The temporary foreign work debate rages on, and it looks like a St. Albert businessman is stepping up to become a leader.
Rob Chiasson, along with his wife Karen, owns four local McDonald’s franchises and relies on staff who’ve come through the TFW program. Chiasson spoke clearly and passionately at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday about why the TFW program is important not just to him or to fast food franchises but to Alberta’s business sector in general.
Chiasson made a strong case for the importance of TFW in Alberta, including the fast food industry, and Chamber of Commerce members commented it had been a long time since a guest speaker received a standing ovation.
He pointed out in no uncertain terms that owning a business in Alberta, especially one that relies heavily on staff, can be challenging because you have to compete with the oilpatch. Unskilled labour can, according to some sources, earn a six-figure annual income with not so much as a high school diploma. That unskilled homegrown labour isn’t dumb; they’re going to go for the oilpatch jobs, and that’s exactly what they’ve been doing. That makes it tough for a fast food franchisee to compete.
It’s part of the reason the TFW program was created in the first place. Workers from a less prosperous part of the world could come to Alberta and find work that Albertans are apparently not interested in performing.
Chiasson’s comments made waves locally, as business leaders applauded his guts for speaking up, and earned the ire not only of special interest groups opposed to the TFW program such as the Alberta Federation of Labour, but also managed to get under the skin of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s inner circle. Not bad for a St. Albert businessman.
Federal Employment and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney mocked Chiasson later the same day through smarmy, flippant comments on Twitter.
Twitter allows people to quickly comment on things they may know little or nothing about, especially illuminating presentations such as the one franchisee Chiasson gave to the local business community. It’s too bad Twitter didn’t also allow federal cabinet ministers to instantly transport themselves to a community, so Kenney could learn more about Alberta community issues firsthand.
Jason Kenney, are you listening to this? Coming to St. Albert and speaking directly to affected business owners would serve Kenney well, as he’s making important decisions affecting businesses viability while he has no experience in the business sector at all.
