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Tag Archives labour shortages — page 2

Finding a solution to the labour problem in agriculture is the priority for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, according to a new mandate letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
News

PM asks federal ag minister to focus on labour

Mandate letter outlines prime minister’s goals for the sector, but critics wanted to see more

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Glacier FarmMedia – Federal Agriculture and Agri-food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau says an agricultural labour strategy will be released in phases as Ottawa tackles issues around temporary foreign and domestic workers. Her new mandate letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said developing a strategy should be her immediate priority. Bibeau said in an interview that work […] Read more
Lisa Thompson, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, centre, listens as Vidhya Food Inc. president Vipul Patel, right, explains the packaging process during a tour of the Mississauga food manufacturing facility Oct. 21.
News

Funding available to address labour shortage

$1.5 million in CAP funds earmarked for research on how to address the problem

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$1.5 million funding investment for labour shortage studies may reveal solutions for the agriculture and agri-food sector.  “Labour challenges continue to be one of the leading bottlenecks to growth in our agriculture sector,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “At the same time, there are countless quality and dynamic job opportunities for […] Read more
The newly formed National Workforce Strategy for Agriculture and Food and Beverage Manufacturing aims to tackle the labour crisis in Canada’s agri-food sector. Various organizations have joined forces to seek government action on the crisis.
News

Ag and food processing sectors join forces on labour challenges

Two-year industry-led project aims to spur action and attract workers

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In Canada’s agriculture sector, 16,500 jobs went unfilled in 2017 due to a labour shortage and recent estimates indicate the problem has worsened. In food and beverage manufacturing, 2020 surveys reveal approximately 30,000 positions were not filled. The 2017 cost in lost sales and decreased yield due to delayed harvest was estimated at $2.9 billion, […] Read more
(TMFFoods.com)
Livestock

Premium Brands set to buy three meat processors

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A pair of Ontario meat processors with “iconic” brands in Canada are among four firms to be picked up on the most recent shopping expedition by specialty food firm Premium Brands. Vancouver-based Premium announced Friday it will pay a total of $227 million in cash, shares and promissory notes for four companies: Concord Premium Meats, […] Read more
(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)
Livestock

Canada dilutes plan to limit temporary foreign workers

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Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s Liberal government on Thursday watered down measures to limit the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers firms can hire after complaints the restrictions would cause major labour shortages. Under rules introduced by the previous Conservative administration, the number of low-skilled foreign workers a firm could employ would have dropped to […] Read more
(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)
Livestock

Canada may delay foreign worker limits as packers, farms face squeeze

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Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada may delay implementing new restrictions on the use of foreign workers as farmers and meat processors warn of severe labour shortages in one of the world’s biggest agricultural exporters, the employment minister said. Employers have reported difficulty finding workers despite a 7.1 per cent unemployment rate. Many Canadians resist jobs […] Read more

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