Migrant workers come to Canada in the hopes of securing a better future for themselves and their families. They contribute to our communities and economy, paying income taxes and rent, and purchasing goods and services, despite many being excluded from receiving the same rights and protections as other workers in Canada.

In addition to facing precarity and barriers to full participation and opportunities, migrants are increasingly and unfairly shouldering the blame for decades of policy failures that have led to the current housing and affordability crises, and the lack of good jobs that so many Canadians are experiencing.

“Migrant workers are simply not responsible for our strained public care systems, lack of affordable housing or job shortages, and yet they’re paying the price for government failures to address corporate greed and invest in people and infrastructure. Rather than perpetuate misplaced blame and anger, we need governments to invest ambitiously in affordable housing and well-funded public services”, said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

In addition to being singled out and scapegoated for government policies for which they are blameless, most migrant workers cannot even access equal rights and protections due to a lack of permanent residence status. Workers in Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) streams are subject to closed work permits that tie them to their employer, preventing them from seeking fairer or safer job opportunities, specifically because of their immigration status.

“Those who benefit most from this system are not migrant workers, but recruiters, traffickers, and unscrupulous businesses and employers, who use the program as a constant stream of unfree, unjust labour,” said Rousseau.

These streams effectively trap workers in a system of exploitation, where employers have total control over jobs, wages and working conditions; a system rightly called “a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery” by United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoya Obokata.

The CLC continues to urge government to put an end to these labour and human rights violations and take immediate action to address government policy that serves the interests of employers, not workers. Government must replace closed, employer-specific work permits with open work permits, provide permanent residency opportunities for low-wage workers, and pathways to permanent residency for former low-wage workers who are undocumented, giving migrant workers access to government supports and the labour protections all workers deserve.

Take action today:

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The recent state of emergency in British Columbia (BC) is the latest example of the clear and increasingly disastrous impacts of our global climate crisis. Communities across the province experienced flooding, mudslides and extreme weather, leaving residents displaced or stranded. This extreme weather came after a summer of catastrophic forest fires in BC, causing untold distress for residents, including migrant workers living and working temporarily in the province.

“These events further exposed the magnitude of the climate emergency upon us. But they also underscored just how vulnerable migrant workers are in Canada, most without access to proper protections and supports” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Like other workers, migrant workers in Canada should have social protections, labour rights and full access to healthcare services.”

Furthermore, Canada’s unions continue to urge the federal government to provide a pathway to permanent residency for those workers who want it, and to end the closed work permit system which ties migrant workers to one employer and replace it with open work permits.

Climate change continues to be a considerable driver of migration worldwide, and as our global climate crisis worsens, the number of climate migrants – people who are displaced from their homes due to the effects of climate change – will only increase.

During the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Health Organization (WHO), and Lancet Migration urged all nations to make community-led interventions addressing the issue of migration as a result of climate change a priority, and to urgently strengthen services and systems for migrants.

In Canada, migrant workers are already a particularly vulnerable population when it comes to navigating major social and economic crises – like the climate crisis or the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. They face barriers to accessing critical social services, including health care and employment insurance, as well as worker protections, all due to immigration status. Their precarious status may also affect their ability to find employment if displaced or if these workers lose their jobs.

A new report from Canada’s Auditor General also demonstrates that the government checks and balances meant to protect the wellbeing of these workers are not working. The report, which reviewed inspections carried out by the department responsible for assessing the pandemic protections for temporary foreign workers, shows government failure to protect migrant workers in Canada’s agricultural sector. The report showed problems in almost three quarters of quarantine inspections assessed during the course of the study.

“Without comprehensive worker and social protections to safeguard against employer exploitation, mistreatment, abuse and discriminatory workplace policies, the safety and lives of migrant workers are being repeatedly put a risk,” said Bruske. “Migrant workers have played an essential part in keeping our communities cared for throughout the pandemic, and like all workers, deserve justice and a fair future.”

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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