The real issue at the heart of Canada’s meat processing industry isn’t labour shortages — it’s low wages

The fundamental issue in southern Alberta’s meatpacking sector is not a shortage of labour, but rather insufficient wages. (Shutterstock)

A United Nations special rapporteur recently released a damning report describing Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker program as a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.” The report detailed the many ways migrant workers have been mistreated in Canada, including excessive work hours, limited breaks and physical abuse.

The report’s revelations have intensified scrutiny of the broader reliance on temporary foreign workers in Canada. The structural dependency on such workers spans various sectors of the Canadian economy and has become a pointed site of critique.