Temporary Foreign Worker Programme: Abolish the ‘closed’ permit instead of punishing the victims!

Montreal, 26 September 2024. – Faced with the entry into force of new restrictions on the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP), 54 community, trade union, university, student and advocacy organisations and groups are protesting against the deleterious effects of the measures taken against temporary foreign workers. Instead of improving access to fundamental and labour rights for migrants and immigrants, the measures taken recently and for over a year now have been penalising the victims of this multi-speed system. It’s time to reform the system and focus on human rights.

The effects of freezing or reducing temporary permits, when they remain “closed”.

If we fail to abolish closed permits, i.e. those attached to a single employer – a situation denounced by the UN rapporteur as opening the door to contemporary forms of slavery (report of July 22, 2024) – all the measures taken this autumn to manage the increase in the number of temporary workers create a situation even more conducive to abuse of all kinds towards these people.

Firstly, they will swell the ranks of the undocumented. In addition to showing that it is the immigration system that is responsible for the loss of migratory status, they illustrate a contempt for these people reduced to disposable commodities, and all the more so since the regularization program that is taking shape is in fact reduced to a pittance.

These measures exacerbate the precariousness of people entering through the TFWP for low-wage jobs. Indeed, by losing their status due to the inability to renew the closed permit (through the six-month freeze in Montreal decided by Quebec or, on the federal side, by stopping admission to certain metropolitan areas and reducing the quota of temporary permits within an establishment), these people who are already present on the territory are not supposed to stay in Canada; yet many of them have been living here for several years, often with their families.

Another type of measure, the reduction in the duration of the closed permit, from 2 years to 1 year, jeopardizes the possibility of obtaining a new permit in time. Secondly, for those few who had the opportunity to apply for permanent residency, the hope of succeeding is dashed by the complexity of the process, which often takes more than a year.

Migrants and immigrants, scapegoats for rising unemployment rates.

These measures are a hypocritical political choice, because they are not designed to discourage employers who make endless use of temporary workers, then throw them out when they no longer need them.

On the contrary, they heavily penalize workers with closed permits, regardless of the program through which they entered (other components of the TFWP or international mobility programs), and even beyond. Indeed, other migrants with a temporary open permit by definition lose the possibility of extending their stay by accepting, as we regularly see, a closed permit.

Once again, while they are the first victims, migrants find themselves singled out, this time as “job thieves” after “housing thieves” and “daycare thieves”, to hide the incoherence and discriminatory negligence of policies. They serve as easy scapegoats, deprived of a collective voice.

In-depth reform of an immigration system that fuels precariousness and vulnerability

Because this immigration system is at the root of systemic discrimination, because there is still no regularization program worthy of the name, and because migrants are losing their status because of this multi-speed system, the signatory groups are calling for in-depth reform to base the immigration process on respect for rights, and on prioritizing access to permanent residency. In the immediate term, they call for :

*. Abolish the closed work permit, a real means of protecting migrants and getting them out of cheap labor;

*. Suspend the application of measures taken for workers already present on the territory, and allow them immediate access to permanent residency;

*. Facilitate access to permanent residency, particularly for those already in Canada;

*. Implement a truly inclusive regularization program for people without migratory status.

Citations

They want to close the doors to foreigners, to migrants, when they know they need this workforce to move the country forward. It’s just not fair. It’s true that Quebecers are angry at national employers or companies that hire foreigners, but what’s happening is that many young people or local people aren’t qualified to do this work because they demand much more than we do, so we have to make do with what employers give us…. – Josefa, migrant worker.

The Quebec government urgently needs to open the doors to permanent immigration for temporary foreign workers on the territory. When labor needs are permanent, we must allow workers who so desire to make their lives here, as permanent residents and ultimately as citizens, so that they can fully exercise their rights and contribute to the vitality of our regions. Dominic Lemieux, directeur québécois du Syndicat des Métallos

 So many restrictive measures have been taken, and so many political messages have been projected for over a year against migrants and immigrants, to discourage their presence in Quebec. For us, it’s indisputable: the government is moving in the opposite direction to that of an inclusive society, and encouraging a step backwards towards the recognition and exercise of their human rights.– Alexandre Petitclerc, président of the Ligue des droits et libertés.

Signed by

1. Accueil et Intégration BSL (AIBSL)
2. Action Chômage Kamouraska (ACK)
3. Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS)
4. Association générale étudiante du Cégep de Rimouski (AGECR)
5. Association pour les Droits des Travailleur·ses de Maison et de Ferme (DTMF-RHFW)
6. Au bas de l’échelle (ABE)
7. Centrale des syndicats démocratiques (CSD)
8. Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ)
9. Centre de Lecture, d’Écriture et de Formations Mitis-Neigette (CLEF Mitis-Neigette)
10. Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrants (CTTI)
11. Centre international de solidarité ouvrière (CISO)
12. Centre femmes de la Mitis
13. Clinique pour la Justice Migrante (CJM)
14. Collectif pour un Québec sans pauvreté
15. Comité d’action de Parc-Extension (CAPE)
16. Comité logement Bas-Saint-Laurent (CLBSL)
17. Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN)
18. Conseil central du Bas-Saint-Laurent (CCBSL-CSN)
19. Conseil central du Montréal métropolitain-CSN (CCMM-CSN)
20. Conseil centre Québec-Chaudière-Appalaches-CSN (CCQCA-CSN)
21. Conseil régional FTQ Bas-Saint-Laurent-Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine (CRBSGI)
22. Conseil régional FTQ Montréal métropolitain (CRFTQMM)
23. Conseil régional FTQ Québec et Chaudière-Appalaches (CRFTQQCA)
24. Corporation de développement communautaire des grandes marées (CDCGM)
25. Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ)
26. Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ)
27. Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ)
28. Fondation Béati
29. Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU)
30. Groupe interuniversitaire et interdisciplinaire de recherche sur l’emploi, la pauvreté et la protection sociale (GIREPS)
31. Illusion Emploi de l’Estrie
32. International Migrants Alliance Canada (IMA Canada)
33. Le Collectif Bienvenue/Welcome Collective
34. Le Débrouille
35. Le Québec c’est nous aussi (LQCNA)
36. Ligue des droits et libertés
37. L’Observatoire pour la justice migrante (OPLJM)
38. Médecins du Monde Canada
39. Migrante Québec
40. Mission communautaire de Montréal (MCM)-Solutions Justes
41. Mouvement Action-Chômage de Montréal (MAC de Montréal)
42. Mouvement autonome et solidarité des sans-emploi (MASSE)
43. PINAY (organisations des femmes philippines du Québec)
44. Regroupement d’éducation populaire en action communautaire des régions de Québec et de Chaudière-Appalaches (REPAC 03-12)
45. Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ)
46. Regroupement des groupes de femmes de la Capitale-Nationale (RGFCN)
47. Réseau d’aide aux travailleuses et travailleurs migrants agricoles du Québec (RATTMAQ)
48. Service d’accueil des nouveaux arrivants de La Matanie (SANAM)
49. Solidarité populaire Estrie (SPE)
50. Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique (SCFP)
51. Syndicat des Métallos
52. Table de concertation des groupes de femmes Bas-Saint-Laurent (TCGFBSL)
53. Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes (TCRI)
54. Table des groupes de femmes de Montréal (TGFM)

For any questions: 

Cheolki Yoon (CTTI): medias@iwc-cti.ca