Describing a situation more familiar to Arizonans than Albertans, local immigrant and labour organizations say Canada’s controversial temporary foreign worker program is quietly spawning an increase of undocumented immigrants in the country — and specifically, Alberta.

Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) president Gil McGowan says he knows of temporary workers from Mexico and India who have “disappeared into the night” after arriving in Alberta through the federal program and working for rotten employers. “When people hear about illegal aliens, they usually think of the United States and Mexican daily labourers sneaking over the border,” says McGowan. “But more and more this is becoming a Canadian problem, and it’s directly linked to the exponential growth of the temporary foreign worker program.”

In 2006 (the last year for which official statistics are available), Alberta hosted 22,000 temporary foreign workers — double the amount it had in 2003. Both the federal and provincial governments have touted the program as an important solution to the province’s labour shortage. However, the AFL has documented numerous cases where Alberta employers have taken advantage of foreign workers. Unfair wages, substandard working conditions and poor (and unreasonably expensive) housing are among the many problems the AFL has highlighted. “Because neither the federal and provincial governments have put resources in place to help these people, many of them are simply making the decision to run,” says McGowan.

Immigrant organizations in both Calgary and Edmonton confirm that over the past year, they’ve encountered more undocumented foreign workers. “Those cases are pretty sad situations because they have a lot of needs, but obviously no help,” says Mayra Castro, an employment supervisor for the Calgary Mennonite Centre for Newcomers. “They survive working basically under the table jobs…. jobs where they can have injuries and there is no protection. [They’re in a] very vulnerable position.”

The federal government is also aware of anecdotal stories about undocumented immigrants, but it’s not a “huge consideration” right now, says Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokesperson Doug Kellam. “There’s always going to be some people who [stay illegally],” he says. “If that’s becoming a concern, then that will be something that would come into our attention.” Kellam says the Canadian government’s main concern is “the protection of these workers” while they’re in Canada.

LOOSENING THE RULES

Nobody knows how many undocumented immigrants are in Alberta. “Because these people are disappearing into the underground economy, we can’t say exactly how many they are [or] where they are,” says McGowan.

Despite the many concerns raised about the foreign worker program, the federal government has repeatedly loosened the program’s rules to make it easier for Alberta employers to bring in workers. As recently as January 14, Monte Solberg, minister of Human Resources and Social Development — the department that runs the program — announced a further expansion of the program. Alberta and B.C. employers seeking foreign workers for 33 different jobs — including roofers, meatcutters and ironworkers — now get their applications fast-tracked by the federal government. Before Solberg’s announcement, only 12 jobs were fast-tracked.

With each of Solberg’s announcements, however, there has been no mention of the problems that accompany the influx of temporary workers. “The federal government… has really done this program badly,” says Jim Gurnett, executive director of the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers. “It’s a disservice to the foreign workers coming, and it’s a disservice to the rest of us.”

Gurnett met with Solberg in November 2006 to discuss problems with the foreign worker program, including the possibility of more workers staying in Canada without any legal status. (At the time, Solberg was minister of Citizenship and Immigration.) “You could see you were inviting that danger,” says Gurnett. His warning, however, didn’t shift the government’s course on foreign workers. “The very next day, [Solberg] held a news conference here announcing further loosening of the whole process, and a commitment to bring even more [temporary foreign workers] — rather than fewer as I had said was wise.”

HELPING HANDS TIED

The Calgary and Edmonton Mennonite Centres for Newcomers are limited in how much they can help foreign workers and undocumented immigrants because the federal government funds the centres to work with permanent immigrants. Only a small fraction of their budget is allocated for foreign workers, despite the swelling foreign worker population in Alberta. “It’s very unsatisfying,” says Gurnett. “My staff become really discouraged by it.” In Calgary, Castro says she has to tell undocumented immigrants to report themselves to the federal government. “It’s very difficult,” she says.

Gurnett’s staff in Edmonton typically try to link undocumented immigrants to a church or cultural group that can offer help. However, if an undocumented immigrant is facing serious health or legal problems, Gurnett’s staff offers help. “We have a moral obligation to do that,” says Gurnett. “In good conscience we can’t just pretend that they aren’t in any danger.”

A major problem with the program, says Gurnett, is that brokers in foreign countries often pitch the program dishonestly to would-be workers. “Even though it’s a complete lie, those brokers will say to them, ‘Once you’re in the country, it’ll be no trouble getting to stay,’” he says. “So they sort of come believing that they’re going to be able to become immigrants.” Castro says some undocumented immigrants she’s spoken with aren’t aware of their illegal status. “Some of them think that because they don’t need a visa to come here, they can stay forever and also can work and live like a permanent resident,” she says. “There’s a lot of confusion.”

While the federal government has been reluctant to acknowledge the shortcomings of its foreign worker program, the provincial government — which is responsible for labour standards — has acknowledged and started to address some of the problems. The province opened two “advisory offices” for temporary foreign workers in December, and earlier this month banned an Ontario recruiting agency from operating in Alberta. (The agency had been illegally charging foreign workers for connections to jobs in Alberta.) The province also created two four-person teams to inspect workplaces where there are foreign workers — although the teams phone the workplaces several days before the inspection which, say critics, gives employers time to save face.

Ultimately, however, responsibility for the program lies with the federal government. Gurnett says the government should charge a fee to employers for every foreign worker they bring to Canada; those fees would then be distributed to immigrant organizations so foreign workers could get services when they need them. Gurnett has pitched the fee idea to Solberg and others. “But the federal government doesn’t seem to have shown the slightest interest,” he says “The federal government is going, in every way, in the exact opposite direction of building a strong society and treating human beings with dignity.”