Struggling to hire locals, restaurants put hopes on fast-tracking immigrants

Some Halifax businesses hoping to cash in on a booming tourist season say they are instead dealing with the double headache of high inflation and staff shortages.

Bill Pratt, the owner of Chef Inspired Group of Restaurants, said restaurants might look busy, but the high cost of food means actual profitability is "horrific."

He said with the cost of some food items such as oil tripling and delivery costs rising because of high fuel costs, many restaurants are struggling to stay in business.

"What's making it worse is that we don't have staff right now," Pratt told CBC Radio's Information Morning guest host Preston Mulligan. 

"A lot of my facilities are only open five days a week because we can't find the staff. It's not just our industry, the food industry, it's everybody."

Pratt said the shortage of workers has led to higher labour costs that add to operating costs. He said that's why restaurants increase prices.

He said he doesn't completely pass on the increased costs to customers in case fewer people opt to eat out.

Pratt said expediting the immigration process could help ease the labour shortage in the restaurant sector. 

According to Pratt, the provincial government has been willing to fast track the immigration process, but efforts stall at the federal level.

Noting that European countries are able to fast track immigrant workers, Pratt said he doesn't understand why it takes a year to get an immigration application processed in Canada. 

"We're screaming. We're dying over here right now," he said.

Recruiting from the Philippines

Ather Akbari, chair of the Atlantic Research Group On Economics of Immigration, Aging, and Diversity at Saint Mary's University, said there is a shortage of people willing to work in low pay, low skill jobs.

He told CBC Radio's Information Morning that one way to tackle the problem was to let wages rise, which would make the sector more attractive, and another was through immigration.

Akbari said Canada has traditionally focused on admitting immigrants with university degrees for high skill jobs and it could start looking for people with fewer skills.

Provinces have been actively recruiting immigrant workers in countries like the Philippines at job fairs and other activities, Akbari said. Often those candidates don't have strong English skills, he said. 

"They may not know about the availability of jobs in far off countries like in Canada. So this information has to be more widespread to attract those who would otherwise not know about these jobs."

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