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Temporary workers vulnerable to abuse

An open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
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An open letter to:

The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau,

Prime Minister, Canada

Dear Prime Minister:

As a faith community, we are troubled to know that thousands of people working or studying
here are slipping through the cracks of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TWFP)
through no fault of their own, but because the program is understaffed, overly complex, difficult
to navigate and with deadlines impossible to meet.
Your government promised a regularization program for migrant workers this spring. We are
given to understand through KAIROS Canada that, once again, this national social issue will be
pushed to the federal back burner to simmer some more where, as it stands, it can only
continue to create more suffering and injustice.
The TWFP entrenches indentured labour in our country and fosters exploitation and workplace
abuses that have been well documented. So much so that the UN’s special rapporteur has
referred to the TWFP as a “breeding ground” for modern forms of slavery. We are ashamed,
but not surprised.
The minister responsible hints that cabinet and Canadians are split on this issue, with myths
circulating about “queue-jumping”. Cabinet may be split as to whether the timeliness of the
issue is advantageous to you but Canadians simply see its resolution as overdue.

Do not make this another instance of broken political promises from your government.

Agriculture, food processing, human care all represent difficult, demanding work. Canadians
do not tend to take these jobs because employers insist on paying minimum wages where at
least a living wage is required.

To use a temporary work force made up of the globally desperate is not a solution. It violates our history of immigration, our shared value of
willingness to work hard in order to create a better life for ourselves and our family here. It also
exposes workers to housing inadequacies, labour standard risks and lack of health and social
services that Canadians have always fought against.
Permanent residency and status for all has been the minimum required and requested for
decades.

If we need their labour, and we do, remove the queue. Act swiftly and justly, without
further delay. And let us know your decision before the coming election.

The Outreach, Peace & Justice Working Group,
on behalf of the congregation of Knox United Church,

Terrace, B.C.