscrupulous companies .

 

What died that have to do with temporary foreign workers