Human Resources Committee on Dec. 4th, 2025

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC]

In fact, Mr. Chair, I thought I'd finished asking my question and that the minister was responding. I think he was the one who was interrupted.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Would you respond to the question in writing, Minister? Thank you.

With that, we conclude the first hour of today's meeting. I will suspend for four minutes while we transition.

We are suspended.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Committee members, welcome back to the second hour of today's meeting. The second hour is on the impacts of the temporary foreign worker program on the labour market. Before resuming, I would like to take a few moments for the benefit of those appearing virtually.

Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. For those of you participating by video conference, you have the option to participate in the official language of your choice. Click on the globe icon at the bottom of your Surface. Choose the official language in which you wish to participate. If there is an interruption in translation, please get my attention by using the raised hand symbol, and I will suspend while we are getting it corrected. Please direct all questions through the chair. Wait until I recognize you by name before speaking.

We have three witnesses this afternoon: from the Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers, Bénédicte Zé, education and mobilization officer; from the Iron Workers Local 97, Doug Parton, business manager and financial secretary; and from MRC de Minganie, Meggie Richard, prefect.

You each have five minutes. We will begin with Ms. Zé for five minutes for her opening statements.

You have the floor.

[Bénédicte Zé, Education and Mobilization Officer, Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers]

Mr. Chair and committee members, thank you for inviting me to appear today.

I came to Canada on a two‑year temporary work permit. The living conditions that came with this status detracted from the quality of my work, productivity and real job market opportunities. Later on, I obtained my permanent residency. I'd like to explain how permanent residency status changed my experience of Canada for the better.

Today, I'm speaking to you about two realities involving two programs. One is inhumane; it destroys workers and disregards human rights. The other is respectable; it fosters worker integration into the workforce while respecting their rights and strengthening the economy, without reducing them to slaves.

In 2016, I paid over $10,000 in recruitment fees to my employer in my country of origin for a job offer that would allow me to obtain a work permit in the country of my dreams, Canada. I was attracted to Canada by its employment opportunities and the prospect of a better future for my children. In Cameroon, I signed a contract that specified my salary, rest periods, vacation time and decent housing. When I arrived in Canada, however, my employer told me that the contract was no longer valid. He confined me, forbade me from having a cellphone and forced me to work seven days a week, as he pleased, with no breaks, for 70 to 80 hours a week. In addition to the daily tasks specified in the contract that I'd signed, my employer demanded that I care for his home, garden, woodworking shop and his son’s farm.

I'll spare you the details about the psychological, sexual and physical abuse I also endured. However, the committee can read my story in section 2.9 of the 2025 Amnesty International report, which I've submitted to the committee. After living in slave‑like conditions for 18 months, my health deteriorated. My employer threatened to send me back to Cameroon if he found out I was sick. I had to keep working until I ended up in the hospital. Finally, a stranger removed me from the farm to save my life. My migration situation became irregular when my employer cancelled my contract to keep me quiet. Because of the power imbalance between my employer and me, resulting from my closed work permit and temporary status, none of my legal rights or protections were respected. Like many workers, this took a toll on my mental and physical health.

In 2021, during the pandemic, I obtained permanent residency thanks to the health care worker recognition program. This was unusual, however, since most workers with closed permits have little or no access to permanent resident status. Obtaining permanent resident status led to a positive change. It allowed me to continue my nursing studies and consider a future career in line with my skills and aspirations. Once I was freed from the limitations of a closed permit, I started working with human rights organizations while also volunteering to contribute to my community.

However, the greatest benefit of permanent status concerned my family. My children were able to join me in Canada, which brought stability and security to the whole family. It gave me the freedom to speak out about my traumatic closed permit experience. Before that, I was forced to stay silent for fear of being deported from Canada. Permanent resident status allowed me to take control of my life and access to health care without any fear of reprisal.

I'm not going to talk about how the temporary foreign worker program influences the labour market overall. I can only speak about my experience. It’s often said that foreign workers accept jobs that Canadians and permanent residents turn down, as if we have an innate tolerance for exploitation and mistreatment, but that’s not true. When I signed a contract to work in Canada, I expected to work hard, but I also expected that my rights would be upheld like anyone else's rights, but that was not the case.

So, when employers say that they can’t find Canadians or permanent residents to work for them, I feel like asking them a few questions. Are there really no workers available, or are the employers' expectations too immoral for anyone with a choice to accept? Are they looking for human beings who work despite—

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Excuse me, there is a point of order.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC]

I didn't want to interrupt you, Mr. Chair, but the sound is cutting in and out, and there are squelching sounds too, which is making the interpreters' work difficult.

[Bénédicte Zé]

May I continue?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Yes, please continue.

[Bénédicte Zé]

When I agreed to work in Canada, I knew that I would be working hard, but I expected that my rights would be upheld fairly, like everyone else's rights. That was not the case.

Employers say they can’t find citizens or permanent residents to work for them. This leads me to ask the following questions. Are they refusing because they’re unavailable or because the employers’ expectations are immoral? Would a person who has a choice agree to work for them willingly? Are they looking for human beings who will work despite being denied their freedom and rights or are they simply looking for slaves?

When human beings are divided into two classes, with one class denied their basic rights and exposed to the risk of systemic violence, the rights, working conditions and job quality of all workers suffer. For everyone to be able to work with dignity and safely, the basic rights of all workers must be respected.

Thank you for your time and for your attention to this issue.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Zé.

Next is Doug Parton for the ironworkers.

You have five minutes.

[Doug Parton, Business Manager and Financial Secretary, Ironworkers Local 97]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to all members of the committee for this opportunity.

I want to begin by expressing my appreciation for the committee's commitment to examine the temporary foreign worker program and its impact on Canada's labour market. The committee's willingness to look closely at how the program is used and misused means a great deal to the workers and apprentices I represent in British Columbia. Thank you for taking this issue seriously.

My name is Doug Parton and I'm the business manager of Ironworkers Local 97 in British Columbia, which represents more than 2,400 members across B.C. Our members build bridges, towers, dams, LNG sites, public transit and industrial projects that keep our province and country powered and moving. Ironworkers take great pride in our craft. We invest heavily in apprenticeship, skills development and safety. Every person in our trade knows they are part of something bigger: building communities and building Canada.

I appreciate the committee's work on this study because the way the temporary foreign worker program's construction stream currently operates affects every part of our workforce, including safety, training and our ability to provide for our families. The construction stream was supposed to be a measure of last resort when no local labour was available. In British Columbia, and particularly in our trade, it has been used far too often and not as intended. Employers are using this program as a business model for cheaper, untrained labour. They're claiming shortages that do not exist and using TFWs to bypass Canadian workers who are ready, available and fully trained, and in whom we have invested.

The federal job bank data compounds this problem. Those posted wages are as much as $10.44 per hour below what workers actually earn under collective agreements. That flawed benchmark allows employers to justify bringing in TFWs while avoiding the real prevailing wages that were freely negotiated and that truly reflect the market. These agreements would not exist if they did not reflect actual market conditions. This is not just about fairness. It's about our ability to make a living. When federal wage benchmarks undervalue construction work and ignore negotiated benefit packages, it drives down the market and leaves workers struggling to afford housing, food and transportation in the same communities they help build.

Meanwhile, the number of TFWs in the construction stream remains disproportionately high, despite a strong local workforce and record investments in training by the unionized construction sector. Every unnecessary LMIA approval weakens apprenticeship recruitment, undermines pathways for young Canadians and creates unsafe work sites, where workers may not be familiar with Canadian safety standards or expectations. Safety is not negotiable in our trade. Ironwork is dangerous and technical, and it demands rigorous training. When loopholes allow unverified labour onto work sites, everybody is at risk. Safety cannot be sacrificed for cost savings.

This is why I am grateful the committee has chosen to study this issue. Your attention gives us hope that meaningful reform is possible.

Our recommendations remain straightforward.

Require union and local building trade consultation before approving any trade-related LMIA so that accurate assessments of worker availability can be made. If Canadian workers are available, the employer should not be granted an LMIA.

Replace the job bank wage standard with accurate, collectively bargained prevailing wages that reflect a livable wage and the real cost of living in regions like British Columbia.

Restrict TFW access to employers that invest in training Canadians and have a clear apprenticeship plan to return to a domestic workforce.

Pause construction stream LMIA approvals while a proper review and new framework are put in place.

We support immigration done right. We respect every worker who contributes to building this country, but we must ensure the system reflects the Canadian values of fairness, safety and opportunity for all. Our message is simple: Invest in Canadian workers first. When given the tools and training, we will meet the needs of this country with a safe, skilled and homegrown workforce.

To that end, Local 97 continues to be the number one supplier of ironworkers in the province of B.C., with an estimated 26,811,399 hours in the last 10 years.

To date, we have three temporary foreign workers. Certainly, at a time when 350 pulp mill workers are laid off on Vancouver Island, there are skills transferred that we can apply and simply upskill these unemployed workers. This is where our focus should be and not on the TFW program.

I thank you and all parties represented here today for looking for a path forward. Thank you, again, for your time and for continuing to address this important issue.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Parton.

Next, we'll go to Madame Richard.

You have the floor.

[Meggie Richard, Prefect, MRC de Minganie]

Mr. Chair, honourable committee members, hello.

Thank you for having me here today.

Let me introduce myself: My name is Meggie Richard, and I’m prefect of the Minganie RCM, chair of the Côte‑Nord RCM assembly, and member of the board of directors of the Fédération québécoise des municipalités.

The Côte‑Nord is known for its vastness, its natural resources and, above all, its vibrant communities. However, it confronts challenges specific to its remoteness and its aging demographic. The region covers over 230,000 square kilometres, with 90,000 residents spread across 33 municipalities and a number of indigenous communities.

The Minganie RCM has eight municipalities, including Anticosti Island, and two Innu communities. Its economy is primarily based on natural resource development, mining, energy projects, fisheries as well as public services and a booming tourism industry.

The Côte-Nord, considered a resource region, makes a significant contribution to the GDP of Quebec and Canada. Yet despite our significant contribution to economic development in sectors of key importance to the current government, we feel that government decisions do not take account of our regional realities, often with serious consequences.

Today, I’d like to draw your attention to the impact of the temporary foreign worker program in remote areas like ours. This program, designed to address labour shortages, has become essential to the economic survival of our businesses. Recent measures to reduce and impose uniform caps on the program, however, pose a direct threat to the vitality of our communities.

In Minganie, an aging population and demographic decline make recruitment especially challenging for our SMEs. Most of our local service businesses wouldn't be able to continue operating without the support of temporary foreign workers. More specifically, our grocery stores, restaurants and several other types of businesses depend on these workers. Our rapidly growing tourism sector also relies on their contribution. Our region's fish processing industry has depended on them for a number of years. Changes to this program are undermining their operations and could result in major service cuts, if not closures. Temporary foreign workers, regardless of their status or origin, are vital to our economy, our development and, most of all, the vitality of our territory.

The program accounts for only a small percentage of non‑permanent residents in Quebec, but it’s essential to our SMEs and strategic sectors. On the Côte‑Nord, immigrants represent a marginal segment of the population. In 2021, according to Statistics Canada, they amounted to 1.4% of the total population compared to 17% in Quebec as a whole. A survey of our chambers of commerce conducted in the spring revealed that 72% of businesses employed temporary foreign workers and, in 50% of these cases, the average recruitment period exceeded six months. Without this program, businesses will close, services will disappear and families will leave our villages. For us, it’s not a luxury; it’s a necessity for sustaining economic activity and social cohesion.

I’d now like to talk to you about our requests.

It’s essential to adapt laws and regulations to regional realities and avoid a consistently standardized approach while paying special attention to remote areas. Current policies, like the 10% federal cap on low-wage positions, do not suit our region. In areas where the labour pool is small and unemployment is low, this cap is unrealistic. We’re asking for flexible caps of 20% to 30% in remote areas like ours; sector-based exemptions for critical industries like fishing, tourism and hospitality; administrative fast-tracking; priority service counters for remote regions to ensure the operational continuity of our businesses; and grandfather clauses for workers already integrated into our communities.

The temporary foreign worker program shouldn't be a temporary solution with no future. We have to speed up the transition to permanent residency for workers who want to stay for the long term, extend the length of permits to reduce insecurity and involve regional authorities in setting targets and creating policies so that decisions truly align with existing needs on the ground.

In conclusion, changes made to the temporary foreign worker program are detrimental to the economy of our remote regions. They are hindering our economic development efforts, weakening and jeopardizing the services provided by our businesses, and threatening the vitality of our population base. While the program is useful, it has to fit within a comprehensive strategy that promotes the autonomy of our regions and protects worker rights.

We are therefore asking that you revise existing policies to support remote regions, adjust federal caps, and speed up and facilitate access to permanent residency. These adjustments are essential to the economic vitality of Quebec and the dynamic occupation of our territory.

Thank you for your attention. I'm ready to answer your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Richard.

We will now begin our six-minute round with Mr. Reynolds.

Mr. Reynolds, you have six minutes.

[Colin Reynolds, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, witnesses, for coming.

Mr. Parton, in your jurisdiction, do you have any large companies that are using temporary foreign workers and competing with your signatory contractors?

[Doug Parton]

Absolutely, we do have one here. In the last 12 years, I think they brought in 1,000 ironworkers. They brought them all in under the guise that they were there to train Canadians. There were no skilled Canadians, so they had to bring in the TFWs, 1,000 of them in the last 12 years, to train Canadians.

If we bought that argument, they would have developed a trained workforce in a two-year or three-year period, but they simply wouldn't stay with them.

It's been a problem. One company in particular never supported an apprenticeship. They had one apprenticeship in the last 10 years, and it was a millwright, just to keep their rebar machines running.

[Colin Reynolds, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Do you think the temporary foreign worker program creates a race to the bottom with regard to wages and working conditions in labour markets across Canada?

[Doug Parton]

I do, absolutely. It's wage suppression. It's a business model, and it's about wages. I used to say it's a greased one-way pole.

[Colin Reynolds, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Do you find that workers are having to lower their value as workers to remain competitive in order to find work?

[Doug Parton]

I can certainly speak about our own situation in battling this issue on Vancouver Island. The cost of bread, milk, eggs and cheese hasn't gone down on Vancouver Island, but we've had to go over there and slash our collective agreement for those workers over there by almost $10 an hour just to remain competitive.

[Colin Reynolds, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

That's a pretty big impact.

Unionized labour is critical to Canada's growth. Would you agree with that?

[Doug Parton]

That's absolutely essential. I believe we've always been the number one trainer in B.C. and in Canada as well. We are training the next generation of ironworkers, electricians, carpenters and so on.

[Colin Reynolds, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Do you believe removing the TFW program would benefit Canadian workers? If so, how?

[Doug Parton]

I certainly think there needs to be a pause on it.

This crosses all party lines. I want to make that clear. This has been a problem for 15 years, and we've been at the forefront to try to make some changes there.

I am encouraged by recent events with the government and across parties, in that we're having a look at this. This not only undercuts my workers and everyday Canadians; it also does a disservice to the temporary foreign worker, as we heard from the young lady who spoke first. It's horrific. It is not unusual for me to hear some of those stories myself in my position. It needs to be revamped, with union labour at the table as well.

[Colin Reynolds, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

You mentioned the contractor that has had over 1,000 temporary foreign workers. Have you ever reported that to any level of government, provincially or federally?