Quebec court authorizes temporary foreign worker class action on closed permits

Quebec’s Superior Court has authorized a class-action lawsuit involving temporary foreign workers who are suing the federal government over work permits that bind them to an employer.

The lawsuit was launched in 2023 by the Montreal-based Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers and alleges closed work permits violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

On Friday, Quebec Superior Court Justice Silvana Conte authorized the lawsuit, which involves any foreign national issued a work permit after April 17, 1982, that was tied to a specific employer.

The action seeks damages for members, and a declaration that sections of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations are unconstitutional.

The lead plaintiff in the case is a farm worker from Guatemala who alleges abuse while working under a closed permit.

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If workers under closed permits are fired then they can be deported from Canada, a rule that critics say encourages abuse by employers.

The federal government will have 30 days to decide whether to appeal the ruling.

Last September, the United Nations Special Rapporteur described Canada’s temporary foreign worker program as a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.”