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15 minutes ago
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Migrant worker calls proposed spike in housing cost payroll deduction 'wickedness'
OTTAWA — An Ontario migrant farm worker says there is "wickedness" in a federal government proposal that could allow employers to charge workers upwards of 30 per cent of their income for housing. The Migrant Rights Network shared with The Canadian Press a discussion paper from Employment and Social Development Canada. The document outlines possible regulations for a new temporary worker stream for agricultural and fish processing workers. The planned stream would include sector-specific work permits. That would allow temporary workers to work for any qualified employer in a specific field, instead of having their work permit tied to a specific job. This new stream isn't expected to be active until 2027 at the earliest, says the discussion paper. The document sets out a range of possible housing deductions employers could charge for shelter. At the highest end of that range, the government is considering a deduction of 30 per cent of pre-tax income — about $1,000 per month, according to the discussion paper. A migrant worker from Jamaica — The Canadian Press has agreed not to name him, due to his fear of reprisal from his employer — said that if the highest level of deduction is implemented, his $600 after-tax weekly pay packet will be stretched even thinner. "That is wickedness. I am working for $17.23 per hour," he said. "It seems like they want the program to become harder because if I am working, and they're taking so much money from me, then I won't have anything to send back home to my family or buy food here in Canada just to survive." A statement from Employment and Social Development Canada, the agency that oversees the temporary worker program, said the department held "extensive consultation" on the agriculture and fish processing stream. That included talks with international partners, industry stakeholders and migrant worker support organizations such as the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, the department said. The "paper-based consultation" included discussion papers covering such topics as health care, employer-provided transportation, wages and deductions, the department said. That consultation process is now over and federal employment and immigration officials are reviewing the feedback. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation defines affordable housing as anything costing less than 30 per cent of a household's pre-tax income. The discussion paper says the lowest housing deduction being considered by the federal government is five per cent, which it estimates would cost workers about $180 monthly. The amount a migrant worker can be charged through a housing deduction depends on the kind of temporary work program they're in. Those in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program cannot be charged by their employer for housing. Workers with low-wage stream permits, such as those working for fish processors, can be charged up to 30 per cent of their earnings for employer-provided housing. Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, said a 30 per cent housing deduction would be "a massive theft" of wages "without improvement in their lives." "It's incredibly hypocritical that it's being framed as improvements and a response to the United Nations calling Canada's temporary immigration system a breeding ground for exploitation and slavery," he said. Last year, the UN released a report saying Canada's temporary worker program is a "breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery" because it ties work permits to jobs. The report said this creates an institutionalized power imbalance because workers may be deported if they are fired and employers have "limited incentive to ensure decent working conditions." The migrant worker told The Canadian Press that he's been told he needs to keep working and stay in line because there are "10 more Jamaicans waiting for your job." "We don't really have a choice because if we did have a choice I'd be home with my family. The job situation in Jamaica is not really good. It's hard at the moment," he said. Hussan said the housing standards Ottawa cites in the discussion paper are inadequate and not enforceable. The discussion paper cites the need for "sufficient" ventilation and "adequate" plumbing. Hussan said this looks like a shift away from the federal government's 2020 proposal for housing regulations, which said migrant worker dwellings need to be able to maintain an indoor temperature of 20 to 25 degrees. The migrant worker who spoke to The Canadian Press said that he and his roommates often need to stay outside until 10 or 11 p.m. so their bunkhouse can cool down because it doesn't have air conditioning. "There is no A/C in the house and it is OK, it's legal for them. The bosses are not breaking any rules because at the start of the season, these houses are supposed to be inspected and passed by the relevant authorities so they are not breaking any rules," he said. The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change said it wants to see migrant workers given permanent residency status so they're better able to stand up for their rights. The government's discussion paper talks about creating a sector-specific permit for the planned agriculture and fish processing stream. This would mean someone holding this type of permit could work for any qualifying employer instead of having their work permit tied to a specific job. Hussan said this proposal still wouldn't provide labour mobility because the pool of employers that meet the program's criteria is small, and the rural areas where many seasonal workers live and work often have poor cell or internet coverage. "If you're working in New Brunswick, how do you find out that there's an employer in Ontario, or in B.C. or in Quebec who has an unfilled (Labour Market Impact Assessment), right?" Hussan said. "If you wanted labour mobility, you'd say, 'You can just work wherever you want.' Which is what you and I have, the ability to change jobs." This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025. David Baxter, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump plays a radical game by personally screening nominees for four-star generals
Ordinarily, when U.S. military leaders are being considered for a fourth star, they meet with the defense secretary at the Pentagon discuss their future and possible promotion. But with growing questions about Secretary Pete Hegseth and the degree to which he's calling the shots at the DOD, The New York Times reported on a different model in the current administration. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has begun requiring that nominees for four-star-general positions meet with President Trump before their nominations are finalized, in a departure from past practice, said three current and former U.S. officials. The move, though within Mr. Trump's remit as commander in chief, has raised worries about the possible politicization of the military's top ranks by a president who has regularly flouted norms intended to insulate the military from partisan disputes. While the Times' reporting has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, the White House effectively confirmed the story. 'President Trump wants to ensure our military is the greatest and most lethal fighting force in history, which is why he meets with four-star-general nominees directly to ensure they are war fighters first — not bureaucrats,' a White House spokesperson told the Times. We were warned that steps like these were coming. About a month before Election Day 2024, Trump said during an interview, 'The military is bad. We have generals that do such a bad job.' A week earlier, the Republican explicitly said he intended to create a system that would help keep 'woke generals' out of the Defense Department. He'd lashed out at U.S. generals before, but this was new: Trump sketched out a system in which military leaders would be subjected to some kind of ideological review. That was nine months ago. Now, the president is apparently taking related steps in the same direction, personally screening generals before they can earn their fourth stars. Journalist and historian Garrett Graff noted in response to the reporting, 'Trump is steadily poisoning the nonpartisan apolitical nature of the military's leadership—which will be a bell hard for future presidents to unring once it's happened.' Darin Self, a political scientist at Brigham Young University, added, 'You don't need a scholar of authoritarianism and the military like me to tell you this does not produce good outcomes.' There's a growing body of evidence to suggest the White House is blurring the lines between partisan politics and the country's armed forces, and the more these efforts advance, the more dangerous it becomes to our constitutional system of government. This post updates our related earlier coverage. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
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Fire is still raging at a Nebraska biofuels plant where explosion left 3 missing
FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Fire and heavy smoke were still pouring out of a Nebraska biofuels plant Wednesday morning, preventing firefighters from getting close enough to search for three people missing in a huge explosion a day earlier, officials said. Photos taken after Tuesday's blast at the Horizon Biofuels plant show its tall tower — marked by a distinctive sunbeam logo of the former owner, Golden Sun Feeds — torn off, exposing mangled metal and ripped siding. Debris littered the ground, and nearby residents say the blast shook their homes. 'We had a fire going all night, even through the rain,' Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg said early Wednesday in an interview with the radio station KFAB in Omaha. 'You have the feed mill area, you have the office area just under flames, basically it has not stopped,' Spellerberg said. He said authorities believe the three missing people might have been in the office when the explosion happened at around noon Tuesday. Fremont Fire Chief Todd Bernt said first responders were up against 'heavy smoke and a lot of flames' when they first arrived at the facility, which is surrounded by other manufacturing and food processing plants. The plant makes animal bedding and wood pellets for heating and smoking food, using tons of wood waste, and Bernt said they believe the facility stores wood and some alcohol-based materials. A 2014 fire at the building had damaged the electrical system but left the structure intact, according to reporting by the Fremont Tribune. Taylor Kirklin, who lives about a half mile (0.8 kilometers) from the building, said her whole house shook Tuesday. She said the explosion was so loud that she thought someone had crashed a car into her family's dog kennel business on the property. 'I got up and looked outside and there was a huge plume of smoke,' she said. 'We were really unsure when the explosion happened which plant it was, because there are so many in that area.' Dodge County Attorney Pamela Hopkins, who also serves as the county coroner, said law enforcement and first responders were busy securing the scene Tuesday afternoon and had not yet contacted her in her role as coroner. She added that she was hoping not to get that call. 'Right now, we're focused on the safety of the community and getting the situation under control — keeping the scene secure,' Hopkins said. She declined to comment further. Fremont, a city of about 27,000 and the sixth-largest in Nebraska, is 32 miles (52 kilometers) northwest of Omaha. The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
