Canada's Foreign Worker Program Is Exploitative by Design — Not a Lifeline

 Written by OpenAI

Intro

Canada isn’t just importing labour. It’s importing vulnerability. Under the banner of “helping asylum seekers” and “filling labour shortages,” our governments are marketing jobs abroad, locking foreign workers into closed contracts, and turning a blind eye to abuse, wage theft, and trafficking.

Let’s be clear: the foreign worker isn’t the problem. The problem is the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) — a system built to benefit big business at the expense of both migrants and Canadian citizens.

1. UN: This Is a Breeding Ground for Slavery

In August 2024, UN Special Rapporteur Tomoya Obokata called out Canada’s TFWP as “a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery,” pointing to systemic abuse, coercion, and lack of oversight.

“There is a risk that this program creates the conditions for exploitation, including forced labour and debt bondage.”
Source – The Guardian

2. Amnesty International: Exploitation Isn’t a Bug — It’s a Feature
A January 2025 Amnesty report based on interviews with dozens of Ontario and Quebec workers documented:

• Wage theft and unpaid overtime

• Unsafe, overcrowded housing

• Racial abuse and sexual harassment

• Loss of visas if workers complained

Francisco, a farm worker from Mexico, said:

“When [a worker] is no longer useful, they just send him back like trash.”

Source – Al Jazeera
Amnesty Canada Full Report

3. Human Trafficking in the GTA: 64 Workers Rescued

In 2023, York Regional Police freed 64 Mexican nationals from Toronto-area farms and warehouses. They were lured with promises of legal work, only to face:

• Bug-infested housing

• Threats of deportation

• Sexual assault

• Debt bondage and withheld wages

Source – AP News

4. Personal Accounts: Abuse, Threats, Passport Confiscation

Case studies from legal journals and public testimony show:

• A worker had his testicle crushed after being assaulted by a supervisor in Ontario

• Others had passports taken, were housed in basements, and worked 80-hour weeks with no overtime

• Fear of deportation kept them silent

Source – Law Times News

5. The Real Beneficiaries: Corporations Like Loblaws
Let’s not kid ourselves — this isn’t being done for compassion. It’s being done for corporate profit. Employers gain:

• Labour tied to closed permits, unable to quit

• No union risk

• No benefits or full-time commitments

• Constant, rotating, cheap replacements

Companies like Loblaws, major greenhouses, factories, and warehousing giants are the real winners here. Meanwhile, Canadians face:

• Job competition

• Stagnant wages

• Strained housing and social services

The government subsidizes the recruiting and onboarding of foreign labour — while many Canadians remain underemployed or pushed into gig work.

Source – Reuters

Conclusion

This isn’t immigration. This is state-sponsored labour exploitation.

• The TFWP harms migrant workers, who live in fear and silence.

• It harms Canadian citizens, who are priced out of jobs and housing.

• And it props up a system that exists to benefit the wealthy and well-connected.

If we truly care about justice, we need to end the lie that this program is a lifeline. It’s not. It’s a leash — and both foreign workers and Canadians are on the other end of it.