Critics have long argued that the mobility restrictions of employer-specific or “closed” work permits, combined with high dependence on employers, can make temporary foreign workers vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. For all workers tied to a single employer, including workers entering Canada under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), the stakes of not fulfilling the conditions of a closed permit are often high, as leaving their job, even if under duress, can lead to deportation.

In recent years, Canadian employers have increasingly turned to, and relied on, the TFWP to fill labour shortages; the number of new permits issued under the program has more than doubled since 2020.[1] In 2023, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery visited Canada to form his impressions of the TFWP. In his preliminary conclusions, he characterized the Agricultural and Low-wage streams of Canada’s TFWP as “a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.” He argued that their closed work permits make these workers particularly vulnerable, notably because “they cannot change employers and may face deportation upon termination of their employment.”[2]

In November 2023, the Committee began its own study on closed work permits and temporary foreign workers. Among other topics, the study considered the underlying conditions of work and mobility issues, the important roles the TFWP plays for Canadian industries, the effectiveness of existing protections, and the Special Rapporteur’s End of Mission Statement. This report reflects the testimony of employers and industry representatives, workers’ representatives, and government officials, as well as a former temporary foreign worker. It also includes the testimony from the Special Rapporteur.

It is important to understand the context of the study, including the report and testimony from the UN Special Rapporteur. In his own words, Rapporteur Obokata testified to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration that:

In relation to the treatment of migrant workers, I expressed my serious concerns over the low-wage and agricultural streams of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

In this regard, I received first-hand information from a wide variety of stakeholders, including close to 100 migrant workers I met across Canada, with regard to appalling working conditions that include excessive working hours, physically dangerous tasks, low wages and no overtime pay, as well as sexual harassment, intimidation and violence at the hands of their employers. When workers try to negotiate their working conditions, many are reportedly threatened or even dismissed instantly.

In my view, the key factor increasing the vulnerabilities of migrant workers to exploitation in Canada is the closed nature of the program that ties workers to specific employers. This creates a dependency relationship between the employers and the workers in many cases, allowing the former to exercise strong control over the latter.[3]

This report is divided into four parts. First, it outlines the government’s use of closed work permits in the TFWP, the growth of the program since 2014, and recent critiques of its working conditions in the Special Rapporteur’s End of Mission Statement. Second, it examines the effectiveness of existing worker protections in the TFWP, including the pathways for employment mobility for which TFWs are eligible. Third, the report examines precisely how workers can be made vulnerable to abuse by way of closed work permits in the TFWP, as well as the risks and benefits of issuing open and sectoral permits instead. Finally, possible changes to the TFWP are proposed, such as improving access to permanent resident pathways.