Migrant Workers: Canada

Labour System Dept: There have been a number of stories this week outlining the massive scale of the migratory labour system that brought these workers from Peru, and the difficult conditions they face, according to The Star. First, those numbers point to a fundamental shift in Canadian immigration and labour market policy. Over the last decade, the use of migrant labour systems has grown astronomically. By 2009, more people were coming into Canada under temporary foreign worker programs a staggering total of about 280,000 than under the regular immigration system and sadly, it took a tragedy on the scale of the traffic accident in Hampstead, Ont., which claimed 11 lives, to bring some attention to the plight of migrant workers in Canada. But before the media moves on to other issues, or the story s focus narrows to traffic safety regulations important as these may be , it is essential that Canadians take a moment to consider what those numbers and conditions really mean in other words, to wake up to the realities that tens of thousands of migrant workers face. Two broad areas of concern stand out. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.