One permit, one boss, one fear

On September 6, 2023, at the end of a two-week visit to Canada, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoya Obokata, issued a warning: work permits tied to a specific employer, including those of certain temporary foreign worker programs, make these workers vulnerable to modern slavery. The reason is simple: they cannot report abuse without fearing being sent back to their country.

His final report, dated July 22, 2024, and presented to the Human Rights Council, maintains this finding. It describes wages partly paid or confiscated, excessive hours, harassment, overcrowded housing and access to health care that is sometimes discouraged. It recommends systematically offering these workers a pathway to permanent residence.

On September 12, 2024, in Geneva, Canada disputed these conclusions, noting that a worker can legally change employers. Ottawa cites the open work permit for vulnerable workers (2019), obligations imposed on employers in 2022, including a ban on reprisals, and nearly $41 million for a migrant worker support program.

So recourse exists, but it assumes that an isolated person, who speaks little of the language and whose stay depends on their boss, dares to use it. The employer-specific permit remains at the heart of the debate. What has changed things so far are workers who testified, organizations that stood by them, and neighbours who stopped looking away.