劳动力告急！魁省制造业呼吁留住临时外国劳工

魁北克的制造业正在为“人手荒”敲响警钟......

在联邦政府收紧临时外籍工人（TFWP）政策之后，大批外劳陆续离开，工厂生产线面临瘫痪风险。制造业协会公开警告，如果不及时调整政策，秋季可能成为行业的“至暗时刻”。与此同时，联邦坚持认为，现在正是“投资本地人才”的好时机。但现实是，加拿大工人无法立刻填补这11,000个空缺岗位。联邦与地方、产业界的拉锯，正在揭示一个更深层的问题：加拿大到底如何在减少对外劳依赖与维持经济运转之间找到平衡？

魁北克省的制造企业呼吁联邦政府允许已经在该省就业的临时外国工人留下来并继续在该行业工作。

Manufacturing businesses in Quebec are calling on the federal government to allow temporary foreign workers already employed in the province to stay and continue working in the industry.

are calling on sb. to do sth. = 呼吁某人去做某事。
already employed in the province = 已经在该省就业，分词结构作后置定语。
stay and continue working = 两个动词并列，表示“留下并继续工作”。

去年 9 月，联邦政府将公司雇用低工资临时外籍工人的能力限制在员工总数的 10%，而之前为 30%。它还将这些职位的合同限制为一年。

In September of last year, the federal government capped companies' ability to hire low-wage temporary foreign workers at 10 per cent of their workforce compared to 30 per cent previously. It also limited contracts for these positions to one year.

capped … at … = 将……限制在某个上限。
workforce = 劳动力、员工总数。
compared to 30 per cent previously = 与之前的 30% 相比，省略句型。
limited … to one year = 把……限制为一年。

魁北克制造商和出口商（MEQ）主席朱莉·怀特（Julie White）表示，这对于魁北克地区的工厂来说是不可持续的，因为这些工厂开始看到临时外国工人计划的变化所带来的后果。

According to Manufacturers and Exporters of Quebec (MEQ) president Julie White, this is not sustainable for the factories in Quebec's regions that are starting to see the consequences of these changes to the temporary foreign worker program.

According to … = 据……说。
not sustainable = 不可持续。
start to see the consequences of … = 开始看到……的后果。
temporary foreign worker program = 临时外国工人计划。

“我们预计，如果我们不审查去年秋天宣布的规则，秋季对许多制造商来说可能是灾难性的，”她说。

"We anticipate that the fall might be catastrophic for many manufacturers if we don't review the rules that were announced last fall," she said.

anticipate that … = 预期……。
catastrophic = 灾难性的，非常严重的。
if we don’t review the rules = 条件句，表示“如果我们不重新审查这些规则”。

她说，数百名临时外籍工人已经收拾行李离开该省，因为他们的许可证已经过期，雇主无法续签。尽管他们的许可证仍然有效几个月，但有些人还是离开了，因为他们不相信他们的合同会在时机成熟时续签。

Hundreds of temporary foreign workers are already packing up and leaving the province because their permits have expired and their employers can't renew them, she said. Some are leaving despite their permits still being valid for a few months because they aren't confident that their contracts will be renewed when the time comes.

packing up and leaving = 收拾行李离开。
permits have expired = 许可证已过期。
despite … = 尽管。
when the time comes = 到时候。

MEQ 表示，尽管得到了省政府的支持并与联邦政府进行了对话，但联邦就业部长帕蒂·哈吉杜（Patty Hajdu）行动太慢。

Despite support from the provincial government and conversations with the federal government, federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu is too slow to act, says the MEQ.

too slow to act = 行动太慢。
despite support … and conversations … = 尽管……，但……。

哈吉杜的新闻秘书詹妮弗·科泽利（Jennifer Kozelj）在给加拿大广播电台的一份电子邮件声明中表示，政府“致力于减少加拿大雇主对临时外国工人计划（TFWP）的依赖”。

In an emailed statement to Radio Canada, Hajdu's press secretary Jennifer Kozelj said the government was "committed to reducing the dependence of Canadian employers on the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP)."

in an emailed statement to … = 在给……的一份电子邮件声明中。
be committed to … = 致力于……。
reducing the dependence on … = 减少对……的依赖。

“需要明确的是，TFWP 被设计为一项非常措施，只有在合格的加拿大人和永久居民无法填补空缺时，才用于填补关键的就业缺口，”她写道。“现在是投资加拿大人才的理想时机。”

"To be clear, the TFWP is designed as an extraordinary measure to be used to fill critical employment gaps, only when qualified Canadians and permanent residents are unable to fill the vacancies," she wrote. "Now is the ideal time to invest in Canadian talent."

to be clear = 明确地说。
extraordinary measure = 非常措施。
fill critical employment gaps = 填补关键就业缺口。
the ideal time to … = ……的理想时机。

但 MEQ 表示，加拿大工人无法填补这一空白。

But the MEQ said Canadian workers can't fill the gap.

fill the gap = 填补空缺。

“我们正处于一个非同寻常的境地，”怀特说，并指出当前的贸易战已经削弱了制造业，此外还有劳动力短缺。“去招聘 TFW（临时外国工人）的企业这样做并不是因为它很容易或有趣......他们别无选择。

"We are in an extraordinary situation," said White, noting that the current trade war is already weakening the manufacturing sector, on top of a labour shortage. "The businesses that go and recruit TFWs [temporary foreign workers] don't do it because it's easy or fun… they don't have a choice."

extraordinary situation = 特殊/非同寻常的情况。
on top of … = 除……之外，还……。
don’t do it because … they don’t have a choice = 并不是因为……，而是别无选择。

根据魁北克统计研究所的数据，魁北克制造业有 11,000 个空缺职位。

There are 11,000 vacant job positions in manufacturing in Quebec, according to the Institut de la statistique du Québec.

vacant job positions = 空缺职位。
according to … = 根据……。

“我们希望联邦政府对我们在魁北克的具体需求敏感，”怀特说，并补充说她对他们的声明感到失望。

"What we want from the federal government is the sensibility to our specific needs here in Quebec," said White, adding that she was disappointed with their statement.

sensibility to … = 对……的敏感性/理解。
adding that … = 并补充说……。

MEQ 希望渥太华授予该行业一项特殊特权，允许已经在魁北克制造业工作的临时外国工人留在该省并继续工作。

The MEQ wants Ottawa to grant the industry a special privilege that would allow temporary foreign workers already working in Quebec's manufacturing sector to stay in the province and continue working.

grant … a special privilege = 授予……特别权利/特权。
already working in … = 已经在……工作。

怀特说，这是魁北克移民部长让-弗朗索瓦·罗贝热（Jean-François Roberge）支持的事情。

It's something Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge has supported, said White.

something … has supported = 某事……支持过。

Roberge 的办公室在给加拿大广播电台的一份声明中表示，在某些地区保持一定水平的临时外国工人对于面临劳动力挑战的制造商来说很重要。发言人威廉·德默斯（William Demers）表示，它鼓励联邦政府“将减排工作集中在蒙特利尔和拉瓦尔地区”。

In a statement to Radio-Canada, Roberge's office said that maintaining a level of temporary foreign workers in certain regions was important for manufacturers facing labour challenges. It encouraged the federal government to "concentrate its reduction efforts in the Montreal and Laval regions," said spokesperson William Demers.

maintaining a level of … = 保持一定水平的……。
concentrate its reduction efforts = 把削减的努力集中在……。

怀特说，联邦政府需要迅速采取行动，给予豁免，让工人留下来，这样魁北克的制造业才能继续运转。她说，即使缺少一些临时工也会影响整个生产线。

White says the federal government needs to act fast to grant the exemption and let workers stay so Quebec's manufacturing can continue to function. Even having a few temporary workers missing can affect entire production lines, she says.

act fast = 迅速采取行动。
grant the exemption = 给予豁免。
continue to function = 继续运作。

“如果你在几周内失去 10、15、20、25 名工人，而你没有能力找到更多工人，企业将无法提高生产力，”她说。

"If you lose 10, 15, 20, 25 workers in a matter of a couple of weeks and you don't have the capacity to find more, businesses won't be able to be productive," she said.