Canada beefs up protections for temporary foreign workers, abuses reported after tip line

Last updated on July 30, 2021

Ottawa is raising the level of protection to temporary foreign workers after receiving hundreds of reports of abuse earlier this year to employees with a government tip line.

"The Canadian government takes the safety and dignity of foreign workers very seriously," Immigration Minister Marco Mendocino said in a statement.

“Everyone deserves a work environment where they are safe and their rights are respected. These amendments will help us further improve the safety of workers and strengthen our ability to ensure that employers both follow the governing rules Temporary Foreign Worker Program.”

In mid-March this year, Service Canada introduced live agent support for its already existing tip line, to help temporary foreign workers report abuse, provide services in English, French, Spanish and more than 200 other languages. can get help.

Before live agents arrived, callers could only leave a voicemail message in English or French.

Now, however, callers who reach out for help via the tip line during hours of operation and do not speak English or French can speak to a live Service Canada agent and a qualified interpreter.

Tip Line has interpreters for over 200 languages

The interpreter remains on call to provide real-time, accurate interpretation in the language of the caller's choice.

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Better service results for temporary foreign workers raising awareness of the challenges they face.

This week, Ottawa decided to tackle those challenges with 14 regulatory amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Temporary Foreign Workers).

As part of the changes, Canada is improving protections for temporary foreign workers, requiring employers to provide these workers with:

• information about their rights in Canada;
• fair access to health services, and;
• Health insurance when needed.
  

Employers are also being prohibited from retaliating against workers who come forward with complaints or levy recruitment fees from workers. Employers will also be held responsible for the actions of employers who provide them temporary foreign workers.

Canada is going tough with employers by adding muscle to oversight

Ottawa is also cracking down on employers by increasing their inspections and allowing those who perform these inspections to obtain documents from third parties such as banks and payroll companies that provide services to these employers.

Authorities assessing new employers' applications for temporary foreign workers are also being empowered to withhold labor market impact assessments if they suspect something is amiss.

"The health and safety of temporary foreign workers remains a major priority for the Canadian government," said Employment Minister Carla Qualtro.

“While we have made progress, gaps continue. We know that temporary foreign workers need to be better informed about their rights, and better health and safety protections. Workers also need to be protected from retaliation if they complain. Come forward, and there is a need to stop bad actors from participating in the programed.”

Canada welcomes 60,000 foreign agricultural workers every year. They make up about 60 percent of all workers coming into the country under the TFWP.

So far this year, Canada has welcomed more than 41,000 such workers despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) is the stream most commonly used by agricultural producers. In 2019, about 30,500 work permits were issued under the SAWP, of which 9,100, nearly a third, came from the participating Caribbean countries. The remaining 70 percent were from Mexico.

They go to work on farms in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.