Migrant rights advocates say better conditions are crucial as labour exploitation rears its head in Alberta

RCMP in Hinton, Alta., are warning the public about labour trafficking, while some migrant rights advocates say the conditions in Canada perpetuate systemic oppression.

Authorities are looking into a complaint out of Hinton that includes multiple reports involving the potential exploitation of temporary foreign workers in the hospitality and restaurant industries.  

Cpl. Mathew Howell said in an interview that the investigation is in its preliminary stages.

"It's come to light that it might be a broader problem than just what that one complaint came from," Howell said.

Labour trafficking, as outlined by the federal government, is a form of human trafficking that can happen in several industries.

Howell said the exploitation could present itself as employment agencies demanding or collecting a fee from a temporary foreign worker for recruiting services or helping them find a job. 

Another scenario can involve an agency making an individual pay for other services as a condition to help the person find work; this includes immigration services. 

"That's where the illegal aspect enters in," Howell said.

"So essentially, their status coming into Canada was legal because it was through a legal hiring program. But then the companies are illegally essentially holding them into that position."

Public Safety Canada states on their website that, "[...] migrant workers, and newcomers to Canada looking for work, can be at higher-risk due to language barriers."

The federal agency acknowledged as well that people with precarious immigration status, such as lack of permanent residence, restrictive work permit, limited or no access to social benefits, or working in remote areas without access to information about their legal rights, can find it even more challenging to find support. 

Human trafficking has become more pronounced in the past decade according to law enforcement reporting. Police-reported incidents from 2011 to 2021 across Canada grew from 60 to 386; within Alberta, it went from two to 38.

Earlier this month, a United Nations official denounced Canada's temporary foreign worker program as a "breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery."

Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, said in an interview that "human trafficking is really a question of distraction," as it serves to undermine the systemic issue of migrant workers living and working under immigration and labour laws that make them unable to assert their rights.