“Migrant workers facing the dangers of wildfires need support”

Wildfires continue to burn across Canada, destroying hundreds of structures and displacing thousands of people….migrant workers have been coping with the effects of the fires with relatively little support.

Temporary migrant workers in the Global North are already highly vulnerable to abuse…

…Many workers in the region continue to deal with abusive employers who refuse to pay for worked hours and who continue to refuse to offer them basic health and safety protections in the workplace.

Migrant workers also reported bad and unhealthy housing conditions and major obstacles to accessing health care. Some also said they feared reappraisal and dismissal if they refused the hazardous working conditions and strenuous days…

Some migrants reported receiving support. For example, some temporary foreign workers from Mexico said they were given masks in some farms to avoid being affected by the heavy smoke, as well as being asked to pause the work and remain in the house they were assigned as protective measures…

We also heard from migrant workers with precarious legal status that they were receiving support from the emergency response programs…

Despite the examples of support some workers had during the wildfires, most of the workers our research team spoke to reported challenges…