This is the last in a three-part series about a group of temporary foreign workers with a Prince Edward Island farm company.
Stories of trouble at a farming company on P.E.I. are an indication Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program has been needing change, says federal Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser.
CBC News has been told at least 22 temporary foreign workers from a single farming company have been granted open work permits, and has spoken to two of them directly. The open work permit program was initiated in 2019 to allow workers to leave their sponsoring employer if they are in an abusive situation.
Fraser said employers using the program must be held to account if they are not behaving properly.
“If that employer is not treating the employee with dignity and respect, we absolutely need to make sure that that employee has access to work for other employers,” he said.
Service Canada conducts inspections of workplaces that employ temporary foreign workers, including farms, but no P.E.I. farm has ever failed inspection. (CBC)
“We cannot create a situation that allows employers, with impunity, to have their workers become destitute while they’re on the payroll of a particular employer.”
The granting of open work permits for people sponsored to work at the Prince Edward Island farming company goes back to 2020, according to advocates who have assisted workers there, but there is no indication the company has suffered any repercussions from having so many workers granted permission to leave.
Service Canada publishes a list of workplaces that have failed inspections. The last failed inspection on P.E.I., at a veterinary pharmaceutical manufacturer, was listed in 2018.
Allegations of serious infractions are investigated by Canada Border Services Agency, or CBSA.
Canada Border Services Agency has the power to conduct criminal investigations in some circumstances. (CBC)
In an email to CBC News, CBSA said it is not the agency’s practice to confirm or deny details of ongoing investigations.
“What I can tell you is that, depending on the evidence available and other factors including public interest, CBSA may conduct criminal investigations when employers and/or organizers are found to have wilfully circumvented the [Immigration and Refugee Protection Act],” the email said.
“Examples of such offences may include unlawful employment of foreign nationals or counselling misrepresentation.”
Enforcement changes
Fraser acknowledged there are problems with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, but he said the government is working to address them.
In a report in December, focused on the enforcement of pandemic protocols for temporary foreign workers, Auditor General Karen Hogan found serious shortcomings in the inspection regime for companies making use of the program. The government’s response, Fraser said, is to strengthen workplace inspections for all facets of the program.
That’s being done “not just to speed up the process, but to make sure it happens with a lot more consistency,” he said.
The government has responded to concerns raised by Auditor General Karen Hogan, says Sean Fraser. (CBC)
Changes in enforcement include improved training and guidance for inspectors. An escalation process has also been created to ensure action will be taken within 48 hours in cases where the health and safety of workers might be at risk.
However, there are no current plans for surprise inspections of workplaces, Fraser said.
Workers released quickly, consequences take time
Advocates for the rights of temporary foreign workers are concerned that companies currently receive advance notice of most inspections, and can thus set themselves up to pass.
Fraser said the system is set up to get workers out of problem situations quickly, but it takes longer to arrange inspections and levy any sanctions as a result of what is found on the work site.
“There would be a lag between getting the worker into a situation where they can support themselves and before there will be a proper investigation, enforcement mechanism against the employer,” said Fraser.
In contrast, open work permit decisions are made quickly, often within a week, he noted.
Permanent gaps, temporary workers
While specific changes are being made, a more broad-based approach to reform is also required, said Fraser.
That includes changes when it comes to recruiting foreign employees, he said.
Over time, it’s become a program to fill permanent gaps in the labour force with temporary workers. I think we can do better.– Sean Fraser
“The Temporary Foreign Workers Program, at its inception, was designed to bring workers in to fill temporary gaps in the labour force. Over time, it’s become a program to fill permanent gaps in the labour force with temporary workers,” he said.
“I think we can do better.”
In June, Fraser announced his department was developing new pathways to permanent residency for people in Canada under temporary permits. The announcement of a new program is expected as early as next month.
Eliza MacLauchlan of the Cooper Institute, who helped many of the temporary foreign workers disentangle themselves from the P.E.I. farming company, agrees fundamental change is needed.
But she doesn’t think improved enforcement will solve a problem at the heart of the temporary foreign worker program: the tying of workers to one particular employer.
Tying workers to a single employer makes them vulnerable, says Eliza MacLauchlan of the Cooper Institute. (Rick Gibbs/CBC)
“We are dealing with folks that are very isolated and … quite dependent on their employer. They are in rural areas,” said MacLauchlan.
“Sometimes their only contact on the Island is with the employer that they are working for.”
Program expensive for employers
That particular aspect of the program is difficult to change, said Fraser, because it is at the heart of how it works.
Employers face a significant investment of time and money to bring in temporary foreign workers, including completing a labour market impact assessment (LMIA), paying a fee for that process, and incurring the expense of recruiting workers and bringing them to Canada.
The workers must also be provided with accommodation at minimal cost.
Under the terms of the federal program, employers must pay the current local wage to foreign workers recruited to come to Canada, and arrange for transportation and accommodation. (CBC News)
“When an employer goes through that process, they want to have some certainty that they’re going to have access to the worker at the end of the day, so they don’t incur great cost and expend a lot of energy to bring a worker here, who crosses the street and works for a competing business,” said Fraser.
‘A complete answer’
That is not to say, however, that change is not possible.
Because temporary workers are now filling permanent labour market gaps, Fraser said now is a good time to explore new pathways to permanent residency.
There’s no shortage of different ways that we can get people here.— Sean Fraser
“When they have the ability to pursue permanent residency, that is a complete answer for them to be able to work for different employers,” said Fraser.
He is also interested in finding new ways to bring temporary foreign workers in, beyond employer sponsorship. These could include allowing family members of current temporary foreign workers to come to Canada, or expanding the ability of international students to work.
“There’s no shortage of different ways that we can get people here and potentially have the opportunity [for them] to work for different employers,” said Fraser.
“I think that the time is probably right now to both lessen the burden on employers, but also create more freedom for employees to work.”
Demographic changes including an aging Canadian population mean labour shortages are expected to continue. In response, Fraser said the federal government will need to get creative about bringing in new workers from abroad.
New starts for Thi and Van
Meanwhile, the two workers CBC News spoke to this summer have since found new employment, thanks to the open work permit process.
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The workers spoke on the condition they not be named. They fear retribution against their families in Vietnam from the Vietnamese agent who arranged for them to come to Canada, and don’t want the farm company’s other workers to face retaliation. (CBC News conducted the interviews in Vietnamese, and translated what they said to provide the quotes below.)
The employees said that for months, they were left to fend for themselves without the work shifts, pay and lodgings that the temporary foreign worker program requires an employer to provide.
Two temporary foreign workers who spoke to CBC News about problems with their employer ended up leaving P.E.I. after receiving open work permits. (Jane Robertson/CBC)
One of the workers, who we will call Van, left P.E.I. after getting his open work permit. He works for a restaurant.
“Life is better now,” he said. “I left everything behind on P.E.I., and now I’m starting from scratch, trying to collect work hours.”
The other worker, who we will call Thi, also left P.E.I. after getting permission to do so at the end of April. She is now working as a housekeeper.
“Life is good for now. I finally have income and can pay rent now,” she said. “The work is tough. Every day I have to clean out about 15 rooms, but at least I’m getting paid.”
Both are hoping to apply for permanent residency in the future, but feel they wasted months on P.E.I. while waiting to start collecting the hours of work they need to start that process.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
