Tens of thousands of migrant workers travel every year to Canada in the hope of providing a better life for their families. They are promised labor opportunities and working conditions that very often they cannot enjoy in their countries of origin. Yet, many find a different reality upon arrival: they are made to work long hours without rest, are underpaid, suffer physical and psychological abuse, and are often subjected to stereotypes and assumptions about their skills, behaviors or identities. Their visas are tied to one employer, making it difficult for them to leave their job and change employers, or report abuses and access effective remedies.
This report investigates the human rights impact of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), a temporary migration scheme that allows employers to hire migrant workers, primarily in low-pay occupations. Amnesty International’s research finds that Canada’s migration policy has designed, regulated and implemented the TFWP in such a way as to inherently increase racialized workers’ risk of labor exploitation and other abuses, creating discriminatory outcomes and violating its international human rights obligations.