People who come here to work deserve dignity and protection. There is no denying that there is a power imbalance in the Temporary Foreign Workers program that has resulted in many migrant workers being exploited, including being subject to wage theft and poor working conditions. We’ve seen the horrors of how TFWs are put in substandard housing, unable to isolate in dense living quarters during the pandemic and unable to speak up until their health was affected. This highlights the ongoing and deep-seated problem with the TFW program.
The findings of a recent damning report by the Auditor General exposed the Liberal government's failure to ensure the health and safety of temporary foreign agricultural workers where Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) provided little assurance that workers were protected during the 2020 and 2021 growing seasons. In fact, even though the Liberals promised they would take action to address this blatant violation of the worker's rights in 2020, the quality of inspections have gotten worse. By adding more TFWs to the system, ESDC will be spread even thinner and struggle even more to ensure the safety of these workers.
Canadian activists detained by Israel last month while taking part in an aid flotilla trying to reach Gaza say Canada isn’t doing enough to call out treatment by Israeli officials that Ottawa has called appalling.
While Israel has rejected claims of abuse, flotilla participant Ehab Lotayef said Wednesday Israeli officials beat him on the chest and ribs, put him in uncomfortable positions for long periods and slashed his hand when he tried to help a fellow detainee.
“We felt that we were let down by Canada before anybody else, to be honest, because the Canadian government knew all that was happening,” Lotayef told a news conference on Parliament Hill.
“When we needed them was when we were being tortured — and the whole world knew that that was happening.”
Activist flotillas have tried repeatedly to reach the Gaza Strip to draw attention to tight restrictions on humanitarian supplies for Palestinians. Israel has intercepted these boats, often in international waters.
Lotayef was one of 12 Canadians among 420 flotilla activists detained by Israeli authorities last month. Their detention gained international notoriety when Israel’s Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video of himself taunting the detained activists.
