Temporary foreign workers face labour trafficking, abuse in Canada, says report

2024 Student Journalism Conference

Applications are now open for The Democracy Fund's third annual Student Journalism Conference. This is a one-of-a-kind, all-expenses-paid opportunity for young aspiring journalists in Canada!

TDF Student Journalism Conference 2024

E-transfer (Canada):
[email protected] - password RebelNews if required

Cheques made out to Rebel News:
Rebel News Network Ltd.
PO Box 61056 Eglinton/Dufferin RO
Toronto, ON M6E 5B2

Crypto

Every year Canada accepts over 750,000 foreigners to work in agriculture on work permits.

"This is the lifeblood behind our local agricultural industry," said Julia Drydyk, executive director of the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking (CEHT). "These are the folks picking the fruit and making it so we can buy locally in our grocery stores."

While most workers come to Canada temporarily through legal channels, exploitation is commonplace once they get here.

Many receive substandard living quarters, and their employer confiscates their passports and other travel documents. Additionally, they work more than they are paid for and have pay held back or reduced.

"One of the issues is that migrant workers coming in through temporary foreign work permits are tied to one employer," said Drydyk. "That means if they leave that employer, they lose their status and might have to go home.

The CEHT executive director claims the system permits abuses to go unreported as temporary foreign workers fear being sent home without wages if they lose employment.

Rebel News journalist Alexa Lavoie was assaulted by a human smuggler while reporting on the illegal immigration that's happening at the Roxham Road border crossing.

FULL REPORT by @TheVoiceAlexa: https://t.co/8vfERLc9Ax pic.twitter.com/Lw7Xz7dLZY

— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) March 2, 2023

Police north of Toronto said earlier this month that they rescued 64 Mexican migrants exploited by an international labour trafficking ring, who lived in deplorable conditions that shook the officers first to arrive on the scene.

On February 8, police acting on search warrants in East Gwillimbury, Vaughan, Toronto, and Mississauga located dozens of workers who claimed promises of a better future lured them to Canada. 

Officers describe the scene as riddled with bug-infested rooms with dozens of mattresses on the floor. The exploited workers said they faced threats and sexual assault.

"These workers are coerced with promises of a better life, decent wages, quality housing and eventually documentation. These are almost always false promises," said York Regional Police Deputy Chief Alvaro Almeida.

One foreign worker described the squalid housing he and others endured and that it came from their wages.

Since the discovery, five people have been arrested, including two Canadian citizens and three Mexican nationals. They collectively face 44 charges, including human trafficking, materially benefiting from trafficking people and participating in a criminal organization.

Two others remain wanted.

Instead of quickly taking action to close the illegal entry point at Roxham Rd, which is seeing a surge in illegal immigration to Canada from the US, PM Trudeau insists renegotiating the Safe Third Country Agreement is the solution.https://t.co/UsP059FmOt pic.twitter.com/FlRUE99tnw

— Rebel News UK (@RebelNews_UK) February 24, 2023

A recent study from CEHT found that workers needed to gain more knowledge of their rights before or after working in Canada. 

Only 14% of workers surveyed received information on their rights in their primary language. Nearly 40% only received that information in English, and 60% received no information.

Drydyk cites a lack of training and awareness to recognize trafficking among those conducting labour inspections. 

"We need to make sure we also have the right firewalls in place so that we're giving them access to support their human rights before necessarily calling in CBSA or looking at deportation measures," said Dyrdyk.

The report claims that recent federal and provincial measures have yet to curb these challenges, while the pandemic revealed further issues, such as access to adequate healthcare.

CEHT hopes all governments will consider the report's recommendations, including access to information on their rights, establish open work permits regardless of nationality or occupation, and provide a pathway to citizenship for low-wage workers in all sectors.