Tories face another barrage of attacks about the Temporary Foreign Worker program

The Temporary Foreign Workers program is becoming a PR nightmare for the Harper government.

Once again the problems surrounding program was the the topic dujour in the House of Commons, on the front pages of the news websites and newspapers and it was even mentioned Auditor General Michael Ferguson's spring report — sort of.

Not surprisingly, the opposition parties jumped all over that one paragraph.

"Instead of supporting Statistics Canada, the Conservatives are using poor data and Kijiji job postings to paint a picture that justifies more temporary foreign workers," Liberal Industry Critic, Judy Sgro, said in a statement.

"This prevents Canadians and permanent residents from having the first shot at available jobs."

On Tuesday, we also learned that the AG is open to the idea of looking TFW program

In a response letter to a query from Liberal MP John McCallum, Ferguson said that he's aware of the "current debates concerning the program."

"It is helpful for me to know about the issues that preoccupy you as a parliamentarian, and I appreciate your taking the time to inform me of them," Ferguson wrote.

"I will share your letter with the audit teams responsible for audition Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada for their information in planning for future audits."

Meanwhile, the NDP were able to score some political points of their own in the House of Commons with some new data.

"Their Kijiji economics said we had a labour shortage in southwest Ontario. Windsor, Unemployment rate 14 per cent yet the government declared a labour shortage and they brought in over 1,500 temporary foreign workers. London, unemployment 8.6 per cent and 1,800 were let in," NDP MP Peggy Nash said.

"Will the government now launch an independent review and finally put a stop to this bungling?"

And finally, on a day that was just filled with bad news for the Tories, the Canadian Press is reporting that reported that two Torie MPs — Kellie Leitch and Blake Richards — had both previously raised concerns about the program.

[ Related: Tory MPs raised concerns about TFW program as controversy vexes Conservatives ]

The TFW controversy is not going to go away any time soon unless the Tories take some decisive and dramatic action.

Things like trade deals and the Fair Elections Act might get a lot of attention in the Ottawa bubble but have little resonance across the country. The TFW will because it's about jobs — Canadian jobs — something we all easily understand and relate to.

Moreover, there's bound to be a score of other 'employer abuse' stories come out of the woodwork within the coming days and weeks.

The Tory narrative is that there's a need for TFW's in some industries; that they've made changes to the program; and that they are weighing options with regard to what can be done to improve it.

Unfortunately for them, the prevailing narrative — trumpeted by the opposition parties — is that the Harper government is sitting back, doesn't have a clue about labour needs across the country, has let this program get out of hand and, as a result, are allowing foreigners to take Canadian jobs.

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