I can only imagine what it must have been like to finally gather the courage to turn up at the Dawson Creek office of the Labour board only to be told "we can't help you, you're foreign". Just brutal.
Note that the Employment Standards Bureau in BC clearly states that TFWs have the same protections: http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/facshts/foreign_workers.htm
That the office in Dawson's Creek said they couldn't help because those workers were TFWs is disgraceful and should be investigated because if true it represents a fundamental failure of the system to properly protect workers.
One very important part of this information:
Another excellent publication: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/pub/tfw-rights-english.pdf
The Tim Horton's employees in that complaint are clearly subject to exactly this type of treatment.
If CIC finds that someone has been subject to Human Trafficking, the law allows them to issue a Temporary Resident Permit:
This can lead to an open work permit and eventually eligibility for permanent residency - though this requires the TRP permit holder remain in Canada under a valid TRP for five years. At that point they are eligible in the Permit Holder's class.
Thanks for all the useful information. It would definitely be of great use to me if my employer turns out to be really shady like the Dawson Creek employer. I highly doubt that I'd need to use this info, but it's nice to have just in case.
Oh yeah, then beef up enforcement. Getting rid of the foreign worker program is still completely out of the question. Sushi restaurants in Manitoba pale in comparison to restaurants all across the country.
You will be allowed to extend your work permit for a period of time that adds up to – but does not exceed – the maximum of four years of work in Canada.
