Major Canada city pauses controversial worker program after accusations of promotion of slavery
Canada, has temporarily suspended the entry of new temporary foreign workers for low-wage jobs in the Montreal area. As a result, applications for jobs in the Montreal area paying less than $27.47 per hour will be paused for six months, starting September 3.
The decision will not apply to the construction, agriculture, food processing, education and social services sectors.
This comes after the country's temporary foreign worker program was described as a 'breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery' in a report by UN investigator Tomoya Obokata, according to an article in Canada's leading daily, the Globe and Mail.
The final report cemented Prof. Obokata’s initial impressions, which he first expressed last year after visiting Ottawa, Moncton, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver on a fact-finding tour, Globe and Mail reported.
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«The special rapporteur retains the view that the temporary foreign worker program serves as a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery, as it institutionalizes asymmetries of power that favour employers and prevent workers from exercising their rights,” states the final report, which is dated July 22 and was recently posted online.
Canada’s temporary foreign worker program promotes contemporary forms of slavery: UN investigator
Federal programs that allow Canadian companies to bring in foreign labour on a temporary basis have existed in various forms for decades, with numerous waves of reforms
