Foreign nationals who are without status in Canada but who cannot return to their country of nationality due to dangerous conditions should be allowed to apply for work permits if they are not subject to a removal order. That’s the gist of a letter to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser by the Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association.
Section 206 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations outlines the conditions under which foreign nationals with no other means of support are eligible for work permits: When a refugee claim has been referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board, and when they are subject to an unenforceable removal order.
The problem, the Section explains, is that “many foreign nationals who are ineligible for work permits because they don’t have a refugee claim or an unenforceable removal order, are also unable to return to their country of nationality because the country is on the list for Temporary Suspensions of Removal (TSR) or Administrative Deferral of Removals (ADR).”
Countries end up on that list because they represent a risk to the civilian population as a result of armed conflict, environmental disaster or another situation that is temporary and generalized.
In some cases, a country can stay on that list for decades due to prolonged conflict or humanitarian crisis. “Individuals ineligible for a work permit are prevented from earning a living, which leaves them in a difficult predicament legally and practically if unable or unwilling to depart Canada,” the letter reads, as they are often forced to choose between unauthorized work or social assistance. And many provinces do not provide social assistance to foreign nationals without status.
Women are especially vulnerable, the Section notes, “as they are more likely to suffer from sexual harassment. Working ‘under the table’ limits employment options and likely keeps foreign nationals in menial and strenuous jobs that are physically and mentally exhausting.”
In order to address this situation, the Section suggests adding the following to section 206 of the Regulations.
206 (1) A work permit may be issued under section 200 to a foreign national in Canada who cannot support themselves without working, if the foreign national
- has made a claim for refugee protection that has been referred to the Refugee Protection Division but has not been determined;
- is subject to an unenforceable removal order; or
- is a citizen of a country for which the Minister has imposed a temporary suspension of removal or an administrative deferral of removal.
Allowing foreign nationals to work legally would not prevent their eventual removal from Canada, “since work permits given under section 206 do not confer temporary resident status,” the Section adds. But it would fix an oversight in the Regulations that routinely condemns many people present in the country who cannot return to their country of citizenship for reasons outside their control to poverty, abuse or exploitation.