Canada’s food and farming sectors will have an opportunity to provide their input on key labour shortages, challenges and obstacles through an online consultation this summer.
As part of the consultation launching on June 27 and running until September 28, 2022, the government will ask industry, provincial governments and worker groups to provide input on recommendations to address chronic workforce challenges and enable the agriculture sector to attract a skilled workforce.
At the launch of the consultation, the Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food said:
“As everyone is looking to Canada to increase its contribution to global food security, our agriculture and agri-food sector is facing a severe labour shortage that prevents it from reaching its full potential. I encourage all stakeholders to take part in these consultations, through which our government wishes to foster the significant engagement of the industry and ensure that together we put in place effective and sustainable solutions.”
Chronic workforce challenges have faced many food processing and farming sectors in recent years. The current consultation will build on recent industry initiatives, such as the National Workforce Strategic Plan for Agriculture and Food and Beverage Manufacturing launched earlier this spring by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council, Canadian Federation of Agriculture, and Food and Beverage Canada.
This summer, DPAC will be asking for member input on this issue to inform the association’s submission to this consultation.