Legal Battle Begins: Montreal-Based Group Challenges Closed Work Permits for Foreign Workers in Canada

I wrote two posts on September 19, 2023, about Jamaicans' experiences with the Canadian farm labor program. Readers who weren't familiar with the situation as it was appreciated the information and gave it a favorable response. Further advancement has occurred since that time.

In a significant move, a Montreal-based workers' rights group has taken legal action by filing an application for a class-action lawsuit in Quebec Superior Court. Their objective is to challenge and ultimately ban closed work permits, which restrict foreign workers to a specific employer, and they argue that these permits contravene the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers (DTMF) is spearheading this legal battle.

Closed work permits, as the name suggests, bind foreign workers to a particular employer, leaving them in a vulnerable position. The DTMF contends that this arrangement often results in exploitation and mistreatment of foreign workers who fear reprisals if they report abuse suffered.

Support for the DTMF's initiative comes from two prominent labor unions, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) and the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ). The unions are standing in solidarity with the association in their quest to challenge the legality of these permits.

CSN vice-president Katia Lelièvre underscored the predicament faced by immigrant workers, many of whom hold temporary status, and the fears they grapple with. She emphasized that the threat of being sent back to their home countries often hangs over them, making them hesitant to report workplace abuses. Lelièvre noted that despite having rights on paper, these workers continue to endure hazardous conditions and face intimidation from employers.

These developments echo the concerns raised by Tomoya Obokata, the UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, following his two-week visit to Canada in September. Obokata pointed out that the closed work permit system makes foreign workers vulnerable to exploitation since they cannot report abuses without the fear of deportation.

The heart of the matter lies in the workers' inability to choose their employer freely, a freedom that Quebecers enjoy without having to prove workplace vulnerability. The application for a class-action lawsuit not only seeks to declare these closed work permits unconstitutional but also calls for compensation for workers who have suffered harm due to these permits' constraints.

This legal challenge addresses the immigration regulations that allow the federal government to bind workers to specific employers, effectively restricting their rights to change employers. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare these provisions unconstitutional, thereby affording more freedom to migrant workers.

One critical consequence of closed work permits is that when workers are terminated, they lose their legal status in Canada and must secure another employer with authorization by Employment and Social Development Canada to hire foreign workers. This process is uncertain and leaves workers in a precarious position.

Furthermore, closed work permits limit workers' movement and other rights essential for earning a living. Critics argue that these workers are treated as quasi-property by their employers, creating an unequal power dynamic that fosters exploitation, racial harassment, and inhumane working conditions.

The UN special rapporteur's characterization of Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program as a breeding ground for slavery underscores the urgent need for reforms in the treatment of migrant workers. While the claim that closed work permits are unconstitutional will be debated in court, it is undeniable that the rights and dignity of migrant workers must be protected and upheld in Canada.