Canada's labour pool can be a strange beast for the country's employers. During the recent recession, unemployment and a lack of hiring was the main concern as businesses struggled to cut costs. However, with the recovery taking hold globally, an old problem is creeping back: labour shortages.

"The labour shortage dipped after the recession, and the availability of labour improved," said Dan Kelly, senior vice-president of legislative affairs for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

"But even in the depths of the recession, a third of small and mediumsized businesses said they struggled to find the employees needed to put out their products and services."

Some businesses have adapted to Canada's ever-changing labour realities. Ganong Bros. Ltd. for example, looked to overseas labour pools to fill its employee shortage. In 2005, management at the chocolate-maker's factory in St. Stephen, N.B. -a town just shy of 5,000 people -realized they needed about 30 additional employees after a year of big contracts.

First, Ganong attempted to make working at the company more appealing by increasing hourly wages. It even created a workplace survey to gauge satisfaction. But it soon became apparent the labour realities of the sparsely populated region they were in were too complex to be solved with perks.

Sherri Deveau, human resources director for Ganong, said the idea for bringing in foreign workers was first suggested by the provincial government's Population Growth Secretariat. "They suggested we look to Romania as a potential source of new employees, given that there were many similarities between New Brunswick and that country," she said. "The climate was similar, the religion was similar, and many Romanians learn English as a second language."

A few months later, Deveau flew to Romania to interview 100 candidates, eventually hiring 30. And while the subsequent relocation and adjustment to foreign workers was not easy -Ganong helped each of them find homes in the community -the experiment has been a huge success for the company.

"They've integrated very well, it's gone surprisingly smoothly," Doug Ettinger, chief executive of Ganong, said. "Many of them have applied for Canadian citizenship, and they're in varying degrees of getting it approved. Even though we signed them up for two-year contracts, most of them want to stay."

Nicole Picot, assistant deputy minister for the New Brunswick Population Growth Secretariat, said other companies in the province are looking to Ganong's success and have expressed a desire to mimic its model. "We go to other countries as well, but there has been some success in co-operating with Romania," she said.

"In terms of the labour market, we're always trying to work with companies to try to address their issues, and we're talking with several now about bringing in overseas labour. A lot of them were impressed with what Ganong did."

Anil Verma, professor of industrial relations and human resource management at the University of Toronto, contends Canada's labour problems go far beyond labour shortage. In many cases, businesses can't bring in overseas workers to fix their problems.

In such cases, he said, the onus might be on the employer to make sure they are fostering the kind of work environment people want to work in.

"Employers need to do more -you can't just sit at your desk and expect people will be lined up outside begging for jobs," he said.

Vancouver-based Kloth recently moved its manufacturing facility to Port Alberni, B.C., a resource-based community wracked by wood mill closures. And while its presence hasn't solved all of Port Alberni's problems, the idea behind a business taking advantage of an excess labour pool by moving shop could have legs.

Fashion designer Lara Presber chose to sign a contract with Kloth to manufacture her line of clothing at the Port Alberni facility because the company's model fit her idea of sustainable, locally produced products.

"I love what they are doing because it aligns with my personal and company values and am so happy to be a part of it," she said.

The CFIB's Kelly said the businesses he has spoken to all have different suggestions to tackling labour issues in Canada, many of which fall in between the approaches taken by Ganong and Kloth. He said the key is to ensure that a multi-faceted approach is taken to address the problem.

"None of the answers are easy," he said. "But there are a few we think are important. One of those is to provide some form of skill-building credit under employment insurance, so we're actually advocating a hiring and training credit for small and medium-sized companies.

"On top of that, looking at the under-tapped pockets of the labour force is absolutely a key part of this. Aboriginal workers, disabled, older workers, basically workers that are underemployed," he said.

Kelly also said the CFIB strongly believes that using the temporary worker system for businesses in Canada could provide one of the biggest overall solutions in tackling labour challenges like shortages.

"This is absolutely something we should be leveraging," he said. "Used properly, it provides a very powerful tool for businesses in this country."