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 When I arrived in Canada, however, my employer told me that the contract was no longer valid.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—