Answers needed about foreign worker program, Lukaszuk says

Alberta labour minister Thomas Lukaszuk says he has yet to hear from federal minister Jason Kenney about the suspension of the temporary foreign workers program.

Last month, Kenney announced an immediate moratorium on the restaurant industry's use of the program following a series of stories from CBC News about how workers were being exploited by employers.

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Lukaszuk says neither he nor any of his provincial counterparts have heard from Kenney. And he has plenty of questions for the minister.

“Whom are you including under this decision and for how long because that is the number one answer that employers need to know to put their businesses and their plans in place,” Lukaszuk said.

“But then I think we will get a little bit deeper into the weeds of why are you doing it this way.”

With the start of the tourist season looming, Lukaszuk says there is an urgent need for employers to find out what the government is planning to do.