Question Period Note: RESPONSE TO CRITICISM OF THE TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKER PROGRAM BY THE UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR

The United Nations’ (UN) Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, has released a statement following the end of his mission to Canada that likens of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program to a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.”

The Government of Canada takes its responsibility to protect the health and safety of temporary foreign workers while they are in Canada very seriously.

The Department respects the objective and mandate of the Special Rapporteur and will consider this statement when building upon the important work currently underway to ensure worker protection under the TFW Program.

Recent efforts to enhance worker protection within the program include:

Investments in the Migrant Support Worker Program;

Regulatory amendments to strengthen the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations; and

Rebuilding the Compliance Regime.

If Pressed (on worker protection initiatives)

All workers deserve safe, healthy, and dignified workplaces.

In September 2022, the Government strengthened protections for temporary foreign workers by:

requiring employers to provide workers with information about their rights;

prohibiting reprisal by employers against workers;

prohibiting employers from charging recruitment fees;

requiring employers to provide reasonable access to health-care services.

Budget 2022 included $14.6 million to improve the quality of inspections and hold employers accountable for the treatment of workers.

The Migrant Worker Support Program launched in Fall 2022, funds community organizations to support migrant workers while in Canada.

The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur (SR) on contemporary forms of slavery has concluded a recent visit to Canada and released preliminary findings at a press conference on September 6, 2023. These findings are heavily critical of Canada’s treatment of migrant workers and includes several negative references to the TFW Program.

The purpose of the SR visit was to assess Canada’s efforts to prevent and address contemporary forms of slavery, including forced labour, child labour, domestic servitude, debt bondage, labour exploitation, and sexual exploitation within its territory and abroad.

There are several recommendations, which include:

Modifying the TFW Program to enable workers to choose employers freely without any restriction and discrimination.

Applying PT employment standard legislation fully to those under the TFW Program without any exemptions or exceptions, including trade union rights.

Strengthening labour and housing inspections. Allocate sufficient human and other resources for this purpose and work collaboratively with civil society organisations and trade unions.

Guaranteeing access to healthcare for all migrant workers without any discrimination.

Providing stronger oversight over employment recruiters and immigration consultants.

A final report will be published in July 2024 and will be presented at a session of the UN Human Right Council in 2024 (date TBC).

None