British Columbia (B.C.) wants as many temporary foreign workers as needed to fill the labour shortage affecting its booming construction industry.

Economic Development Minister Colin Hansen is requesting that B.C.'s construction sector be given an official "memorandum of understanding”, much like the one currently held by Ontario and Alberta.

He has asked the new federal Minister for Citizenship and Immigration, Monte Solberg, for policy which would “fast-track” temporary worker visas for the Lower Mainland. "He was very receptive," Hansen admitted in an interview. "We've got officials at both governmental levels working on it."

Currently, the quickest way for a foreign national to work in B.C is as a landed immigrant through the Provincial Nominee Program. The PNP allows British Columbia to choose immigrants it considers to be valuable potential contributors to its economy. The PNP is operated by the Ministry for Economic Development in association with the federal Department of Immigration.

Although there is no precinct on the number of qualified construction workers allowed to enter through the PNP, the program isn't unfamiliar to employers. Since it began over five years ago, a meager 160 foreign construction workers have been processed though the program.

Another, considerably more time consuming, method of introducing foreign skilled workers to B.C.’s booming economy is to use the temporary skilled workers program. The provisional visa, under this system, is issued by the federal government and obtained only when specific terms are met. "The problem with the time it takes is that the employers need them on Monday," Jorge Aceytuno, a spokesman for the foreign-workers program at Service Canada (formerly known as Human Resources, Skills and Development Canada) said.