Across Canada, many companies who suffer from work shortages turn to hiring foreign workers as a means to address their labour needs. To do that, these companies rely on the federal government’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which is overseen by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada. These departments manage the process of hiring temporary workers and decide if a particular candidate is eligible for a work permit.
A foreign worker is a foreign individual who is not a Canadian citizen a permanent resident who is granted permission by the government to work in Canada in jobs that are facing labour shortages that cannot be filled by Canadians. This is an immigration program that originally targeted for live-in caregivers and agricultural workers, but over has greatly expanded over time to include a wide variety of high-skilled and low-skilled jobs.
Temporary Foreign Workers Face Vulnerability and Abuse
Generally speaking, Canadian and Ontario employment law provides strong protections for workers, including human rights law, health and safety law and labour standards. This means that, among other things, every worker in Canada is entitled to a safe and healthy work environment where they are not subjected to discrimination and enjoy basic employment rights, including the right to receive notice of termination and a severance package.
In general, temporary foreign workers are only permitted to work in Canada on an employer-specific work permit for a specific period of time. In order to change jobs, the foreign worker must apply for and obtain a new work permit. This can often be a time-consuming, costly, and quite challenging process given they are not Canadian citizens, but when those foreign workers face workplace abuse and harassment, it can be even more gruelling and places them in a highly vulnerable position.
As an employment lawyer, I have often represented employees on employer-specific work permits who have experienced abuse, or who are at risk of abuse, while working for an employer in Ontario. In many of these cases, I have often assisted foreign employees facing a wrongful dismissal by obtaining a fair severance package and, in some cases, assisted them in obtaining an open work permit for vulnerable workers.
For example, some of the employees I have assisted involved in temporary migrant worker abuse caused by their employer have included:
- an employee who was repeatedly harassed by co-workers, managers and the company’s owner, including by unwanted physical or verbal behaviour that is offending or humiliating
- during the COVID-19 pandemic, a company forcing or pressuring its migrant workers to attend the office despite the Ontario government’s lockdown, while their non-migrant co-workers were allowed to work remotely from home
- a migrant worker who was threatened and intimidated by their employer for requesting a salary increase or complaining about their work conditions
- an employer who forced or pressured the migrant worker to perform work that violates the conditions of the work permit, including performing different job duties or working for a different employer), despite knowing this jeopardizes the migrant’s status in Canada
- an employer exposing a migrant worker to a situation where their co-workers are being abused by their employer, putting them at risk of experiencing an abusive situation
What is Workplace Harassment and Abuse?
Any behaviour that scares, controls or isolates you could be abuse. Abuse can be physical, sexual, financial or mental. Examples of abuse that are often reported to the government by temporary foreign workers:
– physical abuse – such as assault, living conditions in employer-provided accommodations that are unsafe or unsanitary or pose a risk to the worker’s health or forcing or pressuring an employee to work under conditions that are unsafe or pose a risk to their health
– sexual abuse – such as sexual contact without consent, forcing or manipulating a worker into having sex or performing sexual acts or forcing a worker to perform unsafe or degrading sexual acts, unwanted sexual comments
– psychological abuse – such as insulting, intimidating, humiliating, harassing, threatening (including with respect to immigration status or deportation), name-calling, yelling at, blaming, shaming, ridiculing, disrespecting or criticizing a worker
– financial abuse – such as failing to pay wages owed to the worker (other than honest errors that have been rectified by the employer), exploiting a worker’s financial resources, closely monitoring how a worker spends money
When an Employee is Eligible for a Vulnerable Worker Permit
- to provide migrant workers who are experiencing abuse, or who are at risk of abuse, with a distinct means to leave their employer
- This is done by opening the possibility of obtaining a work authorization for other employers.
- to mitigate the risk of migrant workers in Canada who are leaving their job and working irregularly (that is, without authorization) as a result of abusive situations
- to facilitate the participation of migrant workers who are experiencing abuse, or who are at risk of abuse, in any relevant inspection of their former employer, recruiter or both
- to help migrant workers in assisting authorities, if required (noting that this is not required for the issuance of the open work permit), by reducing the perceived risk and fear of work permit revocation and removal from Canada
When an Employee is Eligible for a Vulnerable Worker Permit
A temporary foreign worker may be eligible for a vulnerable worker work permit if:
- The temporary foreign is inside Canada
- The temporary foreign worker holds an employer-specific work permit (which states the employer’s name on it and has not expired (or you are working on implied status because you have already applied a work permit extend it before it expired)
- There are reasonable grounds to believe the temporary foreign worker is experiencing abuse in their job, or are at risk of experiencing abuse
As part of the application for a vulnerable work permit, foreign workers must do both of the following:
- apply directly to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for an open work permit for vulnerable workers by filling out an application online
- as part of the application, include letter explains in detail the workplace abuse or risk of abuse and any other supporting evidence of the abuse if applicable (see examples above).
If you are a foreign worker who needs to communicate with IRCC for more information on obtaining an open work permit for vulnerable workers, you should contact Client Support Centre (CSC)
Contact Employment Lawyer Today
Whether you are an employer or an employee who needs assistance or advice on workplace issues or disputes, our experienced employment lawyer at Bune Law can help. For instance, if you are a foreign worker in an abusive workplace situation, you can apply for an open work permit for vulnerable workers, call us by phone 647-822-5492 or fill out the contact form to the side to get immediate legal help and advice. We would be happy to assist in your employment law matter as quickly as possible.
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