Westjet, based in Calgary, is considering whether to use foreign temporary workers (TFW) to fly their planes.
In a statement, spokeswoman Julia Kaiser told CBC News that the airline is exploring the impact assessment process of the labor market (LMIA) as one of the “multiple roads” to meet the scarcity of captains of Westjet Encore captains.
The LMIA is essentially a paperwork that a company needs to participate in the Federal TFW program, to demonstrate that there are no local workers available to take a job.
The union that represents the pilots in the airline says that the federal government or the federal government did not consulted it on the measure.
“This request should never have been made,” said Captain Tim Perry, president of the Association of Pilots of the Airline (ALPA) Canada.
Westjet has already received federal approval to hire through the TFW program, said the union. Neither the airline nor the employment and social development of Canada have confirmed those details to CBC News.
Perry said the union has no problems with permanent immigration or with the hiring of newcomers, but opposes the use of the TFW program in particular.
If Westjet has a problem to attract enough pilots, he said, he should work to improve his collective agreement, instead of searching abroad a temporary source of work.
Sunday magazine32:21The high shares of the changes in the Canadian immigration policy
With an increase in population growth that generate affordable concerns, the federal government has been making a series of changes in policies aimed at restricting the volume of temporary residents that enter and stay in Canada. Piya Chattopadhyay talks to former international student Mehakdeep Singh to listen to the challenges of navigating a complex network of routes and policies after his permission expired. Then, economists Armine Yalnizyan and Mikal Skterud bind to Chattopadhyay to offer their analysis of how these changes are affecting Canada, and what should happen to ensure sustainable immigration in the future.
‘The hiring process short -circuing’
Aviation expert John Gradek said there is a pilot shortage in both Canada and around the world. It is derived from the Covid-19 pandemic when the entire industry was suspended, he said.
In his opinion, the TFW program is not the way for the airline to address its personnel problems.
“Westjet is trying to short circuit the process of hiring Canadian pilots,” said Gradek, who is a professor of Faculty in Aviation Management at McGill University.
“This is not the way we basically look at the hiring of high quality pilot works, well paid and very demanding in Canada.”
Until now, Westjet says that he has not yet hired any work through the TFW program.
Perry said he is also frustrated because the union has not received any overture from the federal government. If Westjet hopes to use the Federal TFW program, which is intended for cases where there are no domestic workers available, Perry said he believes that a government worker should invite the union to assess whether this is the case.
“In our opinion, our collective bargaining rights have been absolutely undermining in this case by the Government,” said Perry.
In response to CBC News questions, a Canadian employment and social development spokesman said he could not talk about the situation for privacy reasons.
The spokesman pointed out an online database with information on employers who have received approval to hire temporary foreign workers, although it has not yet been updated with information about approvals in 2025.
