Quebec labour shortage: we are fighting for your business!

Many of you have to deal with the unprecedented worker shortage Québec’s businesses – and those across Canada - are going through. We are doing everything we can to ensure that governments understand the seriousness of the situation and we are pushing them to provide you with tangible short-, medium- and long-term support.

A big win by CFIB: concrete actions by the government!

The provincial government has introduced three initiatives that will alleviate the stress of the labour shortage!

Announcement of a huge government push to offer support in human resources management, recruitment and automation.
Review of the immigration selection grid to better align the profile of newcomers with jobs available in businesses.
Investments to promote technical and vocational training.

Martine Hébert avec le ministre du Travail, Jean Boulet

Martine Hébert, CFIB Senior Vice-President and National French Spokesperson, with Quebec Minister of Labour, Jean Boulet.

We are recommending a four-pronged solution

More available workers

So that you can benefit from the contribution of all workers available, we are asking to:

Enhance taxation for workers who want to work overtime and retirees who want to continue working.
Establish tax credits on payroll to facilitate the hiring of young, inexperienced workers and on-the-job training.

Immigration that helps employers

In order for the immigration system to better meet the needs of the labour market, we are asking to:

Get a better selection of immigrants, whose skills to better match employers’ needs.
Make it easier for immigrants to get work permits.
Reduce the time, paperwork and costs of international recruitment.
Accelerate the processing of applications for temporary foreign workers.

Automating for the future

So that you can turn to automation, we are asking to:

Open up funding programs to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Give access to automation support programs to all sectors (e.g. retail, accommodations, restaurant industry, etc.)
Introduce a funding program to help business owners like you get access to expertise on automating some of your operations.

Training for unfilled jobs

In order for the training provided to be aligned with the needs of the labour market, we are asking to:

Update vocational and technical training, so they are better adapted to the needs of businesses.
Develop internship programs accessible and simple for SMEs.
Give seasonal businesses access to training measures available through Emploi Québec.

We are at the forefront of getting your message across loud and clear to decision makers!

We have presented to Parliamentary committees, pre-budget consultations, the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail, Comité des intervenants économiques du ministère de l’immigration, the Comité de suivi du Rendez-Vous national sur la main-d’œuvre, etc.!

Also, in the media, we consistently call for tangible government actions to help you cope with the employee shortage. Here is a list of some of our initiatives:

Montreal Gazette, “Business group calls on Legault government to address labour shortage”
Le Soleil, “La FCEI a mis cartes sur table avec Éric Girard” (In French: CFIB laid the cards on the table with Eric Girard)
La Presse+, “La pénurie de main-d’œuvre frappe plus fort au Québec” (In French: Labour shortage hits Quebec the hardest)
An op-ed in La Presse+ on October 2, 2018, the day after the elections (in French).
An interview at LCN on October 2, 2018, the day after the elections (in French).
Special issue of Les Affaires on labour shortage (in French).