Migrant workers

1. Migrants with temporary status come to Canada, often investing considerable sums of money and even going into significant debt, based on expectations created by government policies in place at the time, including those relating to access to work permit renewal, pathways to permanent residence, and study permits, among others;
2. Changes to immigration policies, including those impacting immigration levels, access to work permit renewals, study permits, or permanent status, can have significant negative consequences for those already residing in Canada;
3. Such changes unfairly penalize migrants who are already in Canada;
4. This causes undue hardship by disrupting their lives, livelihoods, and long-term plans, as well as those of their families and their communities;
5. It also increases the risk for migrants of becoming undocumented, which exposes them to exploitation, precarious living conditions, and other associated vulnerabilities;
6. Migrants with temporary status already here should not bear the burden of policy changes.

1. Canada relies on the labour of migrant workers including those with closed work permits under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and their family members, international students (“workers with temporary and precarious status”);
2. The number of workers with temporary and precarious status in Canada has been increasing steadily for two decades;
3. IRCC-funded services currently exclude workers with temporary and precarious status;
4. Workers with temporary and precarious status are not eligible for the vast majority of government-subsidized legal services;
5. Issues of exploitation and abuse of workers with temporary and precarious status are documented and systemic;
6. Systemic abuse in the recruitment and migration processes creates vulnerabilities for many workers with temporary and precarious status, and lack of access to services exacerbates vulnerabilities they may experience;
7. Workers with temporary and precarious status have limited to no access to subsidized legal services which they require when seeking recourse for abuse and exploitation;
8. The support needs of workers with temporary and precarious status vary according to a diversity of identities, including gender and sexual identity;
9. Economic and Social Development Canada is responsible jointly with IRCC for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and funds the Migrant Worker Support Program;
10. IRCC is responsible for issuing work permits under Canada’s temporary migration work and study programs;
11. CCR has long advocated for access to adequate services for refugees and migrants, including access to legal aid from competent legal professionals; (See Resolution 2 May 01 1999; Res. 1 June 01 2019).

 the consequences of migration include serious abuses and injustices for migrant workers, especially migrant women and children;

1. In Canada, some workers are excluded from labour protections such as labour standards and workers compensation, health and safety protections and effective anti-reprisals protections, based on their immigration status;
2. Some jurisdictions in Canada explicitly exclude categories of workers such as domestic workers and agricultural workers, who are disproportionately migrant workers; 

1. The freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are internationally recognized as fundamental principles and rights in the workplace;
2. Some jurisdictions in Canada effectively prevent workers from unionizing or collectively bargaining based on their immigration status or sector of employment;

1. The rampant expansion and continuous demand for the low-skilled (now low-wage) streams of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) make it clear that the labour shortages being filled are long-term and not temporary;
2. The 2011 rule limiting migrant workers in the low-wage stream of the TFWP (previously known as the low-skilled pilot project) to four years of work in Canada, was intended to reinforce the temporary nature of the program, despite the continuing nature of the demand;
3. The above time limits, which only apply to workers in the low-wage stream, exacerbate existing vulnerabilities;
4. Canada’s traditional immigration approach was focused on nation-building through permanent immigration that met the broad range of labour needs across the Canadian economy; all workers were part of the national project;
5. Canada’s shift towards temporary labour migration promotes a two-tiered, stratified society;

1. The live-in caregiver program currently requires workers to live in the employer’s home;
2. Living in the employer’s home creates a greater possibility for sexual and labour exploitation;
3. The program does not allow family members to accompany the worker until they fulfill their required hours, thereby leading to family separation for a minimum period of 2 years;

1. Workers on temporary work permits are not aware of their rights under the program and the charter;
2. Many workers are not permitted by employers to retain their personal documentation such as passport, return air ticket and health card.