Status of Women committee  Yes, I think it is possible. Typically, that is something that is handled at the provincial level. The federal government can play a role in establishing standards that must be met before employers can apply to get labour market impact assessments and authorization to hire. A r

Status of Women committee  In terms of what has not been done in the changes, none of the changes that were implemented in June addressed any of the structural conditions that I've talked about that actually drive vulnerability to exploitation and violence, so the removal of the tied work permits is absolu

Status of Women committee  They are much more likely than not to have paid fees. The fees that they have paid are typically the equivalent of two years' full-time earnings in their home country, so they are in serious debt to moneylenders in order to come here. As for the tie to their employer, everything

Status of Women committee  What I was going to say was that you see employers taking advantage in that situation by knowing that those workers are even more vulnerable when they are undocumented, subject to even more violence, but also forced to pay the fees for the processing of the labour market opinions

Status of Women committee  The temporary status that these workers face is the driver of their insecurity, in addition to the tied permits. That's a very important piece that goes with it. The changes that were just introduced with the caps have really undone the nature of the bargain that had been at th

Status of Women committee  Thank you for the invitation to speak to the committee. As you were told in the introduction, I am a labour and human rights lawyer here in Toronto and a visiting professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. For the last 25 years I have been working with low-wage migrant workers across