Labour trafficking remains an issue in Canada

Every year Canada accepts more than 750,000 people from abroad on work permits, the majority of whom work in the agricultural sector.

“This is really the lifeblood behind our local agricultural industry,” said Julia Drydyk, executive director of the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking (CEHT), on The Sam Laprade Show. “These are the folks picking the fruit and making it so that we can actually buy local in our grocery stores.”

The vast majority of migrant workers come to Canada legally with a temporary foreign worker permit. However, its once they are here that the exploitation can begin.

Often these temporary workers are housed in substandard living quarters posing health risks, are forced to work more than they are paid for, have pay held back or reduced, and have their passports and other documents confiscated by their employer.

“One of the issues is that migrant workers coming in through temporary foreign work permits are tied to one employer,” said Drydyk. “That means if they leave that employer, they lose their status and they might have to go home.

This system allows abuses to go unreported as migrants fear being sent home without wages if they lose their employment. 

A recent study from the CEHT found workers had little to no knowledge of their right before or after coming to work in Canada. Only 14 per cent of migrant workers surveyed had received information on their rights in their primary language, nearly 40 per cent only received that information in English and 60 per cent received no information at all.

Drydyk also points to a lack of training and awareness to recognize trafficking among those conducting labour inspections. 

“We need to make sure we also have the right firewalls in place so that we're giving them access to support their human rights before necessarily calling in CBSA or looking at deportation measures,” said Dyrdyk.

Recent measures introduced federally and provincially haven't curtailed these challenges, according to the CEHT report, and the pandemic revealed further issues such as access to adequate health care.

CEHT hopes all levels of government will consider the reports recommendations, including access to information on their rights, establish open work permits regardless of nationality or occupation, and provide a pathway to citizenship for low-wage workers in all sectors.

Listen to the full interview with Julia Drydyk on The Sam Laprade Show below.