HUMA Committee Report

Dissenting Report of the New Democratic Party

“We believe in immigration, not exploitation” – Barbara Byers, Secretary Treasurer, Canadian Labour Congress

“Ultimately, migrant workers are physically separated from their families and loved ones. This contributes to family breakdown of the migrant worker and a vicious cycle of poverty and social ills. Spending time with our families is more important than spending money on them. We cannot bring our families with us to Canada. It is very clear that all of these conditions do not reflect a modern 21st century Canada. It does not reflect good jobs or jobs with good conditions, but a dark, artificial system seeking to perpetuate 18th-century working conditions.” – Gabriel Allahdua, Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada

“In the history of Canada, people immigrated from different countries to build a nation. They worked in houses, shops, and factories, and on farms and railroads. If they were to come to Canada today, they would be temporary foreign workers. When considering policy changes I urge you, members of the committee, not to lose sight of this fact.” – Dr. Ethel Tungohan, York University

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) review conducted by the HUMA committee has been opaque, confusing, and completely inadequate. The review was conducted over the course of only five sessions, many of which were cut short.  In this incredibly short amount of time, we were expected to review programs related to migrant workers including the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and the Caregiver Program. Given the limited scope, we are concerned that this review was intended as a public relations exercise rather than as an opportunity to provide meaningful recommendations for change.

We are also troubled by the lack of commitment shown by the government to continued consultations with stakeholders while the government proceeds with reforms to the program. This is particularly concerning given how few voices have been heard so far. The committee should have prioritized the voices of workers. Instead, the committee mostly heard employers and employer organizations. There was not enough opportunity to hear from migrant workers directly. Canadian workers were also barely represented, despite the fact that employer abuse of the TFWP has resulted in layoffs, higher unemployment, and lower wages for Canadians. It is imperative that workers have the opportunity to share their side of the story.  We cannot complete an adequate review without the perspectives of both workers and employers.  

Because the committee’s study was so rushed and inadequate, we do not feel that this program received the thorough review that it deserved. That is why New Democrats call on the Government of Canada to conduct a full, independent, and transparent audit of the program in order to fully identify all of the problems, abuse, and mismanagement that have been rampant in the program.

Abuse of Workers

With great courage, witnesses told the committee stories about the abuse they had personally experienced on the job. They detailed abhorrent living conditions, constant fear of deportation, mental health crises, verbal and physical abuse, and a complete lack of autonomy in their daily lives.

The story of Pinky Paglingayen was typical in this regard:

"I came here in 2004 from the Philippines under the live-in caregiver program. I was employed by a family of four in Thornhill, Ontario. This family demanded that I pay $3,000 in exchange for their helping me to come here. I felt as if I had no choice. Several days later they released me from my employment. That's when I felt so cheated, abandoned, and alone – Pinky Paglingayen

Gina Bahiwal provided an important gendered lens in understanding the temporary foreign worker program and the particular vulnerability experienced by women:

Access to health care is a problem for migrant women and injured workers. Migrant women who get pregnant and fired from work do not have access to health care. Injured workers who are being sent home cannot access health care here in Canada. – Gina Bahiwal, Member of Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada

Ericson Santos De Leon gave testimony regarding the different kinds of abuse he and his family faced, including the experience of having his family’s application for permanent residency rejected because of his son’s medical history. In addition, Santos De Leon shared the excessive control that recruitment agencies hold over migrant workers:

“When I arrived in Montreal I found myself without a job. My agency paid someone to pretend to be my employer for my papers. For three months I lived on my savings. After three months I was getting desperate. I went to the agency and told them I really needed to work. They found me a job with a family, but it was under the table.” - Mr. Ericson Santos De Leon

Barbara Byers, Secretary Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress told the committee about the abuse faced by those in the Caregiver Program and the pressures they face not to report abuse in order to be able to stay in Canada:

“There is no safety net and no appeal process for the caregiver who is left to find another employer willing to apply and get a positive LMIA and then an employer-specific work permit.” – Barbara Byers, Canadian Labour Congress

Gabriel Allahdua spoke passionately about the abuse faced by workers on farms:

"It is very hard for us to speak up when we have a bad employer or if we are not getting our full wages. Imagine how much harder it is when speaking up doesn't just mean losing your job, but it means being forced to leave the country. Imagine how hard it is when your employer controls your housing, and your contract is not enforceable.

“The moment you speak up, you are threatened with losing your job or being sent home. The reality is, nobody is permanent on the program. At the end of the eight months, when you go back home, there is no guarantee that you are going to go back to Canada. The employer reserves the right to request you or keep you home. Just that makes you go and work above and beyond the ordinary. Imagine, too, that you are reminded daily that there are a hundred people lined up to take your job.” 

– Gabriel Allahdua, Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada

Academic researchers also testified about how policy measures that have been adopted have not been sufficient to address abuse and the repercussions for workers:

“Measures to curb abuse, such as workplace inspections and the creation of a temporary foreign worker tip line to report abuse have failed. You can have the biggest fines and the strictest enforcement, but if the end result is that workers are out of jobs and have to leave the country because their employers are banned from hiring foreign workers, workers are not likely to report abuse.

“I would say that incidences of abuse are quite rampant. The fact is recruiters here often times have existing relationships with recruiters in other countries. Recruiters in other countries charge caregivers illegal placement fees, but the Canadian government simply cannot enforce policies made in other countries. That's one issue. Another issue, as Mr. De Leon's story shows, is the issue of charging workers fees that simply are illegal. Even if we do have laws against the charging of recruitment fees, these laws simply aren't enforced.”

– Dr. Ethel Tungohan, York University

New Democrats believe firmly and unequivocally that all abuse of workers must be ended. We also believe that the committee’s recommendations are insufficient to end the abuse. 

To date, on-site inspections have been few and far between, and ineffective in rooting out abuse. We believe the government needs to dramatically increase the number of on-site inspections. However, we also believe a more comprehensive approach to ending abuse is required, an approach that provides workers themselves with more autonomy. Accomplishing this will require appropriate funding for organizations on the frontlines providing services to migrant workers. Therefore, New Democrats recommend that the government allocate additional resources for migrant worker organizations and frontline service providers in order to assist migrant workers in protecting and defending their rights.   The committee also heard that workers would benefit from the ability to collectively bargain their working conditions. Both the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and Maple Leaf Foods told the committee about the benefits they have enjoyed from their partnership. 

Other witnesses also expressed the benefit of autonomy and protection that came from union representation:

“I came to Canada in 2012 as part of the circular migration program as a day labourer for Olymel, at a slaughterhouse in Saint-Esprit, which is about 45 minutes from Montreal. After one year of experience as a unionized worker, I was able, thanks to my seniority, to apply for an industrial butcher position in the company.” – Francisco Mootoo, Temporary Foreign Workers Association

“Determined that I would make Canada my home, I studied English at night through the courses provided by my union. Once I became a permanent resident, I worked in a settlement services office. I have the privilege of helping others to make Canada their home.

“I cannot imagine going through this process without the immense help of my union, UFCW Local 832, and my employer, Maple Leaf Foods. They provided me with the settlement services that are not available to the vast majority of migrant workers. I did not have gaps in my health care. I had decent wages and working conditions, and I was part of a bigger family. As a result of being fortunate enough to be hired into a unionized setting, I was able to go into the Manitoba provincial nominee program.” – Claudia Colocho, United Food and Commercial Workers

While we understand that relevant labour laws are under both federal and provincial jurisdiction, we believe that the federal government can show leadership in this regard and initiate a conversation on the importance of ensuring that all workers have access to the protection of a labour union. New Democrats strongly urge the government to work with provinces and territories to ensure that labour laws allow for unionization among temporary foreign workers, regardless of sector or industry.  

Medical Repatriation

Currently, migrant workers are only entitled to healthcare for workplace injuries that are deemed urgent enough to receive immediate care. The result is inadequate access to healthcare for migrant workers. There is also inadequate protection for occupational workplace and safety issues, such as long-term exposure to environmental threats. We believe that workers are deserving of full and adequate healthcare protection.

As research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) indicates, this is a particularly salient issue for seasonal agricultural workers. According to CMAJ:

“During 2001–2011, 787 repatriations occurred among 170 315 migrant farm workers arriving in Ontario (4.62 repatriations per 1000 workers). More than two-thirds of repatriated workers were aged 30–49 years. Migrant farm workers were most frequently repatriated for medical or surgical reasons (41.3%) and external injuries including poisoning (25.5%).” – CMAJ, Medical repatriation of migrant farm workers in Ontario

In tandem with steps to reduce workplace injuries, we must ensure that workers who are injured have access to same protections and healthcare as all workers in Canada. 

The horrific reality of ignoring the medical needs of workers was highlighted by witnesses:

Women migrant workers who get pregnant while working here in Canada get fired, so they don't have access to health care. One worker who I talked to last month lost her baby. She had to hide her tummy and put on a girdle so the employer would not see that she was pregnant, because she was afraid of being fired, and what happened is that she lost her baby. – Gina Bahiwal, Member of Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada

The committee also heard from Marcia Barret, a representative of the Caregiver’s Action Centre and cousin of the late Sheldon McKenzie.  Sheldon, a seasonal agricultural worker, was injured on the job on January 26, 2015 at the age 39 and died 8 months later. Marcia described her cousin in this way: 

“Sheldon was a loving and devoted father of two teen daughters. He began to work as a migrant worker 13 years ago in Canada to care for his family. Sheldon loved to play soccer, loved music, and also coached the game.” – Marcia Barret

Barret shared with the committee the traumatic reality that her family faced after McKenzie was injured on the job:

“He died September 17, 2015, on his younger daughter's birthday. It was during this time of Sheldon's injury and death that I became aware of the frustration and the difficult conditions that the migrant farm workers bore. On top of the injury and death that traumatized our family, the policies that are in place were a source of frustration that we endured during that time” – Marcia Barret

If it had not been for Barret’s advocacy, McKenzie would have been sent home despite the severity of his injuries.

New Democrats call on the government to ensure that adequate health and safety rules are in place for migrant workers and to require that healthcare be provided in Canada when workplace injuries or incidents occur. 

Access to Citizenship

New Democrats believe that immigration is an essential part of our society and that our immigration programs should be designed with nation-building in mind. This means programs that emphasize access to permanent residence and citizenship instead of temporary work programs that force people into precarious positions with no rights and no opportunities. As Barbara Byers of the Canadian Labour Congress stated, “if you are good enough to work here, you are good enough to live here.” 

New Democrats believe that in response to labour shortages, the primary emphasis should be to bring in workers as permanent residents. When labour shortages that are genuinely temporary in nature need to be filled, the migrant workers who fill them should always have the opportunity to access permanent residency and eventually citizenship. This is a matter of fairness and justice, as well as a means of ensuring the rights and the safety of workers.  Exploitation is more likely to happen when workers have no rights and fear for their ability to stay in the country.  We also believe that workers should not be punished for the abusive actions of their employers by being deported from the country.

New Democrats believe that all temporary foreign workers, regardless of program stream, should have a pathway to permanent residency. The Liberals have also promised in the past to provide a pathway to permanent residency for all migrant workers.

For this reason, it is very disappointing to see that the committee report did not put forth strong recommendations to ensure that ALL foreign workers have a pathway to permanent residency. New Democrats oppose the committee’s recommendation that only workers fulfilling a permanent labour shortage be granted the opportunity of obtaining permanent residency. All workers who come here and support our economy with their labour deserve the opportunity to stay.

New Democrats recommend that pathways to citizenship be created immediately for all migrant workers. We also urge the government to ensure that appropriate safeguards are put in place to ensure that the potential for permanent residency does not become a tool for employer manipulation and control.

The committee must listen to the voices of workers and organizations working on the front lines with workers every day:

“The root of precariousness and vulnerability experienced by migrant workers in Canada is their precarious status in Canada.  While opening TFW work permits to allow labour mobility will greatly improve this situation, access to permanent residency is the only measure that will truly eliminate the vulnerability that is built into the TFWP and put low-skilled migrant workers on an equal footing with the rest of Canadian society.” – Canadian Council of Refugees 

Denial of Employment Insurance Benefits

New Democrats had hoped the Liberal government would restore access to Employment Insurance benefits for temporary foreign workers.  The committee heard from both workers and organizations pleading for the government to allow migrant workers to receive EI benefits, especially as they are required to pay premiums.  

“Although migrant farm workers contribute to employment insurance they are not entitled to EI benefits. This was something that they had before 2012, at least access to special benefits. Yet it is the same seasonal agricultural worker program that requires migrant farm workers to leave by mid-December each year invalidating the social assurance and disqualifying them for EI entitlements.” – Barbara Byers, Canadian Labour Congress

“Migrant workers contribute consistently to EI every week. However, we can't access any of these benefits. The one we can access has been revised downwards in such a manner that whatever we are getting is next to nothing.” – Gabriel Allahdua, Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada

“There has to be something in place so that when they get sick on the job here or get injured on the job here, they're tapped into regular health care immediately. Whether its compensation or something else, it's taken care of immediately. They pay into EI, and I know a lot of them do not get EI benefits. That needs to change.” –Marcia Barret

New Democrats recommend that the Government of Canada restore workers’ access to Employment Insurance entitlements, including parental, maternity and compassionate care benefits. 

Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program 

As the committee report illustrates, the number of approved temporary foreign workers has decreased from 163,035 in 2013 to 90,211 in 2015.  It is also important to note that in 2013, the Seasonal Agricultural Worker stream of the program only accounted for 28% of temporary foreign workers. In 2015, that had increased to 59% of temporary foreign workers. Despite the prominence of the program, the committee only had the opportunity to hear from a handful of actual seasonal agricultural workers.  

Seasonal agricultural workers are active in the economy and society of the communities in which they live.  Seasonal workforces result in seasonal economies which can make out-of-season times incredibly straining for smaller communities. Supporting opportunities for migrant workers to stay could lead to many positive benefits.  Allowing migrant workers to bring their families and have the opportunity to permanently settle could help to ease the seasonal economic highs and lows, and contribute to strengthening smaller communities. Francisco Mootoo testified to this very issue: 

“We have contributed a great deal to Canadian society and to our community, and we continue to do so. We settled in the regions and still live there, because we have become well integrated in the place we live.” – Fransisco Mootoo, Temporary Foreign Workers Association

New Democrats believe that all temporary foreign workers, including seasonal and low-skilled workers should have equal opportunity to access citizenship, safety, and healthcare and be protected from abuse and exploitation. We cannot ignore the voices of the silenced majority under the TFWP who take great risk in speaking out about the abuse they endure. We must honour their courage and act to end the exploitation they face.

Caregiver Program

The committee had very little time to investigate the complexities and experiences of workers under the Caregiver Program, leaving recommendations to reform the program entirely inadequate.

New Democrats call on the government to immediately remove the cap on permanent residency applications that was recently instituted by the previous Conservative Government.

It is not fair to tell caregivers they will have the opportunity to become permanent residents if they come here, work hard, and follow the rules, and then leave them at the mercy of what is essentially a lottery to get an application in under the annual cap. Instead of a cap on applications, the government should provide the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship with sufficient resources to process all applications quickly and fairly.

Family Reunification

The few migrant workers who were able to participate in the committee hearings repeatedly told the committee about the impact of long-term separation on themselves and their families:

“Permanent residency on arrival would also address other challenged faced by low-wage migrant workers including family separation.  Unlike high wage workers who arrive as permanent residents, low-wage workers cannot bring their loved ones with them and must endure years of separation, which can significantly affect their health and well-being” -Community Legal Assistance Society

 “You just can't imagine how difficult it is, not only for me, but particularly for women. They are raising your children here in Canada, and most of them are just seeing their children through Skype. It's so difficult, you know, that they cannot even touch their kids. It's very difficult. As a mother, I feel every emotion that they pour out every time they come to see me. It's very difficult.” – Pinky Paglingayen

“To have my papers, to bring my family, that is it.  My dream is to have my papers and my family – to arrange things for my family.  That’s it – to be with my family all the time and not be separated – Manuel, Migrant Worker Solidarity Network Manitoba

Ericson Santos De Leon shared with the committee that having his family with him in Canada would be a big asset not only for himself but for Canada too since his family is young and willing to share their knowledge and talents here in Canada. Dr. Ethel Tungohan also explained that pilot projects have shown the benefits of having family members of caregivers to accompany the worker. She explained that having spouses arrive with caregivers allows them to be a potential source of labour for the Canadian economy. 

New Democrats firmly agree that migrant workers should be allowed to have their immediate family accompany them while they work in Canada. We had hoped that through options for permanent residency that migrant workers would be able to bring their families, but the committee report neglects this issue. 

Impact on Canadian Workers

The committee had almost no opportunities to hear from Canadian workers how the TFWP has affected them. The committee also considered very little evidence regarding the impact of the program on the Canadian labour market. This is all the more shocking given the number of high profile stories in recent years about Canadians who were fired from their jobs and replaced with temporary foreign workers. There are also Canadian workers who have been bypassed for available job opportunities because employers prefer to hire migrant workers.

Experts have also noted that the program has the effect of driving down wages for Canadian workers. Part of the problem has been a failure on the part of the government to enforce its own rules regarding prevailing wages, allowing employers to hire temporary foreign workers at lower wages than Canadian workers.[1]

It is also troubling that the new Liberal government has loosened requirements and made it easier for certain employers to access temporary foreign workers. This is despite the fact that the Department of Employment of Social Development advised the Minister that employers in the industries affected were not doing enough to try to attract Canadians, such as raising wages and making jobs more appealing to Canadian workers.[2]

Many experts, including the Parliamentary Budget Officer, have also pointed out that there is little evidence of real labour shortages in Canada, in part because labour market information is so poor and lacks the kind of specificity needed to accurately identify labour shortages.

The government needs to improve its collection of labour market information, ensuring that the temporary foreign worker program is only being used to fill genuine labour shortages, and that the positions being filled are truly temporary and not permanent positions.

The government also needs to ensure that the necessary tools are in place to fill permanent positions with Canadians or with immigrants who are able to come as permanent residents with all the rights and protections that entails. This means investing in training for Canadians, easing barriers to labour mobility (such as providing tax credits for Canadians who move to other provinces for work), providing education and supports for communities who are traditionally underemployed (such as Indigenous persons and persons living with disabilities), and enforcing transition plans for employers who are currently filling permanent positions with temporary foreign workers. 

International Mobility Program and the Trans-Pacific Partnership

The previous Conservative government split the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in two – the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), which covers streams requiring a Labour Market Impact Assessment, and the International Mobility Program (IMP), in which no assessment of the impact on the Canadian labour market is required.

The IMP is actually much larger than the TFWP (nearly twice the size in 2014), yet the committee review paid no attention to the IMP, the role that the IMP plays in the Canadian economy, and the impact that it has on workers. This is very disappointing.

This is of particular concern since the Liberal government is looking to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. In addition to harming our economy, this agreement will expand access to the IMP, allowing employers to bring in foreign workers without any assessment of the impact on the Canadian labour market, even if Canadian workers are available to do the job. This has led some to describe the TPP as “the temporary foreign worker program on steroids.”[3]

New Democrats reiterate our condemnation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The government should not ratify this agreement which will harm our economy and undermine any attempts to ensure Canadians get the first opportunity to apply for available jobs, while perpetuating opportunities for the abuse and exploitation of migrant workers.