The Injustice of Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada: The Sheldon McKenzie Case

Canadians are unaware of the tremendous amount of work that migrant workers do for the Canadian society. Canada benefits from the agricultural labour of migrant workers by filling job spaces when they are needed, as well as lowering the costs of agricultural produce. Migrant workers of every race and gender face discriminate injustices as they are not considered Canadian citizens; thus, lacking the rights Canadian workers receive.

Sheldon McKenzie, a 39 year old Jamaican temporary foreign worker (TFW), suffered a serious head injury at work in January of 2015. No longer being able to work, McKenzie was stripped of his work visa by his liaison officer and no longer had healthcare coverage. He was forced to return back to Jamaica.

McKenzie’s medical conditions were too serious to return home, and the health care in Jamaica would not be adequate for the treatment he needed. McKenzie suffered from internal bleeding and swelling, which resulted in parts of his brain to be removed. His cousin, Marcia Barrett, hired a lawyer to try and get him a humanitarian work visa so he could continue the health care in Canada that he desperately needed. Barrett succeeded in receiving a temporary stay, but McKenzie died before the visa could be finalized.

A nearly 40 year old man died because Canada could not provide him with the health care he desperately needed to stay alive; and had the right to. McKenzie worked in Canada for 12 years as a seasonal agricultural worker, under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SWAP), providing Canada with necessities that we take for granted. The fruits and vegetables that we eat would never be picked if it wasn’t for migrant workers.

Living and working conditions are just some of the injustices temporary foreign workers (TFW) have to live with every day. Employers are required, by regulations, to provide TFWs with free and adequate living conditions. However, migrant workers often live in small bunk houses, with many workers sharing one home. These cramped conditions can lead to serious health concerns, in which disease can be spread quickly. Workers are often not provided with safe working conditions, are forced to work with dangerous pesticides and chemicals and handle difficult equipment in which they have no proper training in how to operate them. There are also issues with improper wages considering the number of hours they work, and basic working rights such as employment insurance and health benefits when injured on the job.

Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW) is a non-profit volunteer run collective group whose main goal is to restore the rights of migrant workers in Canada. For more on this issue and other cases similar to that of Sheldon McKenzie, are available on their website at: http://www.justicia4migrantworkers.org/index.htm.

Temporary immigration into Canada by other foreign countries has been happening for over 50 years, yet problems surrounding injustice and discrimination are still occurring when they should have already been solved. Inform yourself about the injustices of migrant workers and take action towards these issues, being the voice of Canada’s isolated and underappreciated workforce.

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