Canadians: No appetite for the jobs that temporary foreign workers fill?

OTTAWA – Another temporary foreign worker controversy has some wondering if unemployed Canadians are steering clear of menial, low-paying jobs coveted by those eager to start a new life in Canada.

The head of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says hotel chambermaids and restaurant workers are among the positions businesses have trouble filling, particularly in regions of the country with labour shortages.

Daniel Kelly says if Canadians won’t do those jobs, and don’t want their university-educated children doing them either, they shouldn’t have a problem with temporary foreign workers.

During question period lately, Employment Minister Jason Kenney has been reciting a 1-800 snitch line for Canadians to call to report businesses they believe are illegally hiring temporary foreign workers.

With the NDP calling for an emergency debate on the issue, Kenney told the House that an NDP MP approached him this week to complain about a lack of hotel workers in his northern Ontario riding.

One hotel’s application to hire temporary foreign workers was refused because it was not offering the prevailing regional wage rate, he said. Kenney said the MP asked him to intervene, and he refused.

Earlier this week, Kenney said the owner of three McDonald’s locations in Victoria, B.C., could face criminal prosecution if investigators determine he lied on an application to hire temporary foreign workers.

A numbered company in Newfoundland and Labrador, the owner of a trio of fast-food restaurants, was also suspended from the program this week for the same reason, as well as a numbered company in Fenelon Falls, Ont., that operates a local restaurant.

Follow Lee-Anne Goodman on Twitter at @leeanne25