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  • Building an Alternative Labour Im·migration Proposal in Canada

  • Thank you for your interest in im·migrant justice and in the drafting of a  declaration for the rights of im·migrant workers in Canada.

    We believe your voice is crucial, and we are committed to providing a safe, confidential, and trauma informed space for participants to share thoughts, critiques and experiences. We wish to acknowledge the systemic realities that have forced many to remain silent regarding migrant worker unfreedom in Canada by rendering this survey accessible and confidential to all, including those who may be at risk of persecution or retribution. 

    As part of the End Migrant Worker Unfreedom project, DTMF is coordinating the drafting of a bill on labor im·migration that is compatible with fundamental rights of im·migrant workers and their families.

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  • Goal of the Survey 

  • Working with im·migrant workers and the groups that support them, we plan to use the declaration to develop a policy proposal and present it as a Bill in Parliament, calling for the implementation of a labour im·migration system that upholds all workers’ fundamental rights and is just and fair for all. The declaration will serve as a foundation for this proposal, outlining the rights and principles identified by im·migrant workers and their allies. 

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  • This current survey focuses on the fundamental rights that all im·migrant workers should be guaranteed and see protected by authorities. Consultations on policy proposals will follow next year.

  • Identification & Contact

  • Your privacy is our priority. You are not required to include your name. However, we ask that you identify the capacity in which you are filling the survey so that we can ensure we effectively understand and represent the perspective you are sharing.

    For those who are able and willing, sharing your identification and contact information is a direct way to strengthen our collective efforts to build and enhance vital networks of solidarity within the migrant and broader social justice movement.

  • Identification & Contact

    Should you find yourself in a position in which you must submit anonymously, please feel free to utilize an alias.

  • * For international participants filling out this survey, should the Canadian context not apply, please feel free to replace Canada with whichever international host country applies to your experience/knowledge. Feel free to also identify the country in the long answer text boxes below each section of the survey. 

  • Interests & Motivations

  • Consent

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  • No section of the survey is mandatory, we welcome you to answer the sections that interest you most or which best fall in line with your knowledge, experiences and/or areas of expertise. We highly encourage those able and willing to fill out the entirety of the survey, nonetheless, all contributions are sincerely appreciated.

    At any time throughout the course of this survey, feel free to save and come back to finish at a later time. 

    • Terms of Reference 

    • Terms of Reference

      Here are some terms you might come across while answering this survey. We’ve tried to keep the language as clear as possible, but this section offers additional explanations for reference in case any of the terms are unfamiliar or need clarification.

    • Unfreedom 

       

       

       

        

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

      Unfreedom is a condition marked by constraints on a person’s ability to make and act on meaningful choices, whether in the realm of work or private life. In the context of labour, unfreedom refers to situations where coercion, by the state, employers, or private actors, limits a person’s ability to leave or refuse a job. While slavery and bonded labour are extreme and recognizable forms, unfreedom can arise even when someone appears to enter a job voluntarily. Unfree labour in the contemporary era is constituted primarily, although not exclusively, by the constraints that are imposed on a person’s ability to leave a particular arrangement.

      But unfreedom doesn’t stop at the workplace. Immigration policies often restrict people’s control over core aspects of their private lives: where they are allowed to live, whether they can reunite with or live alongside their family, or whether they are permitted to study or change educational paths.

      Im·migrant Worker

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

      		 The term im·migrant worker is sometimes used to reflect that many individuals who come to Canada through so-called “temporary” labour migration programs have the intention of settling permanently, or are forced to do so for numbers of reasons under precarious or no legal status, while many individuals who access permanent status in Canada return to their country of origin systematically or move on to a third country. This terminology challenges the notion that these workers are inherently transient, peripheral or permanent. It also acknowledges that Canada itself encourages long-term settlement through “two-step” pathways available to individuals admitted on temporary and restrictive work authorizations. 

      Migrant Worker

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

      		 The more common term migrant worker refers specifically to individuals in Canada without permanent legal status, including but not limited to those admitted through so-called “temporary” labour migration programs, as well as workers who have irregular status or have lost their status. 


      We nevertheless acknowledge that while their legal status is temporary or irregular, many migrant workers come with the intention of settling permanently and/or remain in Canada for years if not for good.

      Employer-Sponsor

       

       

      		 An employer-sponsor is a specific individual or business in Canada who is authorized to hire a im·migrant worker. Sometimes, groups of employers can be authorized to act as employer-sponsors of im·migrant workers. 

      Free and unbiased

       

       

      		 By free and unbiased, we mean services that are publicly funded, independent from employer control, designed to prioritize workers’ rights, and provide accurate and reliable information. 

      Work Permit or Authorization

       

       

       

        

       

      		 A work permit is an official authorization, issued by a state, that allows a person who is not a citizen or permanent resident to work legally in that country. It often includes conditions such as the type of work allowed, the duration of employment, and sometimes the specific employer or location. Work permits are typically open, allowing to work for any employer, or restrictive - tied to one or a specific pool of employers. 

      Work Placement Contract

       

       

       

       

       

       

      		 A work and/or placement contract is an official agreement between private parties such as a worker and an employer and/or placement agency. Sometimes, private work-placement contracts may be imposed by a state authority, such as with the standard contract of workers employed within the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP). Work-placement contracts are restrictive when they integrate one or many clauses that facilitate debt bondage or otherwise restrict the workers capacity to quit the work-placement arrangement.

      Declaration of Rights & Principles

       

       

      		 A statement reflecting a collective vision that outlines fundamental rights and values that civil society believe should be upheld – often used to influence policy or raise awareness.

      Permanent Residence (PR)

       

       

       

       

       

       

      		 Permanent Residency (PR) refers to the official status granted by the Canadian government that allows a person to live and work in Canada indefinitely. A Permanent Resident is not a Canadian citizen but holds nearly all the same rights and responsibilities except for some exceptions such as voting. Im·migrant workers in Canada typically start as Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs), meaning their status is time-limited and often tied to a specific employer (closed work permit). PR is the crucial step of transitioning from this temporary, precarious status to a stable, long-term one.
    • 1. RECRUITMENT & SPONSORSHIP 
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    • At the moment, Canada uses a private sponsorship model for many of its labour migration programs. This means Canada has delegated to private employers (and for-profit agents operating on their behalf) the privilege of selecting, sponsoring and influencing the initial integration of individuals migrating through these programs. It also means that workers are systematically required to secure an employer-sponsor, to access initial work permits or renewals. 


      With this approach, employers are often responsible for arranging and financing the administrative costs associated with recruitment, job placement and immigration services, covering workers’ transportation to and from Canada, and providing housing once they arrive. Countless private third parties have emerged to assist employers with these “responsibilities’’—recruitment agents, immigration consultants, job placement agencies, pre-departure advisors, travel agents, integration agents, and others. 


      In many cases, either formally or informally, due to the unavailability of publicly funded services, workers depend on employers and their agents for their social integration in the country and to navigate Canada’s very complex immigration procedures. Workers may also be forced to rely on employers and recruiters to access the money needed to finance their migration. This approach creates a system of deep dependency and control, where employers and their agents control nearly every aspect of a worker’s migration trajectory and integration.


      In contrast, while very little state-funded support or assistance is offered to im·migrant workers, whether abroad or in Canada, the Government of Canada provides daily, state-funded services and support to Canadian employer-sponsors and their agents.


      Giving employers and their agents control over access to work permits and nearly every aspect of the migration process enables systemic violations of im·migrant workers’ human and labour rights. 

      • Employers and agents' control over initial work permits and renewals allows them to extract, legally and/or illegally, exorbitant fees, sometimes upfront, before departure, and other times through payment plans after arrival. This allows both formal and informal debt bondage to develop between im·migrant workers and employers and their agents.
      • Employer control over work permits and renewals restricts workers’ ability to exercise their rights. In the SAWP, this dynamic has been institutionalized through the annual “naming” process, which gives employers full discretion over who is invited back each year and allows them to blacklist workers. 
      • Private third-party actors—such as recruiters, immigration consultants, and job placement agencies—prioritize employers’ interests over workers’ rights and well-being. These actors often facilitate the surveillance, blacklisting, or even the removal of workers from the country who try to assert their rights

    • PRE-ARRIVAL RECRUITMENT & SPONSORSHIP

      Sections 1.1 - 1.7

    • 1.1. RECRUITMENT ABROAD

      Most im·migrant workers who want to work in Canada must go through private recruiters to secure a work permit. This system hands control to private actors who often act as gatekeepers, charging high or illegal fees that push workers into debt before they even arrive. Recruiters represent the interests of employers, and workers are often misled about the nature of the job, wages, or working conditions.

    • 1.2. SPONSORSHIP TO ACCESS INITIAL WORK PERMIT ABROAD

      By setting up a system where access to work permits depends on having an employer-sponsor, Canada gives employers control over who gets to come and work. In this role, some employers discriminate, choosing workers based on gender, ethnicity, or country of origin. With no public oversight, private bias shapes who is recruited and admitted into the country. Other employer-sponsors use their power over admission to blacklist workers who speak up for their rights, making it nearly impossible for them to be rehired or return to Canada at all.

    • 1.3. MICRO-CREDIT ABROAD

      To cover the costs of migrating, like travel, relocation, and immigration fees, many im·migrants have no choice but to borrow money from recruiters and future employers. These loans often come with predatory interest rates and can lead to debt arrangements that tie them to the employer or agent, sometimes through formal loans or informal promises not to work for a competitor, or to leave the country if they can’t finish the contract. In some cases, im·migrants are forced to secure loans against their family home or property.

    • Microcredit programs provide small loans on fair and transparent terms to people who may not have access to traditional banking. These programs are designed to support economic inclusion and financial independence. Interest rates are reasonable, repayment terms are flexible, and there are no hidden fees or exploitative conditions. The goal is to empower borrowers, not to control or trap them in cycles of debt.

    • 1.4. IMMIGRATION SERVICES ABROAD

      When trying to migrate to Canada, many im·migrants have no choice but to rely on private immigration services and/or their employer-sponsor/agent to navigate the process. This puts them at risk of being overcharged and/or provided with inaccurate or misleading information.

    • 1.5. LEGAL INFORMATION & PRE-DEPARTURE SERVICES

      Legal information and pre-departure services for im·migrant workers are usually handled by private agents who represent the employer-sponsor. This means the information and support im·migrant workers receive are shaped by the employer’s interests, not the workers’ rights or needs.

    • 1.6. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION

      Currently, many im·migrant workers have no choice but to rely on private agencies, often representing employers, to arrange transportation to and from Canada. Travel is arranged based on the employer’s convenience, not the worker’s safety or comfort. In some cases, workers are overcharged for these travel arrangements or later face deductions from their pay to cover the costs, leaving them in debt or even more financially dependent on their employer.

    • 1.7. INITIAL JOB PLACEMENT

      Job placement for im·migrants coming to Canada is generally handled privately, often by agents acting in the interest of employers. These services prioritize employer interests, not workers’ rights or preferences. Im·migrants are placed in jobs without real choice or consideration, and this control over access to work is often used to extort fees or impose exploitative conditions - such as no protection in cases of extreme weather.

    • WORKING & LIVING IN CANADA

      Sections 1.8 - 1.12

    • The Government of Canada currently funds, across the country, a few community organizations that provide integration support, and legal services to im·migrant workers and their family members. However, these services are severely under funded and reach only a small fraction of workers, leaving the vast majority without meaningful support.

      Therefore, the limited support and assistance available to help workers and their families navigate living and working in Canada are provided through private services, if available at all. This means that many im·migrants must rely on consultants, employer-sponsors, and/or their agents to access essential information and services related to their rights, housing, healthcare, and legal status.

    • 1.8. WELCOME, INITIAL HOUSING AND IN-CANADA MICRO-CREDIT SERVICES

      Upon arriving in Canada, many im·migrant workers depend on their employer-sponsors or private agents acting on the employer’s behalf to provide basic settlement support, like airport pickup, initial housing, and even access to cash advances needed for everyday essentials. This deepens their dependency, increases isolation, and can lead to debt through inflated charges or repayment demands, making it harder to assert their rights or seek support.

    • 1.9. NEWCOMER SUPPORT & LEGAL INFORMATION SERVICES

      For many im·migrant workers, employers or their private recruitment agencies are the main, sometimes only, source of support and information about rights and responsibilities in Canada. These private actors are profit-seeking and often predatory. As a result, workers may receive incomplete, misleading support or information, and often, accessing trustworthy services is systematically out of reach.

    • 1.10. JOB-PLACEMENT SERVICES IN CANADA

    • 1.11. SPONSORSHIP TO ACCESS WORK PERMITS AND EXTENSIONS/PR/STATUS/ REGULARIZATION

      To renew a work permit, apply for PR, or restore status, im·migrant workers often need an employer-sponsor. This gives employers considerable power over workers’ ability to stay and work in Canada. Some exploit this power to extract money or unpaid labour.

    • 1.12. IMMIGRATION INFORMATION IN CANADA

    • 2. WORK-STUDY PERMITS  
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    • Currently, most im·migrant workers aren't allowed to study, or to freely change employers, occupations, areas of work, or employment sectors. Research reveals that the restrictive nature of the current system has been fuelling employment rights violations, workplace injuries and illnesses, loss of legal status, human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery.

      Life changes, like a workplace injury, pregnancy, or the start of a new relationship can make it necessary to switch occupations, regions, or industries to protect one’s health or to build a life with loved ones. Most people take for granted the right to make these types of decisions. But for im·migrant workers, it’s a freedom they are currently denied.

    • 2.1. EMPLOYERS

    • 2.2. OCCUPATIONS

    • 2.3. SECTORS

    • 2.4. REGIONS

    • 2.5. STUDY

    • 3. FAMILY UNITY  
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    • One of the greatest challenges faced by im·migrant workers is being separated from their families. Only partners of im·migrant workers in high-wage occupations are currently eligible for automatic open work permits, allowing them to accompany their partners to Canada. For everyone else, partners must secure their own employer-tied work permit, if they can get one at all. This means that even when both can enter Canada, there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to live in the same place, since job offers may be in completely different regions. Study permits are not guaranteed for children, which often means im·migrant workers are forced to leave their children behind.  


      Moreover, Canada does not recognize a right to re-entry for all workers. Leaving the country, even briefly, throughout the duration of a temporary work permit, can mean losing the ability to return. As a result, workers are effectively unable to return home, even for major life events like the birth of a child or the death of a parent.

    • 3. FAMILY UNITY

      Sections 3.1 - 3.3

    • 3.1 MARRY & FORM A FAMILY

    • 3.2. PERMITS FOR SPOUSE & CHILDREN

    • 3.3. RE-ENTRY

      Even when im·migrant workers are legally entitled to vacation or personal leave, many can’t use that time to visit family back home because there’s no guaranteed right to re-enter Canada. A short trip outside the country, even for one day, can result in being denied re-entry and losing both job and status. As a result, many workers go years without seeing their friends and family members, including partners and children.
    • 4. PERMANENT STATUS & REGULARIZATION 
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    • Permanent status gives an individual the right to live and work in a country, travel in and out, and eventually have the right to apply for citizenship after a certain period of residency.

      In Canada, many people admitted on temporary restricted work permits are denied entirely from the opportunity to apply for permanent status, which means a continuous and never-ending obligation to renew their temporary work permit. Sometimes workers are provided with “snake and ladder” access to permanent status, conditional on things like accumulating a certain amount of work experience or having the support of an employer, conditions that often conflict with the circumstances surrounding temporary status.

      Temporary legal status is inherently precarious, and im·migrant workers can fall out of status for a myriad of reasons, many times outside their control. This innate status precarity causes workers to then also face vulnerabilities in all aspects of their lives related to rights and support services which themselves are dependent on a positive legal status.

    • 4. PERMANENT STATUS & REGULARIZATION

      Sections 4.1 - 4.4

    • 4.1 IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO PERMANENT STATUS RECOGNITION

      PR (AKA Status) is the golden ticket to security and the ability to exercise rights - in particular PR grants the right to access compensation or justice-reparation in case of a workplace injury or rights violation. In the cases where im·migrant workers are provided with access to permanent status, they’re usually only allowed to apply after a certain amount of time in Canada, which can be several years. The longer a worker remains with temporary status, the greater the risk of rights violations and falling out of status altogether. Even when access to permanent status exists, the procedure to have status recognized can take years, leaving workers in prolonged precarity, with few protections and little control over their futures. Requiring im·migrant workers to accumulate work experience before they can apply for permanent status prolongs their precariousness, and interruptions in employment caused by illness, pregnancy, injury, and/or job loss commonly jeopardize their access to permanent status altogether.

    • 4.2. EMPLOYER-DEPENDENT ACCESS TO PERMANENT STATUS

      When access to status depends on employer cooperation or even a certain amount of work experience, it creates a serious power imbalance. Workers who rely on their employer’s support to access permanent status often face pressure to accept unreasonable or illegal demands, such as paying high fees in exchange for job offers or work experience confirmations needed for their application. When access is conditional on accumulating a certain amount of work experience or the support of an employer, workers will remain in abusive workplaces, even at great risk to their health and safety. Workers may refrain from; exercising their collective bargaining rights, filing complaints or pursuing legal recourse, or they may even be directly pressured not to report violations in order to protect their chances of obtaining permanent status.

    • 4.3. OTHER OBSTACLES (LANGUAGE SKILLS, HEALTH, ETC.)

      In some instances, a person is precluded from accessing permanent status because of arbitrary conditions like language proficiency, education levels, specific work experience, or financial thresholds. These conditions overlook people’s lived realities, and systematically deny permanent status to people who are already living in Canada and, playing critical roles in the economy and greater community for many years.

    • Ex: No unreasonable, discriminatory or arbitrary requirements—such as advanced language proficiency, perfect health, high financial thresholds, or most criminal offenses (with exceptions for serious crimes or activities that violate human or international rights).

    • 4.4. REGULARIZATION

      Temporary legal status, such as the one held by work permit holders, is inherently precarious. Individuals can easily fall out of status for various reasons, sometimes outside their control, such as recruiter fraud, employer negligence, or basic administrative errors. In Canada, once status is lost, regaining it is extremely difficult, sometimes impossible, due to rigid immigration rules and limited options for bringing oneself back into compliance. Those who lose their status face the risk of detention, deportation, and inadmissibility bans. Regularization refers to a process where individuals who are undocumented or who have fallen out of status are given access to a pathway back into legal status which then re-guarantees the right to live and work in the country. This has historically involved a government program or policy that provides individuals with a legal process to apply for PR.
    • 5. ADDITIONAL RIGHTS & PRINCIPLES 

    • The previous sections addressed four key areas of labour im·migration policy. But there are other important topics that also affect the lives of im·migrant workers, and we want your thoughts on those too. This next section highlights additional issues to be addressed in a fair and rights-based system.

    • 5. ADDITIONAL RIGHTS & PRINCIPLES

      Sections 5.1 - 5.8

    • 5.1. TRANSITIONAL MEASURES

      Sudden changes to immigration rules can abruptly destabilize a person’s im·migration plans—including their access to permanent status or even the renewal of a work permit. People make considerable sacrifices and long-term investments based on the existing rules, and unexpected shifts often derail people’s entire lives, jeopardize their status, shatter them financially and undo years of investment into their future.

    • 5.2. ACTIVE PROTECTIONS AGAINST TEMPORARY SLAVERY - CONTRACT OFFERS ABROAD AND IN CANADA

      Sometimes, employers or third-party private agents use contract clauses or informal practices to limit a worker’s ability to leave their job or change employers. These can include abusive non-compete clauses, or financial penalties for quitting before a contract ends. While these clauses may not always be legal and enforceable in court, the threat and intimidation they create are very real—and can effectively trap workers in abusive jobs.

    • 5.3. DETENTION AND DEPORTATION

      Current policies often treat breaches of labour migration rules, such as working outside permit conditions or minor administrative errors, as grounds for removal from Canada, with the risk of criminalization, detention and deportation. This punitive approach fails to recognize the systemic reality which has served to perpetuate a loss of status with no pathway back into compliance. The current approach thus leads to consequences that are disproportionate to the nature of the breaches and cause severe harm, disrupting workers’ lives, separating families, and deterring people from reporting abuses or seeking help.

    • 5.4. ACCESS TO DECENT HOUSING

      Housing is a social determinant of health. Im·migrant workers, especially those under tied work permits and low-wage streams depend on their employers for their accommodations in Canada. In sectors such as farming and domestic care, these employer provided accommodations often do not meet basic standards. As a result, it is common to see overcrowding, unsafe structures, lack of privacy and lack of basic amenities. Without national housing standards for im·migrant workers, in addition to an unbiased agency enforcing them, housing conditions vary widely and often put workers’ at risk of physical and psychological harm.

    • 5.5. RIGHT TO ASSOCIATE AND NEGOTIATE COLLECTIVELY FOR DECENT WORKING AND HOUSING CONDITIONS

      Within the current system in Canada, im·migrant workers are excluded from many basic labour protections and standards. Im·migrant workers are often presented with inhumane working and living conditions. Without national legislation and enforcement that ensures workers’ fundamental right to associate and negotiate collectively, conditions will continue to vary widely and put workers’ health, safety and livelihood at risk.

    • This includes for example the right to negotiate vital matters such as employer-provided housing standards and protection against extreme weather.

    • 5.6. ACCESS TO WORKER PROTECTION MECHANISMS, BASIC SERVICES AND SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS.

      In Canada, having status grants you rights and the power to assert them. Without status, you are denied and excluded from these same rights. Many im·migrant workers face barriers to accessing worker protection mechanisms and basic services and social security benefits—even though they’ve contributed through their labour and taxes. Denying access based on immigration status not only deepens vulnerability but also makes it harder for people to respond to rights violations or seek help, justice, and protection of the law against human trafficking.

    • 5.7. ACCESS TO COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS WHILE OUTSIDE CANADA

      Im·migrant workers come to work in Canada legally and make all the legal contributions to programs like Employment Insurance (EI), Workers Compensation (WC), and parental benefits. Despite these deductions and legal entitlements, im·migrant workers commonly lose access to these compensation services and social benefits when they return to their home countries or are outside Canada—even for short temporary periods in between seasons. This exclusion often unjustly forces them to remain in the country against their will, and for others, such as SAWP workers, their temporary contracts do not allow them to remain in the country to access the basic support services and benefits to which they contributed.
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  • Thank you for your critical contributions towards the fight to End Migrant Worker Unfreedom. Your support is vital as we work towards establishing a new system which upholds fundamental rights and im·migration justice for all. 

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