G21-P045 Equitable Treatment for Temporary Foreign Workers

Submitter Name

Eric Shragge

Ratification Vote Results: Adopted

Proposal

For Temporary Foreign Workers:

1. An end to closed work permits;

2. Unhindered access to all benefits;

3. Co-responsibility of employers and recruitment agencies for fraudulent and excessive recruitment fees;

4. Full and impartial enforcement of labour laws;

5. A path to permanent residency guaranteed upon arrival.

Objective

The objective of this proposal is to guarantee that Temporary Foreign Workers have decent housing and working conditions, have a right to change employers and have an explicit and fair pathway to permanent residency.

Benefit

This policy will greatly benefit Temporary Foreign Workers, and indirectly provide employers with a stable work force. It will provide the pathway for Canada and its employers to respect the basic tenets of fair treatment and conformity with the civil rights of foreign workers.

Supporting Comments from Submitter

The submitter is President of the Board of Directors of the Immigrant Workers Centre and the organization has worked with a variety of TFWs and other organisations.

The distribution of temporary foreign workers across industries in Canada.

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2020001/article/00028-eng.htm

Temporary foreign workers responsible for much of our food production are vulnerable. Changing immigration could improve our safety and theirs.

https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/october-2020/more-agricultural-workers-should-become-permanent-residents/

https://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/pandemic-in-the-fields-the-harsh-realities-temporary-foreign-workers-face-in-canada-1.5120806

Green Value(s)

Sustainability, Social Justice, Respect for Diversity.

Relation to Existing Policy

Add to current GPC policy.