UN report says permanent resident status for migrants is solution to exploitation/slavery-like conditions in Canada

The UN Special Rapporteur echoed the migrant justice movement’s demand for Status for All, saying “clear status for all migrant workers would provide them with a secure footing on which to enjoy the full spectrum of their human rights, while continuing to contribute to Canadian society.”

Regarding the government’s current and proposed policy measures, the UN rapporteur:

• Criticized “the recent policy shift to reduce the number of temporary residents [which] will not address the challenges faced by those who continue to enter through the same programme”;
• Recommended that Canada “regularize workers who have lost status” - a promise made by PM Trudeau in December 2021, on which Immigration Minister Marc Miller has recently begun to backtrack in response to rising xenophobia;
• Rejected sectoral-specific work permits, insisting that “shifting from employer-specific to sector-specific work permits is, on its own, unlikely to significantly improve conditions for workers”;
• Concluded that the Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers “does not provide an effective solution” to the abuse workers face.

“The UN Report calls for permanent resident status for all migrants, criticizing the government’s piecemeal attempts to address the exploitation built into the immigration system and its focus on numbers and caps rather than rights in the face of rising anti-immigrant sentiment. The question now is: will Prime Minister Trudeau continue to bow to xenophobia and racism, or ensure rights and dignity for racialized workers who have been made exploitable because they have been denied permanent resident status?” said Syed Hussan, executive director, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.

The UN Rapporteur visited Canada on a country mission in August 2023 and met with migrants, including 40 members of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. In his End of Mission press conference in September 2023, Professor Obokata said that he was “disturbed” that “certain categories of migrant workers are made vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery in Canada by the policies that regulate their immigration status, employment, and housing in Canada,” and that he was “particularly concerned that this workforce is disproportionately racialized, attesting to deep-rooted racism and xenophobia entrenched in Canada’s immigration system”.

Background:

Visit to Canada - Final Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Tomoya Obokata, August 2024: 

End of mission statement by UN Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, September 6, 2023

Migrant Workers Alliance for Change: Migrant Workers Alliance for Change is a migrant-led, membership based organization of farmworkers, fishery workers, care workers, undocumented people and current and former international students uniting for immigration and labour justice.