PQ plan to replace immigrants with robots won鈥檛 address key labour market shortages
The Parti Qu茅b茅cois' recent 97-page immigration plan suggests replacing workers with automation in sectors facing labour shortages. However, Assistant Professor of Operations Management Rob Glew argues this approach is flawed. He points out that sectors of Quebec鈥檚 economy with the most acute labour shortages don鈥檛 lend themselves well to automation, like health care and early childhood education. 鈥淭o just lump it in that robots are substitutes for immigrants totally misses the point,鈥� Glew tells CTV News. 鈥淐anada has tried to build its immigration on a points system that selects immigrants to fill needs in the labour market. If labour shortages aren鈥檛 already being addressed with robotics and capital, you鈥檙e either forcing the trend in a way it otherwise wouldn鈥檛 have gone, or making it more dangerous to fill those needs going forward.鈥�