EDA Office of Foreign Trade • Riverside County, California • USA
October 2012
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EXPORT
6
W
estern Canada’s construction
industry is booming. There is a significant
demand for skilled workers and an
even more significant worker shortage
-
a challenge that was once filled by
Canadians from the other side of the
country. These workers now have no
need to migrate to the west as their local
economies are also booming. The logical
step then is to look to the south to our
biggest trading partner and closest ally,
the United States for labor recruitment.
This is particularly logical given the U.S’s
economic and employment challenges.
After all, we have free trade don’t we?
The North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect
in 1984. Despite the side agreement
on labor co-operation (NAALC), labor
mobility between the two countries
has not received the same attention as
other issues. NAFTA provisions for labor
mobility are limited-few sectors and
few professions are covered. This has
been detrimental to both the U.S. and
Canadian economies.
Thankfully there is an admirable effort by
the Canada California Business Council
(
CCBC) and the Riverside County Office of
Foreign Trade to address this challenge.
Forty-four per cent of everything made
in Riverside County is sold in Canada.
The county’s skilled workers are willing
to move and are more than qualified to
fill the thousands of unfilled positions in
Canada-U.S. Labor Mobility: Let’s just do it!
(
Left)
Dr. Marie Bountrogianni
Distinguished Visiting Professor, Ryerson
University, Toronto, Ontario Former
Member of Provincial Parliament
and Cabinet Minister, 1999-2007
(
Right)
Dr. Marie Bountrogianni with Canadian
Foreign Minister John Baird
Western Canada. A mutually beneficial
solution is being sought by the CCBC
and Riverside County. With a little
political will we can help resolve this
issue. The pendulum of labour mobility
swings both ways -Canadians benefit
greatly from the option to work in the
world’s most powerful economy. Given
the uncertainty of the global economy
doesn’t it make sense to give these
employment opportunities to our
citizens on both sides of the border?
As a former provincial Immigration
Minister I strongly encourage the
politicos to break the barriers,
remove the obstacles and get
this done. Our prosperity in both
countries depends on it.
