“Unacceptable,” “flagrant injustice,” “serious case,” “trapped in bureaucracy”: MPs in Quebec and Ottawa are not mincing their words to describe the fate of a temporary foreign worker abused by his boss. They are calling on the federal government to take action, both to regularize his immigration status and to crack down on his employer.
On January 21, 2022, Maxime Beaudry punched a worker under his authority between 5 and 10 times, including when the worker was lying unconscious on the ground. The agricultural producer was found guilty earlier in September of assault causing bodily harm and sentenced to 175 hours of community service.
In an article published Wednesday in The DutyJosué recounts everything that went wrong for him after this physical assault. He asked us not to identify him for fear of being deported. He was in his second year picking blueberries, apples and zucchini at Vergers de la montée Covey Hill, where he also helped produce maple syrup. That evening, he was treated at the hospital, including to have his cheek stitched, but he was unable to have the surgery needed to set his broken nose. He left his employer the next day, but in the process lost his job and his status.
The man from Guatemala is now asking the federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, to use his discretionary power to restore his status. Miller had not responded to our questions at the time of writing. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) “will make a decision” on this request, a public relations officer for the federal department had indicated earlier, without giving a timeline.
An “unacceptable” situation
In a press scrum shortly after our publications, Quebec Minister of Labour Jean Boulet argued that the reported facts could lead to exclusion from the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, a sanction that falls under federal jurisdiction: “If I rely on what is reported in the media, clearly, it should lead to a conclusion of this nature,” he said earlier this week.
Maxime Beaudry is not on the federal government’s list of non-compliant employers and can continue to hire this foreign workforce. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has not sanctioned him and refuses to confirm whether an investigation has taken place or is still underway.
“It’s unfortunate, because this worker experienced a situation that is completely unacceptable and he is caught up in the bureaucratic maze,” Minister Boulet also indicated. He also indicated that he is aware that a complaint of psychological harassment with the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) is still progressing more than two and a half years after the assault.
“It is unacceptable that these workers who feed Quebec find themselves abandoned in this way,” declared André Morin, the official opposition’s immigration critic. The Liberal MP spoke of a “flagrant injustice” and of a worker “trapped in bureaucracy.” He criticizes the government for being “disorganized.”
Pressure on Ottawa
Solidarity MP Guillaume Cliche-Rivard has already sent a letter to Minister Miller asking him to intervene. Given the ongoing legal proceedings and the worker’s poor health, he believes it is justified to resort to an exceptional measure to stabilize his situation. “It is the only humane and responsible thing to do,” he said.
For him, Josué is “another unfortunate example” that permits for vulnerable workers constitute a “too timid measure”: “This is further proof that we must review the entire closed work permit system,” believes Mr. Cliche-Rivard.
This is also what the co-spokesperson for the Parti Québécois on immigration, Stéphane Handfield, argued: “This argues for the abolition of the closed work permit linked to a single employer!” Following Maxime Beaudry’s guilty verdict, he added that such an employer should no longer be able to use temporary foreign workers.
Another MP was also already aware of Josué’s difficulties, this time in Ottawa. New Democrat Alexandre Boulerice says he has already informed the members of Marc Miller’s cabinet of the situation: “We have only received an acknowledgement of receipt for the moment.” This “serious case” deserves more attention from the powers that be, he argues: a status to obtain justice and health care, “frankly, it’s the bare minimum.”
With Isabelle Porter