WestJet considers hiring temporary foreign workers to solve pilot shortage
Westjet, based in Calgary, is evaluating whether to use temporary foreign workers (TFW) to fly its planes.
In a statement, the spokesman Julia Kaiser told the CBC News that the airline is exploring the process of evaluating the impact of the labor market (LMIA) as one of the “multiple paths” to satisfy a lack of captains of Westjet Encore.
The Lmia is essentially a piece of scragaffes that a company must take part in the TFW federal program, to show that there are no local workers available to take a job.
The union that represents the drivers of the airline states that it has not been consulted by the Westjet or by the federal government on the move.
“This question should never have been asked,” said Captain Tim Perry, president of the Air Line Pilots Association (Alpa) Canada.
Westjet has already received federal approval for rental through the TFW program, said the union. Neither the airline nor the employment and social development Canada confirmed these details to the news of the CBC.
Perry said that the union has no problems with permanent immigration or with the hiring of new arrivals, but in particular it opposes the use by the airline of the TFW program.
If Westjet has a problem to attract enough pilots, he said, he should work to improve his collective agreement, rather than looking for a temporary work abroad.
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“Short circuing” the assumption process
The aviation expert John Gradek said that there is a pilot deficiency both in Canada and all over the world. It derives from the Covid-19 pandemic when the entire industry has been suspended, he said.
In his opinion, the TFW program is not the way for the airline to face his personal problems.
“Westjet is trying to accompany the process of taking Canadian pilots,” said Gradek, who is a teaching of Aviation Management faculty at McGill University.
“This is not the way we basically look at taking high quality pilot jobs, good payment and very demanding in Canada.”
So far, Westjet claims to have not yet hired any job through the TFW program.
Perry said he was also frustrated that the union has not received openings from the federal government. If Westjet hopes to use the TFW Federal Program, which is intended for cases where domestic workers are not available, Perry has claimed to think that a government worker should invite the union to evaluate if this is the case.
“In our opinion, our collective bargaining rights have been absolutely mined in this case by the government,” said Perry.
In response to CBC News questions, a spokesman for employment and social development in Canada said he could not talk about the situation for privacy reasons.
The spokesperson indicated an online database With information on employers who received approval to hire temporary foreign workers, although they have not yet been updated with information on the approvals in 2025.
