I had never encountered the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) until I moved to Alberta, but it wasn’t until two weeks ago that I learned the impact it has on the lives of those involved.
It was after meeting and speaking with Fernando Chavez, a foreign worker in Barrhead, that I understood the true impact the changes to the program were having.
Foreign workers are being sent back to their home countries, for some of them it’s not entirely bad, but for others there is nothing to return to.
Fernando described how he would have been impacted if he had been sent back to Mexico, and the life that would have been waiting for him. There would have been nothing.
That’s not saying that all foreign workers are going back to no home, or no family, but in his case everything was here.
Barrhead County Council sent a letter in January to the federal government, explaining the impact the changes to the program were having to businesses in the area. The government is looking into the program more, and grinding out a solution that should work for most.
But for those living in a country like Mexico, no one is winning.
The workers come here for a better life, and for a chance for themselves and their families to be safe.
Yes, it is important and imperative that we ensure Canadians have jobs and security, and already know we live in a country where we feel safe enough to raise a family.
Many workers never experienced a safe environment until they immigrated to Canada. They left their home because of the opportunities our county presented. Making them leave is sending them back to where they came from, and for some, that is a scary thing.
I’m not speaking for all foreign workers. I have met a few who have families where they come from, and are simply here as a means of supporting them. Don’t they deserve the same opportunities we do?
Having jobs for Canadians is important, and changes to the TFWP could open up numerous possibilities, but the damage goes beyond just the walls of the local businesses, it goes into the homes of those being told they cannot stay.
I learned a lot about something I knew very little about from the person who was nearly affected, and the only thought that crossed my mind after hearing about some of the things these workers have to face in their home countries is, this is their home too, and they deserve a safe place to live.
