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

A proposed $500-millionclass action lawsuit against the federal government is aimingto 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."

Afternoon Drive7:33Attorney General faces legal action from Leamington migrant workers

The Attorney General is having a claim filed against them to the tune of half a billion dollars. And it's coming from migrant workers who say they are unable to access their employment insurance after paying into it for years. Host Colin Butler hears more from Jody Brown, one of the lawyers representing the workers.

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

Itwas filed on behalf of workers in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program andthe 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 10sof 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 Canadasays the governmentdoes not comment on ongoing cases or "an individual's personal circumstances,"but said that ittakes "its responsibilities with respect to the protection of temporary foreign workers very seriously and the safety and protection of workers is paramount.

"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.

"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."