A new report by the Canadian Bar Association claims that a federal program aimed at bringing low-skilled foreign workers into Canada is not meeting the needs of employers in dire need of staff. The challenge regarding the program is that it only allows workers to stay in Canada a maximum of 12 months.

One employer who runs a bridge maintenance and construction company says that a large portion of this 12 month period is spent training these foreign workers, only to have to train new workers after the twelve-month period has passed.

However, both the agriculture and construction sectors are generally pleased with the new program, as they only have a need for workers a few months out of the year. For example, foreign farm workers can return yearly to the same Canadian farms after spending a few months at home.

Under a number of federal programs, 2003-2004 statistics show that close to 22,000 temporary work permits were issued to low-skilled foreign workers. Recent statistic information is not available.