Jason Kenney knew airlines were flying around TFW rules

Discuss topics relating to airlines.

Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, North Shore

Post Reply
Gilles Hudicourt
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2227
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:51 am
Location: YUL

Jason Kenney knew airlines were flying around TFW rules

Post by Gilles Hudicourt »

http://www.pressprogress.ca/en/post/int ... -tfw-rules
Jason Kenney's department permitted airlines to hire foreign pilots under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program after acknowledging carriers were sidestepping "requirements and guidance," an internal memo says.

"Requiring Sunwing and Canjet to change too quickly may put these Canadian companies at risk," Employment Minister Jason Kenney was advised last October in a memo from his Deputy Minister, Ian Shugart.

"Furthermore, refusing the current applications for reasons other than not meeting current program requirements and guidance this close to the Canadian vacation season may significantly affect both Canadian consumers and Canadian pilots otherwise employed by these companies since the impact on this year's operations could be severe."

The government's position, outlined in the memo released to PressProgress under access to information, reads like a "cop-out," said Dan Adamus, president of the Ottawa-based Airline Pilots Association.

"There is plenty of capacity in this country to file the void -- Air Transat, Air Canada Vacations, WestJet Vacations would gobble up that business," he said in an interview.

(Sunwing and Canjet did not reply to requests for comment about their use of temporary foreign pilots.)

The Kenney memo cites the longstanding complaints of the Airline Pilots Association, the Air Canada Pilots Association, Air Transat and others that argue Sunwing and Canjet "are systematically excluding Canadian pilots from applying for seasonal work and using foreign pilots employed by their parent companies in Europe to bring down costs."

It also acknowledges that after Citizenship Canada and Transport Canada "tighened rules on the entry of foreign pilots through Reciprocal Agreements and Wet Leases," this left the "labour market opinion (LMO) route as the only other option for hiring foreign pilots since the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) does not have a cap on the entry of foreign workers."

The LMO process requires companies to prove they've tried to hire Canadians before going the TFW route.

The carriers, though, were screening out Canadian commercial pilots by including a requirement to be type-rated to fly a Boeing 737-800 NG. "That aircraft is not commonly flown in Canada and so most Canadians cannot apply for the jobs," the memo noted.

"Discussions with a variety of industry stakeholders and federal partners show that type-rating requirements for applications for work are not the norm in the airline industry and that it is always the company that pays for the training." (This is a six-week process consisting of classroom training, extensive flight simulator time and in-flight training, with cost to the employer ranging from $25,000 to $40,000, the memo states).

To try and resolve the issue last year, Kenney's department advised the two seasonal carriers to submit LMO applications early. But pilot associations and competitor companies complained that "both companies ignored clear advice from ESDC to submit applications early for 2013," the memo stated.

Going forward, the Deputy Minister told Kenney that the department would stipulate that airlines submit LMOs under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program at least six months before the start date, beginning with the 2014 winter holiday season.

The department would also "ensure that recruitment guidelines for foreign pilots are consistent with broad industry standards in areas of type-rating" and "will continue to work with employers of foreign pilots to develop transition plans to allow them to transition to a completely Canadian workforce over time."

Stay tuned to see if the department carries through on this. In the meantime, send us any Sunwing and Canjet job postings you see.
http://fr.scribd.com/doc/222406483/Jaso ... d-the-TFWP
---------- ADS -----------
 
Gilles Hudicourt
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2227
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:51 am
Location: YUL

Re: Jason Kenney knew airlines were flying around TFW rules

Post by Gilles Hudicourt »

Sunwing pulled this stunt of threatening doom and gloom in late 2012 if their TFW pilots were not approved. The made their LMO application in late Oct and Nov 2012 and when EDSC was not quick in approving the applications, they said that there would be dire consequences if the foreign pilots were not immediately approved.
ESDC then informed Sunwing that in 2013, the application would have to be submitted early enough to allow ESDC to properly study the application.

Now I see that they again pulled the same pressure stunt in 2013 and used it successfully to obtain LMOs they should not have obtained.

In the Oct and Nov 2012 applications, Sunwing indicated that their pilot group were not organised under a Union. They were organised under CAW. That alone should have been a sufficient reason for a denial. Not only was the application approved in 2012, it was again approved in 2013.

How many years will they be able to continue this little pressure tactic game ?
---------- ADS -----------
 
Last edited by Gilles Hudicourt on Tue May 06, 2014 10:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Troubleshot
Rank (9)
Rank (9)
Posts: 1291
Joined: Sat May 27, 2006 12:00 pm

Re: Jason Kenney knew airlines were flying around TFW rules

Post by Troubleshot »

as long as they can... :(
---------- ADS -----------
 
teacher
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2450
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2004 3:25 pm

Re: Jason Kenney knew airlines were flying around TFW rules

Post by teacher »

Mapleflt wrote:College of Profesional Pilots of Canada where are you, this seerms to be a cause worthy of your attention.

Mapleflt
CPPC #0209
Agreed, now is the time to come out of the planning stage and have a public opinion.

CPPC #02##

Edited for iPhone small screen spelling mistake :rolleyes:
---------- ADS -----------
 
Last edited by teacher on Wed May 07, 2014 7:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
https://eresonatemedia.com/
https://bambaits.ca/
https://youtube.com/channel/UCWit8N8YCJSvSaiSw5EWWeQ
User avatar
complexintentions
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2183
Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2004 3:49 pm
Location: of my pants is unknown.

Re: Jason Kenney knew airlines were flying around TFW rules

Post by complexintentions »

Awesome. Thanks for posting the link, Gilles - it's especially damning when a scanned copy of the actual memo is there too.

I recall at one time there was a link to the document listing ALL TFW's approved in Canada at the time - can anyone point me to that?
---------- ADS -----------
 
I’m still waiting for my white male privilege membership card. Must have gotten lost in the mail.
Gilles Hudicourt
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2227
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:51 am
Location: YUL

Re: Jason Kenney knew airlines were flying around TFW rules

Post by Gilles Hudicourt »

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mse3ezuv9nork ... 202013.pdf

It's 1434 pages long but someone is editing it to include an index of all applications, with the name of the companies. Also, I will send for an another one with later 2013 applications (Sunwing's is not there) and early 2014 applications
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
complexintentions
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2183
Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2004 3:49 pm
Location: of my pants is unknown.

Re: Jason Kenney knew airlines were flying around TFW rules

Post by complexintentions »

Got it.

Good God. Are there any aviation companies that AREN'T using TFW's? I've flipped through a few hundred pages of the doc and so far I've seen applications to bring in:

-Air Taxi Pilots
-Military Pilots
-Helicopter Pilots
-Survey Pilots
-Corporate Pilots
-Air Ambulance Pilots

WTF IS GOING ON?! Under the section "Do you plan to train Canadian citizens for the positions for which you are requesting an LMO?", all of them have this pleading language stating stuff like "To (sic) costly and we do not have the proper training facility or training aircraft", "Extremely high training costs", "We will be filling a critical need for pilot services with the hiring of this foreign worker".

Sorry, but just how hard is it to find a Canadian pilot qualified to fly a Cessna 206 for Nor-Alta Aviation, for feck's sake?! How much of a bottom feeder do you have to be to look outside Canada to crew entry-level jobs?

Jesus H. Christ. This country disgusts me. It's far worse than I thought.

Why not just post a list of companies that DON'T use TFW? Could probably fit it on one page!
---------- ADS -----------
 
I’m still waiting for my white male privilege membership card. Must have gotten lost in the mail.
Gilles Hudicourt
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2227
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:51 am
Location: YUL

Re: Jason Kenney knew airlines were flying around TFW rules

Post by Gilles Hudicourt »

How about operators which have seasonal work that they do every year, and every year apply for TFW pilots claiming "No time to train a Canadian pilot"
One applicant required a JAR licence for a Canadian job.
One claimed he could not find a Canadian Bell 206 qualified pilot.

In fact you write anything and it goes.

In its Oct 2012 and Nov 2012 applications for 119 TFW 737NG pilots, next to Box 46 where it is asked "Is this position part of a Union", Sunwing Airlines checked "No". They were already under CAW at the time.

I wrote to EDSC to point it out as soon as I learned about it. It seems there are no consequences for providing false and misleading information on this form. In fact, you will even get approved after providing false or misleading information......
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
Old fella
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2394
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:04 am
Location: I'm retired. I don't want to'I don't have to and you can't make me.

Re: Jason Kenney knew airlines were flying around TFW rules

Post by Old fella »

This is serious business and in the public domain. Is there anybody around who would go to such programs as CBC Power and Politics, CTV Power Play etc....... I mean you are not talking about MacD burger flipping or KFC chicken pushing. Flying positions with scheduled/charter vacation airlines requires a skillset and we have Canadian citizens who possess such skills and are denied opportunities in their OWN COUNTRY.

Somebody needs to jam this up the Harper administration arse.........
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
corytrevor
Rank 2
Rank 2
Posts: 77
Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2004 7:17 pm
Location: sunnyvail

Re: Jason Kenney knew airlines were flying around TFW rules

Post by corytrevor »

Could a few unemployed pilots sue the government?
---------- ADS -----------
 
Inverted2
Rank 11
Rank 11
Posts: 3692
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2004 7:46 am
Location: Turdistan

Re: Jason Kenney knew airlines were flying around TFW rules

Post by Inverted2 »

I think that any pilot who has the required experience and doesn't get hired should go to the media if TFWs show up next fall. I'm not saying Sunwing has to hire everyone just because they apply but if those who meet the requirements are turned away and they hire TFWs then the word should get out. Look at all the talk about restaurat workers. I think pilots should get a little more attention than a McDonalds worker! :wink:
---------- ADS -----------
 
Let’s Go Brandon
Post Reply

Return to “General Airline Industry Comments”