The number of migrant workers1 admitted into Canada has expanded rapidly in recent years, with many sectors relying on them as a source of permanent labour supply (Lu 2020; Zhang et al. 2021; Foster 2012, p. 19; Falconer 2020). Workers coming through the “low-wage” stream are issued work permits that are systematically linked to a specific employer and occupation and require employer endorsement to be renewed. These work permits make it difficult to change jobs, producing a power imbalance that favours employers and results in workers having to remain in abuse situations (Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, SOR/2019-148). In 2019, in an attempt to temper the adverse effects of the employer-specific work permit, the federal government implemented the Open work permit for vulnerable workers policy (OWP-V), which provides immigration officers with the authority to issue an open work permit to a migrant worker with an employer-specific work permit who can demonstrate that they are experiencing abuse or are at risk of abuse by their employer.

The purpose of the OWP-V policy is to mitigate the conditions created by the employer-specific work permit. Employer-specific work permits have the effect of restricting workers’ ability to freely change employers by requiring workers to obtain a new work permit for each new employer and prohibiting them from earning a livelihood while they wait for the new work permit to be delivered. The procedure is lengthy and fraught with uncertainty. Workers who quit or are fired may fail to find another employer–sponsor to access a new work permit in time (before the expiration of their resident status). Additionally, there is no guarantee that such an employer will be granted by the government the validation necessary to sponsor and employ the worker. Even when successful, it takes many months to complete, during which time workers have no choice but to work without authorization to support themselves while they wait for the new permit to be issued, which exposes them to further risks of abuse and labour trafficking (Beatson et al. 2017, p. 154). In this context, to avoid jeopardizing their precarious right to work in the country, migrant workers systematically endure abuse and refrain from quitting or taking any step that could result in being fired—such as reporting abusive employers (Hastie 2017, pp. 33–34) or participating in state inspections of their employers’ practices (Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, SOR/2019-148). The OWP-V policy is supposed to address these problems by allowing workers who are experiencing abuse to maintain their right to earn a livelihood through the streamlined and rapid issuance (five business days for processing) of work authorization for any employer (subject to the general restrictions imposed on all work permits—Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, s 183).

Abuse, for the policy, is defined in section 196.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and covers four types of abuse: physical, sexual, psychological, and financial.2 As such, the term “vulnerable” in the context of the OWP-V policy refers to migrant workers who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing at least one of the four types of abuse listed in section 196.2. This is a misnomer to a certain extent. It implies that the vulnerability of the workers eligible for the permit arises from an experience with a specific employer rather than the employer-tying measures that place these workers at a high risk of abuse upon their arrival in Canada. By defining only workers that can provide sufficient evidence of abuse as vulnerable and deserving of protection, the policy disregards and obscures the state-imposed structural vulnerability of all employer-tied migrant workers in Canada.

To be eligible for an OWP-V permit, a worker must hold a valid employer-specific work permit or have applied for a renewal of their employer-specific work permit (implied status). Workers apply by filling out an online application and uploading a letter of explanation detailing the abuse and any supporting evidence. When assessing the application, officers can require that the worker attend an in-person or telephone interview with the immigration officer responsible for their application. The officer must have reasonable grounds to believe that the worker is experiencing or is at risk of experiencing abuse in the context of their employment in Canada.

The OWP-V permit is designed as a transitional measure. It is generally not renewable unless the worker meets the particular criteria established by the operational guidelines (to the best of our knowledge, no renewal has ever been granted). To remain in Canada after its expiration, workers must find an employer with a valid Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and apply for another employer-specific work permit.

2. Literature Review