A recently released international report says Canada's temporary foreign worker program is a “breeding ground” for modern-day slavery.
The final report of a United Nations special rapporteur who visited Canada last year says a power imbalance is preventing workers from exercising their rights.
A worker's status depends on a closed work permit specific to their employer. If a person is fired, they can be deported from Canada.
Workers face a wide range of abuses and are not always aware of their rights, the report says.
He notes that the government places much of the responsibility for informing workers about their rights on the employer, “despite the obvious conflict of interest.”
Special Rapporteur Tomoya Obokata cites reports of problems such as wage theft, long working hours with limited breaks and insufficient personal protective equipment.
The report also details allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation, as well as physical, emotional and verbal abuse.
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Obokata also found that workers have difficulty accessing health care.
In some cases, employers prevented people from seeking treatment, the report said, and some workers were denied necessary time off, encouraged to “take painkillers or home remedies instead,” or even fired.
The report notes that rules implemented in 2022 require employers to make reasonable efforts to provide workers with access to health care if they are sick or injured.
He also notes that many employers end up providing housing for their workers, which can lead to overcrowded situations, such as 20 to 30 people sharing a single bathroom, he says.
The report calls on Canada to “end labour migration agreements that encourage exploitation by creating dependency situations that tie workers to their employers” and in which employers control workers' housing, health care and status.
The number of permits under the program increased by 88 per cent between 2019 and 2023, although Ottawa recently indicated it planned to reduce the number of such workers in Canada.
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