A UN envoy has condemned Canada’s reliance on temporary foreign workers, calling it a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.” According to Tomoya Obokata, a UN special rapporteur, the program creates severe power imbalances and discriminatory practices, which allow companies to cut costs while exploiting workers from the Global South.

Obokata’s report followed visits to major Canadian cities, including Ottawa, Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. He discovered that many workers are trapped in debt bondage, having borrowed money to participate in the program and relying on Canadian wages to repay their debts. The report also highlighted widespread issues such as emotional and physical abuse, wage theft, unsafe working conditions, long hours, sexual harassment, and exploitation.

Obokata criticized the temporary foreign worker program for institutionalizing power asymmetries that favor employers and hinder workers from asserting their rights. The program permits companies to hire foreign workers in sectors with labor shortages, notably in agriculture, and is increasingly used in industries such as fast food and construction. Last year, nearly 240,000 temporary foreign workers were approved, a significant increase from previous years.

The pandemic exposed the abuse and exploitation prevalent within the system, which had long been overlooked. Rights groups, such as Justice for Migrant Workers, have expressed frustration over the program’s exploitation and racial dehumanization of workers. Chris Ramsaroop from the group warned that criticism of the program could be manipulated to fuel xenophobia and racism.

Ramsaroop highlighted issues such as injured workers being forced back to work before they are healed and difficulties accessing healthcare or compensation. He criticized the system for offloading healthcare responsibilities onto workers’ home countries and noted that despite political promises for reform, little has changed.

The program ties work permits to specific employers, restricting workers’ ability to find better-paying jobs and preventing them from accessing social assistance programs they contribute to. A recent C$500 million class action lawsuit, alleging breaches of workers’ charter rights, remains uncertified.

Obokata recommended granting workers permanent resident status as a solution to the exploitation, a suggestion the federal government has yet to adopt. Instead, Canada’s employment minister has proposed stricter oversight and sector-specific work permits, which advocacy groups argue are attempts to divide and weaken workers’ power.

Ramsaroop concluded that the system of indentured labor should never have existed and called for an end to profiting from the labor of marginalized workers from the Global South.