A New Hamburg farmer is urging the federal government to grant migrant workers greater freedom to switch employers after a United Nations official called Canadian migrant programs “a breeding ground for contemporary slavery.”
Earlier this month, Tomoyo Obokata, a United Nations special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, ended a two-week visit to Canada to assess the country’s efforts to address unfair labor, such as work involving children, sexual exploitation, or force. Obokata described the agriculture and low-wage streams of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program as “a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery” in a report issued at the end of his visit.
Obokata heard from migrant workers who described excessive working hours, physically dangerous tasks, low wages, no overtime pay, and being denied access to health care. Some endured overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions, a lack of privacy, and a lack of gender-sensitive housing arrangements.
While there are systems in place for workers to make complaints, many workers won’t complain for fear of losing their jobs or being deported, Obokata said. The criticisms mirror those in a 2020 report by the Migrant Worker Alliance for Change, which detailed abuses against workers during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Read more at therecord.com