Ontario Working with Federal Government to Protect Temporary Foreign Workers

Information-Sharing Agreement to Reinforce Workplace Rights for All Workers

December 16, 2016 10:00 A.M. Ministry of Labour

The Ontario government is working with the Government of Canada to ensure temporary foreign workers are treated fairly and kept safe on the job through a new information-sharing agreement.

The agreement allows the the federal government and the province to exchange data, including the names of employers and recruitment agents seeking to hire temporary foreign workers, which will help:

Increase Ontario's oversight of workplaces that hire temporary foreign workers

Ensure employers are complying with the province's workplace laws

Identify and report employers who fail to comply with workplace rights and standards

Determine whether employers are eligible to hire foreign workers.

Temporary foreign workers are generally at greater risk of having their workplace rights violated, as their work is often seasonal with a work permit tied to one employer, and may lack language skills or resources to understand their rights at work. This agreement will help the Ontario government ensure that temporary foreign workers have the same protections as all other workers in the province.

Strengthening protections for vulnerable workers is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.

Quick Facts Last year, Ontario extended protections contained in the Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act, 2009 to all foreign nationals employed or seeking employment via an immigration of foreign temporary employee program

From May 2 to June 30, 2016, the Ontario Ministry of Labour conducted an employment standards inspection blitz focusing on workplaces that employ temporary foreign workers

Foreign nationals and others can call Ontario’s Employment Standards Information Centre (1-800-531-5551) and the Health and Safety Contact Centre (1-877-202-0008) to get information about their workplace rights in many languages.

International Migrants Day is held annually on December 18 to recognize the efforts, contributions and rights of migrants worldwide.