A class-action lawsuit has been initiated against the Attorney General of Canada regarding workers’ rights.
The Superior Court of Quebec authorized the national class action launched by the Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers (DTMF).
The DTMF argues that “employer-tying measures” imposed on temporary foreign workers (TFW) breach sections 7 and 15(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This includes imposing employer-specific work permits or “closed” work permits.
“The Association asks that certain provisions of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations be declared unconstitutional, and that Charter damages (monetary compensation) be paid to all members of the class action,” reads a recent notice from law firm Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP.
According to the litigators, the Attorney General of Canada contests the merits of the class-action lawsuit, which will be determined by a trial scheduled for a later date.
Who’s a part of this class-action lawsuit?
F Armstrong Photography/Shutterstock
The notice states that a person is automatically a member of the class action if they worked in Canada after April 17, 1982, without being a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada at the time.
They will also need to meet at least one of the following conditions:
- They were issued a work permit, which included the condition of working for a specific employer (or group of employers) or at a specific employer’s workplace (or group of workplaces).
- They meet this condition if they were hired through the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP), the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) or the Non-Immigrant Employment Authorization Program (NIEAP).
- Another way they meet that condition is if they were hired through the International Mobility Program (IMP) or another immigration stream or program, and their work permit included the condition of working for a specific employer (or group of employers) or at a specific employer’s workplace (or group of workplaces).
- They were authorized to work in Canada without a work permit because they were employed by a foreign entity on a short-term basis or were employed in a personal capacity by an individual who was neither a Canadian citizen nor a permanent resident.
- This includes domestic workers, personal assistants or caregivers (nannies or au pair) who entered Canada along with their employers, or to join their employers for a short term in Canada
- It also includes accredited domestic workers employed in a personal capacity by certain foreign representatives, such as ambassadors, high commissioners, heads of international organizations, special representatives, or individuals occupying similar positions
- It does not include individuals who were employed by a foreign state or other foreign entity to work at an embassy, a high commission, a consulate, a permanent delegation to a United Nations agency, or a special representative office
- It does not include individuals employed by the United Nations, its agencies or an international organization of which Canada is a member.
Individuals who meet those criteria are automatically included in the class action. They are not required to take any further action to become members of the class action. They will never have to pay legal costs arising from the class action.
If a person does not want to be included in the class action, they may opt out of the class action by Aug. 27, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. at the latest.
