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Clippings
December 15, 2016
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Changes Announced to Temporary Foreign Workers Program
The Government of Canada recently announced changes that apply to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program's (TFWP)
four-year cumulative duration rule, which will no longer apply to temporary foreign workers in Canada, effective immediately. An exemption is also being made on the cap for seasonal industries seeking temporary foreign workers for up to 180 days during the 2017 calendar year and will be extended until December 31, 2017. More changes for immigration and the TFWP are expected in the new year.
Prior to the change, the cumulative duration rule forced skilled agriculture workers that were trained in Canada to leave after four years. This was creating a skills deficit for Canadian agricultural employers and was acting as a restrictive barrier for the pathway to permanency for farm and food workers.
Statistics Canada evidence shows that recruitment for agricultural employers is ongoing and continuous. Agriculture and agri-food stakeholders have provided feedback that the industry is dealing with unique workforce issues such as: rural location; handling of live plants and animals; strenuous physical work; and a high degree of seasonality.
Fixing the cumulative duration rule has been a long-standing recommendation of the LTF, comprised of industry representatives from the value chain, including the seafood sector, who have developed the Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Workforce Action Plan to address the critical labour shortage. This proposed Canadian agriculture employment strategy is led by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) and supported by over 77 agriculture associations (including Landscape Alberta's national partner, the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association).
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Reminder: Alberta's New Carbon Tax
On January 1, 2017, the Alberta government Climate Leadership Strategy which includes the addition of a carbon tax, comes into effect. This strategy aims to reduce emissions via creating a consumer price incentive for reducing energy use. The government has pledged to direct this tax revenue towards environmental initiatives.
Carbon will be taxed at an initial rate of $20 per tonne in 2017 and rising to $30 per tonne in 2018. Rates will continue to rise at inflation + 2% after 2018. In the short-term, this will have varying degrees of impact across the industry.
- Gasoline will rise in price by approximately 6.7 cents per litre
- Natural gas will increase by between $1.50 - $1.68 per gigajoule
- Electricity costs are the least drastic increase at 2 cents per kWh
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Save the Date
Landscape Alberta Spring Workshop & Awards Dinner
March 8, 2017 in
Calgary, AB
Event details to follow
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Canadian Shield
™ Named Plant of the Year
Canadian Shield™, a new rose branded and marketed by Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland), is Canada Blooms' 2017 Plant of the Year.
And just in time for Canada's 150th birthday, Canadian Shield™, the first rose in a curated collection known as Vineland's 49th Parallel Collection, will be released next year.
The Canadian Shield™ rose has a more than one-metre spread, full, red flowers and glossy green foliage. It's a repeat bloomer that stays stunning throughout the entire season. Just as its name suggests, Canadian Shield™ is a hardy rose, resistant to black spot and winter hardy.
More than 20 Canadian nurseries are licensed to propagate and grow 50,000 Canadian Shield™ roses in time for Canada Day 2017.
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Reminder: Federal Government Reducing EI Waiting Period to One Week
The federal government is reducing the waiting period for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits from two weeks to one week, effective January 1, 2017.
Announced earlier this year as part of the 2016 Federal Budget, the change does not impact the number of weeks of paid benefit. Rather, instead of a two-week waiting period followed by 15 weeks of paid benefit, there will be a one-week waiting period, followed by 15 weeks of paid benefit, and one week with no benefit.
Impacted employers will receive a notice from Service Canada advising them of this change.
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Landscape Alberta is on Facebook
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Benefits for Members across the Country
Echo / Shindaiwa
:
Receive a 20% MSRP discount on ECHO or Shindaiwa units and accessories.
Employers First
: Members receive a 10% discount on over 40 landscape and safety training courses.
Take advantage of these discounts and save thousands - see all the deals at the CNLA website
http://www.cnla-acpp.ca/benefits.
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Upcoming Events
January 10 - 12, 2017. Landscape Ontario Congress, Toronto Congress Centre, Toronto, ON.
www.locongress.com
January 26 -27, 2016. Integrated Environment Plant Management Association of Western Canada Annual Conference, Kelowna, BC.
www.iepma.ca
March 13 - 15, 2017.
North American Garden Tourism Conference, Toronto, ON.
www.gardentourismconference.com
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The board and staff of Landscape Alberta would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season, and all the best in 2017. Please note that our office will be closed December 26 through January 3. We will have limited access to email and will try to get back to you as soon as we can. If you require assistance during this time please email to
joel@landscape-alberta.com.
If you have any questions or concerns, or if you would like more information on upcoming events, please contact us at 1-800-378-3198 or email admin@landscape-alberta.com.
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