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Their qualms include processing times to bring in temporary foreign workers with specialized skills that are so long they are pushing some jobs out of the country.

“With the lack of pathways to citizenship, the organizations, the businesses, have tried to cram through a square peg in a round hole,” added May, explaining that TFWs often fill permanent jobs in roles as diverse as construction and upholstery.

The same concerns are on the minds of many Alberta businesses, which hope the review will result in major changes to the TFWP or new immigration programs tailored to their needs.

“We’ve always viewed the program as a Band-Aid solution at best,” said Richard Truscott, vice-president for Alberta at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. “The real problem is the fact that our immigration system doesn’t do a very good job of meeting the needs of employers and filling jobs that persistently go unoccupied in the economy.”

Photo by Leah Hennel / Calgary Herald

Most low-skilled TFWs can work in Canada for a maximum of four years, after which they cannot return as a TFW for another four. Some manage to stay through provincial programs that grant them permanent residency.

But Truscott and other industry representatives say these opportunities are too limited and that workers too often hit their four-year cap before permanent residency applications can be processed.

They also contend that labour shortages in industries such as hospitality, meat packing and agriculture have worsened because of the four-year cap and other regulations enacted by the Harper government to cut down on abuse of the TFWP and limit how many TFWs businesses could hire. Starting in July, the number of TFWs most businesses hire cannot exceed 10 per cent of their workforce.