Temporary foreign pilots in 2013

[Expat]

Perhaps all TFW applications should be accompanied by an advertisement for the job opening on a government-run website, and all responses from potential Canadian employees should go through said website. It would be pretty hard to argue that no one had applied when the government could pull up the records of all the responses, and it would be easy to check the resumes to see if anyone met the posted qualifications. Sunwing et al would have a hell of a time trying to justify bringing in 737 type rated pilots from overseas if every 737-rated pilot in Canada applied for those positions, even if they never intended to take the job.

Yes Sir. That is right on - a little accountability is what is needed. Not another make work program for Civil Servants, but a simple process. As it is now, unless it comes up through the news media, nobody knows the extent of TFWs. Canadians have no recourse nor a complaint forum.

I walked into a McDonald's for breakfast not too long ago and found the staff fighting over who should serve the customers. One was a foreign worker, ( yes, they wanted the TFW to do the work ), and I didn't know who's side to take. Mostly because I didn't know what a TFW was. Yup, the TFW did all the customers ( about four ). Lets not blame them.....

Sounds like many Timmies and PetroCans in the Toronto area. It is strange to me, that the franchisee, the manager, and the employees, all look like family members from the same countries.
Let me bet that there are illegal organizations using our system to bring foreigners, while collecting a chunk of money from the workers.
I remember picking tobacco in the 70's in the Simcoe area. While I was a boat driver, the pickers came from the Caribbean, and a few told me that they only collected half of their official salary. The recruiting company skimmed the other half. ...and probably split the profit with the Canadian farmer.
That was the old Temporary Farm Worker program.

[DonutHole]

I worked in ag with tfw's

they don't get payed any less than Canadians. It is actually difficult to find an available pilot with the experience requirements to work a job for three months of the year... three profitable months, but three months.

I've also watched guys go through training and work themselves into turbine ag... Ive also watched friends pile it into the earth because of inexperience.

Ag is a different world, it's extremely dangerous, and piston bangers are nearly impossible to run at a profit, just keeping the older piston fleet airworthy is an expensive proposition. The canadian guys who are qualified all have seats, I know two personally who fly here in the summer and aus in the winter, if you're good in the ag business you can do this.

You could go down to the states and take a hackjob of a course in a citabria, but the course in canada is done in AG planes, fully loaded, the drills are done in the ag plane, how are you going to experience dropping a load in a citabria? How are you going to learn about the spray systems, their modes of failure etc in a plane that is not set up?

When the next gen of ag pilots has the requisite experience and seat time, they will be moving up to the turbines, until then those seats need to be filled.

[timel]

I worked in ag with tfw's

they don't get payed any less than Canadians. It is actually difficult to find an available pilot with the experience requirements to work a job for three months of the year... three profitable months, but three months.

I've also watched guys go through training and work themselves into turbine ag... Ive also watched friends pile it into the earth because of inexperience.

Ag is a different world, it's extremely dangerous, and piston bangers are nearly impossible to run at a profit, just keeping the older piston fleet airworthy is an expensive proposition. The canadian guys who are qualified all have seats, I know two personally who fly here in the summer and aus in the winter, if you're good in the ag business you can do this.

You could go down to the states and take a hackjob of a course in a citabria, but the course in canada is done in AG planes, fully loaded, the drills are done in the ag plane, how are you going to experience dropping a load in a citabria? How are you going to learn about the spray systems, their modes of failure etc in a plane that is not set up?

When the next gen of ag pilots has the requisite experience and seat time, they will be moving up to the turbines, until then those seats need to be filled.

Did 30 hours of dual citabria in Canada, forest treatment, equiped with ag-nav systems, practicing all kind of possible patern and situations with an experienced 6000 hrs piston and AT pilot.

There was 10 hours of solo perfection and getting friendly with the PA-25 and 188. Depends on your ops. For me it worked great.

There is definitly more to do from ag world if they want some recruits to make it up to the turbine. Agjobs, I'm very curious where you find those.

[DonutHole]

Get the caaa rag and call the members. Best way to find ag jobs