Latest news with #KettyNivyabandi
CTV News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Ottawa's sweeping border bill ‘an attack' on asylum seekers' rights, says Amnesty International Canada
RCMP officers stop asylum seekers as they enter Canada via Roxham Road on the Canada-U.S. border in Hemmingford, Que., on March 25, 2023. (Graham Hughes / The Canadian Press) The federal government's proposed Bill C-2 is 'an attack' on refugees' right to seek asylum, Amnesty International Canada says. The human rights organization said in a press release Thursday that the bill, if passed, would make it 'virtually impossible' for the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) to review refugee claims from most people entering Canada via the United States. Moreover, Amnesty International Canada says the bill would prevent people who have been in Canada for more than a year from seeking refugee status. People facing harm, including persecution and torture, in their countries could be 'unfairly denied' refugee protection by Canada, it added. Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada's English-speaking section, said seeking asylum is a human right. 'With Bill C-2, the Canadian government threatens to chip away at that right, making it harder for people seeking safety and freedom to file an asylum claim and have it assessed fairly,' Nivyabandi said in a statement Thursday. 'This attack on the right to seek asylum will severely diminish Canada's international standing when it comes to protecting human rights.' Referring to the measures affecting immigrants and asylum seekers, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in a press release Tuesday that Bill C-2, or the Strong Borders Act, would address what it called growing migration pressures by making the immigration and asylum systems stronger, efficient and more flexible. A separate news release Tuesday from Public Safety Canada said the changes will improve the 'integrity and fairness of our immigration system while protecting Canadians' privacy and Charter rights.' The federal government says it will also work with American border and law enforcement agencies to strengthen the border and combat organized crime. According to a background document, the bill includes ineligibility rules. People who make asylum claims more than one year after first arriving in Canada after June 24, 2020, would not be referred to the IRB. Asylum claimants who enter Canada from the United States along the land border and make a claim after 14 days would also not be referred to the IRB.
Toronto Sun
16-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
Canada hasn't done enough to stop exploitation of foreign workers: Amnesty
Published May 15, 2025 • 1 minute read A temporary foreign worker from Mexico plants strawberries on a farm in Mirabel, Que., Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Photo by Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS A representative for Amnesty International Canada says the country isn't doing enough to stop the exploitation of temporary foreign workers brought in on visas that keep them tied to one employer. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Ketty Nivyabandi, the group's English section secretary-general, says being at the mercy of one employer allows migrant workers to be exploited to live in overcrowded, unsanitary housing conditions, work in unsafe environments and face emotional abuse. Amnesty International put out a report in January that said Canadian authorities have been aware of abuses in the system for decades but failed to make systemic policy changes or abolish closed work permits. It said the visas were the most evident root cause of migrant workers' labour exploitation and discrimination and called on the Canadian government to grant open work permits so migrants can change employers and jobs. A report by a UN special rapporteur last August said the temporary foreign worker program in Canada 'serves as a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.' At an online event hosted by British Columbia's human rights commissioner on Thursday, Nivyabandi said changes Canada has made to the program have been too piecemeal, narrow and not systemic enough. 'We haven't seen any sufficient steps that would really mirror the magnitude of what we have reported, the magnitude of what the special rapporteur has reported, and the magnitude of what migrant workers themselves have reported for years,' she said.
Hamilton Spectator
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Canada hasn't done enough to stop exploitation of foreign workers: Amnesty
A representative for Amnesty International Canada says the country isn't doing enough to stop the exploitation of temporary foreign workers brought in on visas that keep them tied to one employer. Ketty Nivyabandi, the group's English section secretary-general, says being at the mercy of one employer allows migrant workers to be exploited to live in overcrowded, unsanitary housing conditions, work in unsafe environments and face emotional abuse. Amnesty International put out a report in January that said Canadian authorities have been aware of abuses in the system for decades but failed to make systemic policy changes or abolish closed work permits. It said the visas were the most evident root cause of migrant workers' labour exploitation and discrimination and called on the Canadian government to grant open work permits so migrants can change employers and jobs. A report by a U.N. special rapporteur last August said the temporary foreign worker program in Canada 'serves as a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.' At an online event hosted by British Columbia's human rights commissioner on Thursday, Nivyabandi said changes Canada has made to the program have been too piecemeal, narrow and not systemic enough. 'We haven't seen any sufficient steps that would really mirror the magnitude of what we have reported, the magnitude of what the special rapporteur has reported, and the magnitude of what migrant workers themselves have reported for years,' she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025
Winnipeg Free Press
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canada hasn't done enough to stop exploitation of foreign workers: Amnesty
A representative for Amnesty International Canada says the country isn't doing enough to stop the exploitation of temporary foreign workers brought in on visas that keep them tied to one employer. Ketty Nivyabandi, the group's English section secretary-general, says being at the mercy of one employer allows migrant workers to be exploited to live in overcrowded, unsanitary housing conditions, work in unsafe environments and face emotional abuse. Amnesty International put out a report in January that said Canadian authorities have been aware of abuses in the system for decades but failed to make systemic policy changes or abolish closed work permits. It said the visas were the most evident root cause of migrant workers' labour exploitation and discrimination and called on the Canadian government to grant open work permits so migrants can change employers and jobs. A report by a U.N. special rapporteur last August said the temporary foreign worker program in Canada 'serves as a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.' At an online event hosted by British Columbia's human rights commissioner on Thursday, Nivyabandi said changes Canada has made to the program have been too piecemeal, narrow and not systemic enough. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'We haven't seen any sufficient steps that would really mirror the magnitude of what we have reported, the magnitude of what the special rapporteur has reported, and the magnitude of what migrant workers themselves have reported for years,' she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025
Al Jazeera
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Canada's temporary foreign worker scheme ‘inherently exploitative': Amnesty
Montreal, Canada – Canada has failed to take meaningful action to address systemic abuses in a decades-old foreign worker programme, subjecting thousands of labourers to an 'inherently exploitative' system, Amnesty International says. In a 71-page report released on Thursday, the rights group outlined a wide range of abuses linked to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), from wage theft to excessive work hours, racist abuse and violence. Many of the violations are related to the labourers' 'closed' work permits, which tie them to their employers and leave them open to exploitation, Amnesty said. Workers typically do not speak out due to a fear of reprisals. 'Exploitation, discrimination and abuse are integral features, not bugs, of the Temporary Foreign Worker program,' Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada's English-speaking section, said in a statement. 'Cosmetic changes are not enough. Our leaders must implement the reforms required to bring the program in line with Canada's human rights obligations – and, ultimately, to respect the rights of workers.' Launched in the 1970s, Canada's foreign worker programmes have come under increased scrutiny in recent years as former and current labourers denounced their treatment. In 2022, a group of workers from Jamaica wrote a letter likening conditions on farms in Ontario, Canada's most populous province, to 'systematic slavery'. A year later, a United Nations special rapporteur said the TFWP schemes 'make migrant workers vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery, as they cannot report abuses without fear of deportation'. 'Like throwing away rubbish' Tens of thousands of foreign workers come to Canada each year through the TFWP, which the government says aims to fill gaps in the labour market. They work in low-wage industries such as agriculture – including on farms or at food-processing plants – and as in-home caregivers, among other jobs. In 2021, temporary foreign workers accounted for 18 percent of the workforce in Canada's agricultural sector and 10 percent in the accommodation and food services sector, a study released late last year found. Migrant workers – many of whom have been coming to Canada for years or even decades – also have limited pathways to permanent residency in the country. 'In its current design, the TFWP is inherently exploitative,' Amnesty International said in Thursday's report. The group also said the scheme is 'inherently discriminatory, as it entrenches instances of discrimination and disproportionate impacts of human rights violations on racialized 'lowskilled' workers based on their race, gender, class and national origin'. Francisco, a Mexican worker who spoke to Amnesty International using the pseudonym, said: 'The employer gets what he wants, but when [the worker] is no longer useful to him … He simply sends [the worker] back. 'And I feel that it is like throwing away rubbish and saying it's no longer useful.' Inspections and fines The Canadian government has previously defended the 'closed' work permits as a necessary measure to ensure it knows which employers are employing foreign workers and where they are working. Last year, amid a growing backlash over immigration and a housing crisis, the government also announced plans to reduce the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada, including those in TFWP streams. Meanwhile, Employment and Social Development Canada, the country's labour ministry, said in mid-January that it had increased penalties for employers who fail to comply with the rules. The ministry said it conducted 649 inspections between April and the end of September of last year, 11 percent of which found employers to be non-compliant. It also issued $1.46m (2.1m Canadian dollars) in fines and banned 20 employers from the TFWP. 'Workers in Canada deserve and expect to feel safe and protected in the workplace. That's why we're taking steps to further protect temporary foreign workers and hold bad actors accountable,' said Steven MacKinnon, the Canadian minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. 'Employers must follow the rules, and we will continue to take decisive action to protect workers' rights and wellbeing while growing our economy.' But Amnesty International stressed in its report that TFWP abuses 'cannot be attributed to a few unscrupulous employers, nor can they be understood as isolated incidents'. It urged Canada to move beyond 'narrow, piecemeal measures' to make 'systemic policy changes', including the abolition of 'closed' work permits. 'This system should be urgently replaced with an open visa system that can fully protect racialized workers from labour exploitation and discrimination,' Amnesty said.
