Migrant farm workers pay into EI, but can't access it. Now they're suing the federal government

Migrant agricultural workers in Canada pay into employment insurance (EI), but they are not able to access it when their contracts expire and they return to their home country.

They also have employment contracts that are tied to one employer, preventing them from changing their employer while they're in Canada.

A proposed $500-million class action lawsuit against the federal government is aiming to challenge those regulations.

"It's an issue that has been around for some time now," said Jody Brown, a partner at Goldblatt Partners LLP, the law firm that filed the statement of claim. "The time is now for workers to come forward and try and make a change to this program."

Kevin Palmer and Andrel Peters, seasonal migrant workers from the Caribbean who worked for companies in Leamington, Ont., are the lead plaintiffs in the suit, filed last month at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto.

It was filed on behalf of workers in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and the Temporary Foreign Workers Program-Agricultural Stream for the last 15 years.

"They're seeking to bring a case not just on their own behalf, but on behalf of 10s of thousands of other workers who have been in a similar situation," said Brown.

Class action lawsuits have to be certified by a judge in order to proceed. The allegations in the proposed lawsuit have not been proven in court.

A 2022 report from Statistics Canada stated that Canada is "increasingly reliant on TFWs to fill labour shortage gaps" and that the number of TFWs in Canada increased by 600 per cent from 2000 to 777,000 in 2021.

An advocate for migrant workers says the suit is important in the fight to get more rights for migrant workers.

"The feedback from workers has been quite positive," said Chris Ramsaroop, an organizer with Justice for Migrant Workers. "The biggest concerns that they've got are around immigration and around employment insurance and that in their time of need, they can't claim or access this benefit."

In an emailed statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada says the government does not comment on ongoing cases or "an individual's personal circumstances," but said that it takes "its responsibilities with respect to the protection of temporary foreign workers very seriously and the safety and protection of workers is paramount.

Jody Brown is a partner with Goldblatt Partners LLP in Toronto. (Goldblatt Partners LLP)

"While in Canada, temporary foreign workers have the same rights and protections as Canadians and permanent residents under applicable federal, provincial and territorial employment standards and collective agreements," the statement continued.

Brown disputes this, saying it misses the point.

"When they're in Canada, they have the same EI rights; they have the right to pay into the program," he says. "The problem is once you leave, when the growing season is done, you can't access it."

Brown also says migrant workers do not have the same rights as Canadian workers because migrant workers cannot change their employer.

The government also said that a statement of defence will be filed "in due course, when appropriate."

If the suit is successful, Ramsaroop says it will have multiple benefits for the workers.

"First and foremost, it's ensuring that workers are compensated," he says. "Second of all, it's ensuring that we develop an EI system which is comprehensive and portable and ensures that when workers are unemployed, like a Canadian worker, that they should be getting benefits."

Ramsaroop also says a successful suit would also address the issue of contracts and work permits that tie a worker to one employer.

Chris Ramsaroop is an organizer with the group Justice for Migrant Workers. He says migrant workers have been reacting positively to the lawsuit. (Jennifer La Grassa/CBC)

"In the 21st century, we still have an indentured labour program which should be concerning for all of us," he said. "We should not have workers who are tied to an employer or exploited being in a precarious position like this."