Foreign worker aid fails to address 'fundamental problem': Institute

A $59-million package announced by the federal government to improve housing and working conditions for migrant workers on Canadian farms in the face of COVID-19 outbreaks does not address the underlying source of the problem, says a representative from P.E.I.'s Cooper Institute.

The institute was one of a number of groups across Canada that issued a joint news release on the subject Wednesday.

"They're not going to really solve the fundamental problem, which is the precarious status that workers are in," said Ann Wheatley, an organizer with Cooper Institute. "They're in a very skewed relationship."

Temporary foreign workers are largely at the mercy of their employers, said Wheatley.

Particularly for farm workers, employment is almost always tied to a single boss or company, she said. If that employer fires them, they are very likely to be sent back to their home countries, and they rely on their jobs in Canada to feed their families.

Details of federal aid

The package from the federal government was unveiled July 31, with a news release citing "COVID-19 outbreaks on a number of Canadian farms that have significantly impacted the health and safety of workers."

The $58.6 million includes:

• $6 million for "direct outreach to workers delivered through migrant worker support organizations";
• $16.2 million to beef up employer inspections regimes and responses to allegations of mistreatment;  
• $35 million to fund 50 per cent of the cost when employers improve living quarters or safety measures for temporary foreign workers.

But Wheatley says the systems in place to ensure adequate housing and working conditions are largely complaint-based, and the workers' position is too vulnerable for them to complain.

Permanent status urged

The solution? Give the workers permanent immigrant status, she said. 

"They would be able to speak up when their rights are infringed upon," said Wheatley.

"We're putting faith in a system that doesn't work for workers, and we're putting the resources in the hands of people who already hold a tremendous amount of power — too much power — over those workers."

Migrant Rights Network, Sanctuary Health of British Columbia, the Migrant Workers Alliance of Ontario, No One is Illegal - Halifax/K'jipuktuk, and Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrants in Quebec also signed Wednesday's news release.

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