It turns out that the banking sector is not the only one to take advantage of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP). The airline industry is also happily lowering costs with TWFs at the same time as it dukes it out with unionized Canadian workers. This despite the fact that worldwide demand for pilots is growing.
Read how a Canadian company, Porter Airlines treats its unionized workers. This story has another layer to it: one of Porters major investors, OMERS, runs the pension plan for Ontario municipal and school board employees. So we have an absurd situation where union members’ pension funds are invested in an anti-union company which supports the use of TFWs. OMERS refuses to consider more than return on investments; it will not “poke its nose into operational matters”.
Finally, both SunWing and CanJet use temporary foreign pilots when there are Canadian pilots who are out of work. Ironically, one Canadian pilot had to go to Pakistan to fly there, making him a foreign worker in another country. By bringing lower-paid temporary foreign pilots, Canadian companies are driving down wages in Canada and forcing Canadian pilots to work far from their homes and families in sometimes dangerous situations.
CCPA not only does first-rate research; it also connects with the real world by putting powerful information in the hands of advocacy groups and by presenting intelligent, progressive ideas in the media. It is a BC jewel and I urge everyone to support it.
— Kathleen Ruff, founder, RightOn Canada