Abuses show need for fundamental change to foreign worker program: advocates

Miguel Gómez, a carpenter from Mexico who was hired for a construction job in B.C., alleges he was underpaid and lived with his family in a shipping container on his employer's property for several weeks

Published Sep 16, 2024  •  Last updated 0 minutes ago  •  14 minute read

Laura Cristina Vivcanco and husband, Miguel Angel Alvarez Gomez, at the Dignidad Migrant Society in Surrey. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

In February 2022, Miguel Gómez answered a Craigslist ad to work in construction as a temporary foreign worker in Canada.

As a worker experienced in carpentry, he hoped for a better life in Canada for him, his wife and three children.

With the promise of a temporary work permit when he arrived and assurances, he says, from his future employer that he and his family would prosper, Gomez travelled with his family from Mexico to B.C.

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Those promises never became reality, he says.

Over the next two years, he says, he was underpaid, not paid overtime or holiday pay while working long hours in construction and on his employer’s farm. For nearly 1½ years, he says he was paid in cash only. He says his employer deducted thousands of dollars in fees the employer said were owed for the work permit.

Gómez says he didn’t see an actual work permit for nearly a year.

He says he was also pressured to move into housing owned and linked to his employer and suddenly told to move again, eventually ending up for several weeks living with his family in a shipping container on his employer’s farm property where, he says, there was no bathroom, stove or fridge. The family had to sleep in one room. The only bathroom they could use was 100 metres away.

There were times that so much money was deducted from Gómez’s pay that the family had no money for food, he says. At one point, he says, his employer told him he could go to a food bank.

Gómez says his family members, including his then 10-year-old son, were pressed into service on the farm and cleaning houses for the employer, and paid below minimum wage.

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It took a huge psychological and physical toll on the family.

Family of five from Mexico (from left to right) children Angel, Stacy and Estrella with parents Laura Cristina Vivcanco and dad Miguel Angel Alvarez Gomez, with Raul Gatica from the Dignidad Migrant Society in Surrey, BC Tuesday, August 28, 2024. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

Gómez says he was able to leave his employment earlier this year with the help of the advocacy group Dignidad Migrante Society.

The family’s allegations were detailed in an application for an open work permit that allows migrant workers to choose their employer, which Ottawa introduced in 2019 for vulnerable foreign workers who could prove employer abuse and exploitation. According to the federal government, to issue open work permits, its officers must have reasonable grounds to believe that the migrant worker is experiencing abuse or is at risk of abuse.

This summer, that open work permit was granted to Gómez, and also to his wife and oldest daughter, show letters from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada viewed by Postmedia News.

For Gómez and his family, even after securing open work permits, there remains no clear pathway to permanent residence for the family and no guarantee Gómez will secure another work permit.

“It’s momentary relief,” Gómez said through an interpreter.

The open work permit lasts one year and is not renewable, which means he has another 11 months left.

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Postmedia is not naming Gómez’s former employer as the allegations have not been decided in complaints before the federal government and the B.C. Employment Standards Branch.

In a phone interview, Gómez’s former employer said all the allegations are untrue.

The former employer said Gómez was never paid in cash and he was paid the $21 an hour stipulated in his temporary foreign worker permit. He said neither Gómez nor his family members ever worked on the farm in Surrey or cleaned houses, and that they did not live in a container, but temporarily in a one-bedroom suite on the farm because the employer was trying to help them out.

The employer said the firm is responding to and providing documentation, including pay stubs, to both the federal government and the B.C. Employment Standards Branch.

“He’s making (up) all these stories,” said the employer. “His intention is just to get an open work permit. My work permit was expired in January for him. … After the work permit expired, that’s the time he made a complaint. He was trying to get an open work permit. That’s all his intention is.”

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The employer’s allegation are also unproven.

UN report blasts foreign worker program

The alleged treatment of Gómez has surfaced just after the release of a United Nations report that concluded the temporary foreign worker program in Canada serves as a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.”

And there appears to be fertile ground for the potential abuses in temporary migrant worker programs — which also include the seasonal agriculture worker program — in British Columbia.

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A data analysis by Postmedia shows there are more temporary migrants working in B.C. as a proportion of the population than anywhere else in Canada. And this province has seen a huge increase in penalties levied against some companies that hire temporary workers.

But those who have been following the experiences of migrant workers for decades say violations outlined in the penalties are only the tip of the iceberg.

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While the federal Liberal government has taken exception to the use of the phrase modern slavery in the UN report, Immigration Minister Marc Miller has acknowledged the abuses outlined in the report and said they need to stop. The abuses in the UN report include reports of underpayment, wage theft, hazardous work conditions and fraud. Women reported sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, says the report.

The federal government has said it is contemplating changes that include increasing fees to employers for required assessments that show no Canadian workers can fill the jobs, and increasing oversight and tightening restrictions for employers that could include a minimum number of years in business.

MP Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Photo by Dave Sidaway /Montreal Gazette

In response to Postmedia questions, federal officials said they have already stepped up inspections and penalties to employers who violate the rules.

And recently, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced there will be reductions in the number of temporary foreign worker permits, saying there is less need as the unemployment rate rises.

But those who work with migrant workers to protect their rights say the increased inspections and federal changes will do little to stop abuse.

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In fact, they entirely miss the substantive changes that are needed to protect workers from abuse, says Raul Gatica, a spokesman for the Dignidad Migrante Society.

The structure needs to change so migrant workers are not tied to a single employer or location, and are free to work in different sectors, says Gatica, who worked with Gómez and his family to help them obtain the open work permits. Such workers must also be given a clear path to permanent residence.

Raul Gatica is the spokesperson for the Dignidad Migrant Society in Surrey, BC. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

The UN report made the same recommendations.

Gatica said the system is structured to protect employers, not the migrant workers.

“They guarantee the impunity of the bad employers,” he said.

In 2022, Amanda Aziz, a staff lawyer with the Migrant Workers Centre in Vancouver, wrote a report that found migrant workers who try to escape abusive workplaces face barriers in getting legal assistance, translation services and overcoming the biases of immigration officers who investigate their complaints.

Aziz said the cases that continue to come to their office indicate that not much has changed.
She said increased federal inspections don’t stop the abuses, particularly when employers are notified ahead of time when there will be an inspection.

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Amanda Aziz PNG

It is such a power imbalance because workers are tied to a specific employer and location and are not permitted to find another employer, she said.

“It’s impossible for workers to be able to be upfront with inspectors to say, you know, these are the horrible conditions that are happening at this workplace,” observed Aziz, who also supports the UN recommendations.

Highest number of migrant workers

In B.C., there are more migrant workers today than ever before.

According to Postmedia’s data analysis, the number of approvals has increased steadily since 2014, and between 2021 and 2023 jumped markedly from 30,000 to more than 50,000.

The largest number of approvals are in agriculture, with approvals in hotels and restaurants running second and construction running third.

The analysis shows penalties have increased significantly in the past several years in Canada, and B.C. had more penalties in dollar value than any province or territory in the past 7½ years, eclipsing Ontario and Quebec despite their greater populations.

Those penalties have hit companies in the agriculture sector, trucking, the restaurant sector, construction and even an accounting firm.

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The most egregious violations include the employer failing to make sure the workplace was free of physical, sexual, psychological and financial abuses, and reprisals.

“The government of Canada has taken concrete actions to ensure the protection of temporary foreign workers,” an Employment and Social Development Canada media relations officer, Mila Roy, said in an email.

The companies that Gómez says he and his family worked for are not on the federal government’s online violation list. Officials with Employment and Social Development Canada, which has responsibility for the temporary foreign worker program, said all tips and allegations are reviewed and appropriate action taken, but declined to discuss details of any “compliance activities,” citing privacy considerations.

In response to Postmedia questions, B.C. Ministry of Labour officials noted that temporary foreign workers can file complaints under the B.C. Employment Standards Act, and seven have been received against Gómez’s former employer.

“The complaints are currently being investigated. No details are available at this time,” ministry officials said in an email.

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Federal records show Gómez’s former employer was approved for three low-wage construction trades helpers and labourers in 2022. In 2021, the company was approved for two helpers and labourers and one high-wage carpenter.

Officials with Employment and Social Development Canada said under recent changes, applications for workers in the low-wage stream will be refused when unemployment rates are six per cent or higher. In addition, the number of migrant workers that can be hired has been reduced to 10 per cent of a company’s workforce. There are exceptions for agriculture, construction and health-care workers.

For the Agriculture Council of B.C., which represents farmers and ranchers, a key issue is access to labour.
The council — which includes dairy farmers, berry growers and salmon farms — supports the hiring of foreign workers.

David Mutz, the labour committee chair of the B.C. Agriculture Council and a Fraser Valley berry farmer, said he found the language in the UN report calling the program modern slavery overblown and sensationalized.

“To say it’s modern slavery, I think it’s just trying to get attention. Definitely, there is always room for improvement,” said Mutz.

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He pointed to the 94 per cent compliance rate cited by the federal government.

Where there are abuses, Mutz said the council would like to see the federal government use a “bit heavier of a hand,” and for investigations to be completed quickly.

“Stop giving them workers, give them stiffer penalties,” he said.

The council has pointed out that the inability to secure workers has hurt the agriculture sector. In 2017, farmers were unable to fill 3,100 jobs, or about eight per cent of the workforce, which contributed to estimated lost revenues of more than $200 million.

Mutz said the council supports the open permit work program for abused workers, but added that wholesale changes to the structure of the temporary foreign worker program that would no longer tie workers to employers would need careful thought. For example, where employers pay for temporary workers’ flights, what happens if a worker then left quickly for another job, he said.

Mutz said that many agricultural employers support temporary workers getting permanent residence and for there to be a clearer path to do so.

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However, he noted that workers face obstacles, including language proficiency.

“They’re valuable employees. They are a great asset to the industry,” said Mutz. “They’d be very valuable members of society.”

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officials said anyone can apply for permanent residence in Canada provided they meet the qualifications.

Canada had launched a pilot program for permanent residency in the agri-food sector that includes industries such as greenhouses and nurseries, cattle ranches, slaughterhouses and egg production.

One Surrey nursery worker from Mexico managed to secure permanent residency through the pilot program, however, he said it was not easy.

The worker, who did not want to be identified over concerns he could jeopardize his new-found permanent residency, said the language requirement is the most difficult because workers have little time to practise their English. In his experience, his former employer actively discouraged migrant workers from seeking permanent residence.

He said he was also subjected to long hours at minimum wage, with no overtime pay and poor, crowded housing. “It is especially hard on your mental health. … You are not free,” he said.

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Migrant workers spray on a Barnston Island farm in Surrey, B.C., May 31, 2020. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

‘Why are we making them second-class citizens’

Last summer, as part of research by the University of B.C.’s Centre for Climate Justice, 10 migrant workers agreed to place gauges that measured temperature and humidity in the living quarters provided by their employers in the Okanagan.

It showed some migrants are living in extreme heat indoors after working in hot conditions outside, with temperatures as high as 42.8 C inside, much higher than recommended guidelines of the B.C. Agricultural Council of 25.5 C and recommended by health officials who say sustained temperatures above 31 C are dangerous.

The research showed some employers have provided air conditioning in workers’ housing but in other cases, workers have been forced to take their own initiative, at their own cost.

Mutz, the labour committee chair of the B.C. Agriculture Council, was aware of the report and noted they have members who supply air conditioning in living quarters for hundreds of migrants workers.

However, the report, which was undertaken in collaboration with RAMA, a migrant justice collective that advocates for Latin American and Caribbean migrant farm workers in the Okanagan, found some workers just went to the store and got the A/C unit and installed it themselves, and said: “I’m getting my own unit because I’m frying in here.”

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Laura Prada, who works with RAMA, said she has heard from some workers that have been asked to return A/C units because the employer does not want to pay for increased electricity costs.

“The way the system is set up, it doesn’t allow the workers to have any rights, any sort of standards or any sort of guidelines to live with dignity,” she says.

UBC professor Gerry Pratt, one of the lead researchers on the project, said while there are good and bad employers, that’s not the issue.

“The larger point is that the Canadian government has set up the structural conditions for that kind of discrepancy and that kind of discretionary power of the employer,” said Pratt, a Canada Research Chair in care economies and global labour.

Currently, housing must have pre-inspections that are carried out by an arm of the B.C. Agriculture Council, called the Western Agricultural Initiative, which hires B.C.-approved home inspectors to carry out the work.

In response to Postmedia questions, provincial officials said the province plays a limited role in oversight of temporary foreign workers, including for housing, as it is a federal program.

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B.C. Ministry of Labour officials noted migrant workers are covered by the province’s Employment Standards Act and by the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation administered by WorkSafeBC, which includes rules around exposure to extreme temperatures.

Jason Foster, a professor of human resources and labour relations at Athabasca University, said the inspections by the federal and provincial governments come nowhere near to capturing the extent of the exploitation and abuse and breaking of the rules seen in the temporary foreign worker program.

“They are catching little bits and pieces here and there, but it’s an iceberg, so they are catching what happens to poke its head above the water and 90 per cent of it is still there,’ said Foster, who has studied the migrant worker program for two decades.

Jason Foster, a faculty member at Athabasca University sun

Foster and some colleagues are putting together a book based in part on interviews with 148 migrant workers in seven cities in Canada, including in Vancouver.

Not paying for overtime seems to be standard practice within the program. If workers raise concerns, they are threatened with deportation, he said.

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Foster adds his voice to those calling for fundamental structural change to the temporary foreign worker program.

“Why are we making them second-class citizens, like why are we not giving a good, hard look at our immigration system as a whole to say, what do we need to restructure in this system that would allow these men and women more access to the permanent immigration stream,” said Foster.

Still hoping for the best

After nearly two years, Gómez says when his employer told him he owed $3,500 to renew his work permit for a one-year extension, he reached out to Migrante, which a fellow worker had told him about. His former employer says Gómez was not charged fees for his work permit.

The family tells their story in Migrante’s tiny office in Surrey.

Gomez’s wife, Cristina, cries while describing what it was like to live in a container, with her children crying, and having to walk to a washroom 100 metres away and ask for a key. The employer said they did not live in a container.

Gómez is one of those who have launched a complaint with the B.C. Employment Standards Branch and have hopes to recover more than $100,000 they say is owed to them. His former employer says they were paid all that they were owed.

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The family implores the government to do a better job of policing employers. They say potential migrants should do a lot of homework, learn about their rights and check out potential employers as much as possible. They said until they came they had only heard good stories about Canada.

Still, they say they have not lost hope of finding a permanent place here.

“After all the suffering we experienced, the last thing to do is to give up,” said Gómez.

[email protected]

twitter.com/gordon_hoekstra

With data analysis by Nathan Griffiths

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