The omnibus crime bill would introduce changes the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that were initially proposed as Bill C-56, the Preventing the Trafficking, Abuse, and Exploitation of Vulnerable Immigrants Act.
As the title of Bill C-56 suggests, it is meant to combat the abuse of immigrants to Canada. Government statements about the bill specifically mention “exotic dancers” and lower-skilled workers.
The specific changes that the bill proposes are small but significant; they grant discretionary powers to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to instruct border officials to deny a work permit to a migrant who would otherwise be granted one.
The vagueness of the connection between this Ministerial veto and the protection of vulnerable migrants has not been lost on a number of advocacy groups and academics.
The Canadian Bar Association has written a lengthy opinion on the entire omnibus crime bill, and about Bill C-56 the CBA specifically “has significant concerns about the manner in which the Bill gives the Minister wide-ranging authority to shape the substance of the protective legislation.” It continues, “Providing assistance to trafficked and other vulnerable people is laudable but these proposals would introduce a scheme that is vague, confused and potentially harmful to the very people it seeks to protect.”
The Canadian Council for Refugees makes the point that it is not greater ministerial powers that are needed to address serious issues of exploitation of immigrants and migrant workers in Canada.
The council says that “[t]he amendments do not address the root problem with the existence in Canada of jobs that humiliate and degrade workers. Work permits are issued to individuals by visa officers after the employer’s job offer has been validated by Human Resources and Social Development Canada. The [government] refers to exotic dancers and low-skilled labourers, and suggests that they might be vulnerable to humiliating and degrading treatment. Why are job offers approved by the government if the work may humiliate and degrade workers?”
Mike Ma, former director of the Community and Race Relations Committee of Peterborough and an academic whose work focuses on immigration and social justice, agrees with this mantra and sees it as part of the solution to the problem of the inherent exploitability of migrants.
“Risks can never be removed,” Ma said. “One wonders if even they can be lessened? Newcomers are traditionally understood to be more malleable and exploitable. That is why they drive taxis and clean offices. Newcomers are expected to do the jobs ‘Canadians’ will not do.” He continued, “If you work here, then you are good enough to live here.”
Ma pointed out that it is hardly a surprise that employers take advantage of migrant workers. “After all, it is the job of the employer to extract as much labour power from the worker as possible. Otherwise s/he is not doing their job as the exploiter, CEO, capitalist, employer, or handmaiden to the shareholders.”
Ironically, if Bill C-56 is meant to protect immigrants, more substantial changes to Canadian immigration policy would be needed.
The frequently-cited exotic dancers and lower-skilled workers often come to Canada through the Pilot Project for Occupations Requiring Lower Levels of Formal Training, a program which excludes participants from becoming permanent immigrants to Canada.
Numerous groups, including the parliamentary committee on citizenship and immigration during the previous minority conservative parliaments, have pointed out that the exploitation faced by these groups is fundamentally linked to their non-permanent status. The mantra for this perspective is “Good enough to work, Good enough to stay.”
