When it comes to franchise businesses, many establishments, particularly in the food service industry, rely heavily on the continued availability of ideally long-term employees open to working in a variety of positions—from server, to cook, to manager. This makes it possible to maintain a stable team, boosting the success of any one location.
Just this past month, four years passed since an April 1, 2011 decision to apply a maximum four-year duration to work permits issued to temporary foreign workers living in Canada as employees. Understandably, this four-year anniversary can be troubling for franchise businesses in sectors that rely heavily on temporary foreign workers who are subject to this four-year timeframe and who are thus potentially unable to renew permits to continue their stay in the country as temporary foreign workers.
Arguments for and against the decision naturally exist. In the eyes of franchise business owners, locating citizens of Canada to perform long-term work in establishments that have needs based on a variety of skill levels can be tricky, and not as straightforward a task as one would think. Generally speaking, many Canadians, even younger individuals willing to work at franchise food service locations, are not interested in long term positions, which leaves a gap needing to be filled. Many argue higher wages are necessary to bridge the gap.
The alternatives for franchise business operators are to find local Canadian citizens interested in filling the relevant positions facing vacancy as temporary foreign workers leave Canada, or hire more temporary foreign workers to fill positions, and face another round of the same after four years have elapsed. To boost the availability of jobs to local Canadians, the hope is that this regulation will put locals into a better position to acquire paying work and thus minimize unemployment across the country, particularly in areas where more Canadians are out of work.