Campaign Details

Individuals on restrictive work authorizations, such as holders of employer-tied permits, but also those on sectoral permits, like SAWP workers, are vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery.
Restrictive work authorizations, such as sectoral, regional, occupational or agency-specific work permits, make workers’ right to earn a living in the country conditional on maintaining a relationship with specific employers, enabling employers to maintain substandard conditions, retaliate against whistleblowers and efficiently blacklist them. This results in physical and psychological harm and makes workers more vulnerable to underemployment, debt bondage, undocumented work, human trafficking and, more generally, to facing obstacles in the exercise of rights, access to justice and protection of the law in Canada.
● Restrictive work authorizations including sectoral, regional, occupational or agency-specific permits are rooted in racism and produce discriminatory outcomes, including the segregation of socio-politically under-integrated individuals within employment sectors and, more generally, society. Replacing closed permits with other forms of restrictive authorizations would consolidate employers’ reliance on and preference for pools of captive workers - negatively impacting work conditions and collective bargaining for citizens. Restricting workers’ freedom within the labour market ensures the preservation of dangerous archaic conditions within specific occupations, regions or sectors and facilitates impunity for employers of (im)migrants.