Is Canada quietly becoming like the Arab Gulf States when it comes to relying on foreign labour?

Author(s): Chin, F.

Date: 2025

Resource: The Hub.

I still remember the day a manila envelope began making the rounds at the office. Inside, there was a condolence card for Ali, along with a request to chip in a few dollars.

Ali’s mother had died back home in India.

To attend her funeral, he’d have to give up several weeks’ pay and get permission from his employer. By raising money, we hoped to help with the first problem. By circulating the card, we hoped to apply enough social pressure to solve the second.

Over coffee breaks, Ali told me about his life: a shared house crammed with bunk beds, monthly trips to the Western Union to wire half his salary to his family.

It would take months to save enough just to leave the country. And if he departed suddenly, there was no guarantee he’d be able to return.

What I’ve just described could take place in Canada today.

But it didn’t.

It happened in Qatar. […]

For her book Enduring Work, Catherine Connelly interviewed about 100 people connected to the program in Canada—workers, employers, recruiters, and community organizations.

“It’s a very flawed program and the mistreatment that we hear about from time to time—it’s really just the tip of the iceberg,” said Connelly, professor and research chair of organizational behaviour at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business. […]

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