New regulations on migrant farm workers should tackle employer/employee power imbalances

A temporary foreign worker from Mexico works on a berry farm in Mirabel, Que., in May 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

The government of Canada recently amended the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to include new employer obligations. These amendments are intended to enhance protections for migrant workers and ensure the integrity of the government’s temporary foreign worker program.

While a step in the right direction, the changes side-step the root issues that make temporary foreign workers vulnerable to abuse in the first place.