Department Chair Christopher Worswick provided commentary that was published in the Globe and Mail article titled Ottawa needs to abolish the temporary foreign worker program.
Here are some quotes from the article:
“The two main pathways by which people are admitted to Canada to work are as economic immigrants (who can stay permanently) and temporary foreign workers. And the public discourse on the two pathways has been contradictory.”
“Like Canadian workers, immigrants have the freedom to leave employers to pursue either a higher wage or to avoid poor work conditions without leaving Canada. This makes it harder for the firm to underpay an immigrant (relative to a temporary foreign worker) since the immigrant can quit and move to another Canadian firm. Canadian workers are better off under the immigration program because they are not competing against temporary foreign workers who feel they must accept lower wages and worse work conditions.”
“That’s why, in addition to abolishing the TFW program, we should also allow the remaining temporary foreign workers to switch employers within Canada. This would reduce the power imbalance between the worker and the firm, allowing temporary foreign workers to go to higher-wage jobs and avoid unsafe or abusive situations.”
This article is behind a paywall, but can be accessed on the Globe and Mail website here with a subscription.
To see Professor Worswick’s research with co-authors Professors Till Gross and Pierre Brochu referenced in the article click here.