UN envoy doubles down on criticism that Canada’s foreign worker program is a ‘breeding ground’ for slavery: The Toronto Star
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The UN’s special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoya Obokata, says changing rules to Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program to allow a pathway to permanent residency would mitigate opportunities for exploitation and abuse by employers.
“This would also reflect the fact that, despite their nominally temporary nature, the demand for labour met by the migration programs is permanent, as evinced by the growing numbers of people entering Canada through these programs,” he wrote in a final report.
Toronto Star reporter Ghada Alsharif writes that "Obokata pointed out that the government’s recent efforts to improve protections for migrant workers, including sector-specific and open work permits, fall short of what’s needed."
Demand for workers has skyrocketed over the past five years, with ESDC data showing employers were approved to hire 239,646 temporary foreign workers in 2023 — more than double the 108,988 TFW positions in 2018.
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault introduced changes to the program last week to crack down on the misuse of the program.
