The model that UFCW Canada is setting out works in an unionized setting. The success we've had with Maple Leaf, HyLife, Olymel, Cargill works because even where there's a road to permanent residency, during those two years they're under a collective agreement and they have a union policing the collective agreement and dealing with grievances and health and safety issues. There's this huge union family working with the employer so that the outcome is that employer is able to keep those workers.
They're paid decent wages. They get benefits. Some of them are allowed to bring their families during that period. It's a night-and-day difference difference between that and the regime most migrant workers face across this country. Even in Alberta, for example, the opportunity to join a provincial nominee program in a non-unionized environment is held out like a carrot, and we have layers and layers of cases of abuse of these workers.
I know we've had this discussion from an economic perspective, which is fundamentally important to us as Canadians, but we can't just view the workers as commodities. They're human beings who have children, who pay taxes, who are part of nation-building and part of the fabric of the country. If we're going to have that dialogue, we have to ensure that the road to permanent residency can't be a long one. If anything, permanent residency upon arrival is what's preferred; the less preferred is the pathway to citizenship and permanent residency.
We know from the live-in caregiver program that there are thousands upon thousands of cases of abuse and exploitation of migrant workers in this country. About four years ago we put together an entire book called Migrant Worker Book of Abuse. There are four large volumes. They were too big to bring on the plane.
It's important to bear that in mind. We believe in the economics of Canada, but the key is to ensure that we have good, healthy workers. If we need workers, these jobs are obviously not temporary, so why don't we give them an opportunity to stay? If they're working towards their permanent residency, we need to make sure that they're not just left out there alone, because that's where the abuses happen. That's where people get injured. That's where people get killed.