Restrictions on the temporary foreign worker program came into effect this Thursday. Faced with the consequences deemed “deleterious” of this new policy, 52 organizations signed a joint open letter to encourage Ottawa to consider other solutions.
Starting Thursday, employers can only hire 10% of their total workforce under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), compared to 20% in most industries as was previously the case. A complete hiring freeze also applies in some cities for low-wage positions. This step backwards is causing organizations that work with these immigrants to jump.
The hundreds of thousands of temporary workers present in the country do not have a “collective voice”, these organizations plead in unison.
Thus, “while they are the first victims, migrants therefore find themselves singled out, this time as “job thieves” after “housing thieves” and “daycare thieves”, to hide the inconsistency and discriminatory policy neglect. »
These new measures form a “hypocritical political choice”, according to them, “because they are not intended to discourage those among employers who resort to temporary work with all their might, then throw it away when they no longer need it “. The changes made to the PTET will therefore push many of these workers underground and into a life of undocumented immigrants, we insist.
Among these 52 organizations and rights defense groups, we find various union organizations such as the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), the Centrale des syndicatsdemocratiques (CSD) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The League of Rights and Freedoms, the Fédération des femmes du Québec, as well as various student associations are also part of the group.
Possible solutions
Protecting these temporary workers and guaranteeing their long-term place in the country would also be in the interests of the regions. This is what Dominic Lemieux, Quebec director of the Steelworkers union, insists on.
“The Quebec government must urgently open the doors to permanent immigration to temporary foreign workers present in the territory. When labor needs are permanent, we must allow workers who wish to make their lives here, as permanent residents and ultimately as citizens, so that they can fully exercise their rights and contribute to vitality. of our regions,” he pleads in the letter.
With the other co-signatories of the letter, he demands that the Trudeau government suspend its restrictions “for workers already present in the territory and allow them to access permanent residence without delay.”
A reform to “focus” the immigration system “on human rights” is a priority, finally demand the 52 organizations. The current system is, according to them, “at the root of systemic discrimination”.
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.