We the residents of Ontario are deeply concerned with the ongoing practice of unscrupulous foreign recruitment agencies that prey on migrant workers in the Province of Ontario. It is largely acknowledged that the relationship between Temporary Foreign Workers and their employers is grossly unbalanced due to the temporary nature of their immigration status. Some employers and foreign recruitment agencies exploit this vulnerability with impunity knowing that the workers either do not understand their rights or are afraid to demand fair treatment. Recruitment agencies collect “service fees” that run up to thousands of dollars from the migrant workers while giving false promises of a pathway to Permanent Residency or an opportunity for other employment. Migrant workers are already a vulnerable sector in our community due to the nature of their temporary immigration status and the lack of services provided by the Federal and the Provincial governments. Unscrupulous recruitment agencies exacerbate the vulnerability of these workers. All migrant workers deserve better treatment.

Therefore, we call on the Members of the Provincial Parliament to:

-       Adopt a policy which will mandate all foreign recruitment agencies to obtain a license from Employment Standards.

-       Require all employers wanting to hire foreign workers in Ontario to first register with Employment Standards.

- We demand for the Province of Ontario to advocate to the Federal Government to provide Permanent Residency on landing for all migrant workers coming to work in Canada.