The closed permit, which ties a temporary migrant to a specific employer, has received several criticisms, particularly in terms of rights violations. Since 2019, people who have suffered abuse or violence in the context of their employment can apply for an open permit to look for a new employer. However, this program does not solve the problem, according to Professor Danièle Bélanger, of the Faculty of Forestry, Geography and Geomatics. She highlights the issues surrounding this permit in a report, written in collaboration with community organizations.
“This open program creates new forms of vulnerability for people who try to take advantage of it. What we hear from workers is disillusionment, dismay, a feeling of betrayal,” reports Professor Bélanger, holder of the Canada Research Chair in global migration dynamics.
The research team collected the experiences of 47 migrants who applied for an open permit. “It gives a face, a voice to the people who try to take advantage of the program,” underlines the researcher. In addition to the pitfalls, the report puts forward the recommendations of the workers met.
A little-known path
Among the issues raised, the report highlights the absence of information on the open permit program. The people interviewed reported only becoming aware of the program after requesting support from a community organization. “We are talking about a fortuitous discovery or by chance. There are no mechanisms to systematically inform people who enter Canada with a closed work permit,” indicates Professor Bélanger.
The participating workers believe that it is imperative to inform migrants, through information sessions, for example.
A difficult process
The report recalls that nearly 50% of open permit applications are refused. According to Professor Bélanger, this figure could be explained, among other things, by the burden of proof of violence or abuse that falls on the migrant. “She has to provide things like recordings, text messages, photos, but it’s very difficult for people in these situations to collect this evidence and this collection can expose her to further abuse. This necessarily reduces the number of files that are complete or deemed complete enough.”
The accessibility of the application process is also a barrier for migrants. “It is very difficult for a migrant to apply on their own, especially if they do not speak English or French. Community organizations that help with the submission of files estimate between 20 and 30 hours for the preparation of a good file by a legal worker who knows the program well,” adds the researcher.
The participating workers recommend in particular that the program recognize the difficulty of gathering evidence and taking it into account in the evaluation of files, which is not currently the case.
— Danièle Bélanger, professor in the Department of Geography
A lack of support
One element that marked Professor Bélanger was the abandonment on the part of institutions. “Yes, the government provides a way out of abusive situations, but there are no services for people.” She recalls that many of these people have experienced events, psychological trauma or physical injuries, and there is no support.
“When they leave their employer, it often involves leaving their accommodation if it is provided by them. They fall into a state abandonment zone. It is only community organizations that try to fill these gaps, to help find housing or a new job, for example.”
The participating migrants demand that organizations, which have a beneficial role, have funding intended to improve their services. They also recommend collaboration between Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officers and community organizations.
A precarious status
The issue of status and the rights associated with it is also raised by Professor Bélanger. The problem comes in particular from multigovernance. “The federal government grants this permit, but it can result in the loss of provincial rights such as RAMQ,” she explains.
Guaranteeing social rights and access to essential services is also part of the workers’ recommendations. They also call for strengthening government responsibility in protecting rights, with surprise visits or inspections, for example.
Their final recommendation is to attack the source of the problem: the closed work permit. They said even if the open licensing program were improved, it would not solve the problem at the root of labor exploitation.
With this report, Danièle Bélanger and her team wish to raise public awareness of the issues caused by closed work permits. “This is all the more important since we are living in a period of politicization of immigration in Quebec and Canada, which leads to a lot of misinformation,” she explains. Also, we will relay these results to the federal ministries concerned and hope that this report can feed into the evaluation of their programs.”
