April 8, 2022 — Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada (FHCP) welcomes the initiatives announced in the 2022 Budget to address labour challenges and strengthen supply chains.
We are pleased the federal government is moving in the right direction to address our sector’s labour crisis. Labour shortages significantly impact food manufacturers, where 1 in 10 available jobs remain unfilled. Funding announced for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), specifically for the Trusted Employer Model and increased target for new permanent residents with a focus on skilled workers, is a positive step towards filling the current domestic labour gap and providing additional certainty for manufacturers at this critical time in our economic recovery.
With growing supply chain disruptions and rising costs, Canadian manufacturers face critical challenges in meeting consumer demand. Recent FHCP member surveys revealed the top three (3) supply chain cost challenges impacting our members include: Ingredient and raw material, logistics and labour. We welcome the measures to support supply chain projects through the National Trade Corridors Fund, develop industry-driven solutions to use data to make our supply chains more efficient and cut red tape. We believe these measures will help to increase supply chain resiliency.
We also welcome commitments like the Canada Growth Fund and Canadian Innovation and Investment Agency, designed to foster innovation, attract investment, grow domestic manufacturing, and improve competitiveness.
While we were also pleased to see the government commit to scientific research to increase plastic circularity, we are disappointed that Budget 2022 lacked direct investments to increase domestic recycling infrastructure capacity to support the transition to a circular economy.
We continue to work with the federal government to ensure that our members continue to operate and grow and provide Canadians with the essential products they rely on daily.
About Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada
FHCP is the voice of the food, health, and consumer product industry that employs over 350,000 Canadians across businesses of all sizes that manufacture and distribute the safe, high-quality products that are at the heart of healthy homes, healthy communities, and a healthy Canada.