“Canada: Anchor the fight against contemporary forms of slavery in human rights, a UN expert urges”

Canada’s temporary foreign worker programmes are a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery, a UN expert said today, urging the country to do more to protect workers and offer a clear pathway to permanent residency for all migrants.

“I am deeply disturbed by the accounts of exploitation and abuse shared with me by migrant workers,” said Tomoya Obokata, UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, in a statement at the end of a 14-day visit to the country.

“Employer-specific work permit regimes, including certain Temporary Foreign Worker Programmes, make migrant workers vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery, as they cannot report abuses without fear of deportation,” Obokata said.

“So-called ‘temporary’ foreign workers address a permanent need on the labour market and have valuable skills that are critical to the Canadian economy,” the Special Rapporteur said.

He urged Canadian authorities to regularise the status of foreign migrant workers, and end the closed work permit system…

…communities most vulnerable to modern enslavement and exploitation were those already subject to structural discrimination and violence…

…there was a lack of trauma-informed personnel and human rights-based approaches in law enforcement and the court system…

…Obokata also observed insufficient consultation of survivors in policymaking, and inadequate protections and remedy for victims and survivors…