'Contemporary Forms Of Slavery': UN Report Slams Canada Over Human Rights Violation Through Migration Policy

United Nations (UN) report set to be presented in Human Rights Council calls out Canada and says, it "risks failing to live up to its reputation as a global champion of human rights."

The report urges the Justin Trudeau-led Canadian government to act more decisively to reform laws and policies that enable the exploitation of vulnerable workers.

It says that Canada should promote human rights due diligence by Canadian companies, reform migration programmes that are conducive to exploitation and address the effects of its colonial legacy on indigenous people.

The report comes at a time when Trudeau has been preaching the world of human rights and has failed to take action against Khalistani terrorists working on Canadian soil citing freedom of expression.

It expresses concern over Canada's insufficient protection of migrant workers' rights, specifically pointing to the "Temporary Foreign Worker Program." Trudeau has often praised this for promoting plurality.

The report describes the program as fostering conditions conducive to "contemporary forms of slavery", noting that it creates systemic power imbalances favoring employers and preventing workers from effectively advocating for their rights.

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) enables Canadian employers to recruit foreign workers to address temporary labor and skill shortages. Canada had 1.36 lakh TFWP had 84,004 permit holders in 2022.

UN Special Rapporteur Tomoya Obokata visited Canada from 23 August to 6 September 2023. His report, which has recently been made public, details his visits to Ottawa, Moncton, Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver.

"Canada must do more to address the systematic, intersecting forms of discrimination" that Indigenous Peoples, women and gender-diverse individuals, migrants, and persons with disabilities continue to face, the report said.