Migrant workers face lost wages and housing concerns after Okanagan wildfire evacuations

Migrant workers evacuated from the Okanagan region by the Bald Range wildfire are facing a cascade of financial hardship as evacuation orders drag on and they lose days of wages without access to standard safety nets.

Raul Gatica with advocacy organization Dignidad Migrante Society said his phone started ringing around 2 a.m. last Saturday as the fire spread and evacuation orders were issued. By day's end, he estimates he spoke to about 50 workers forced to evacuate and now facing lost income and the cost of replacing possessions and food left behind.

Temporary foreign workers are already paid poorly, Gatica said, and even a few days without work hits hard. He said most migrant workers will not have accumulated the required 600 hours this early in the season to qualify for employment insurance — a threshold Gatica says the federal government should lower, along with reducing wait times for people to apply.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in a statement that the government made changes in April allowing temporary residents affected by a natural disaster up to six months to apply to restore or extend their status. "Additionally, temporary foreign workers on employer-specific work permits, including those impacted by wildfires, may already seek new employment while in Canada and may apply for a subsequent work permit," IRCC said. "Those who find new employment may begin working while awaiting a decision on their work permit application."

But the statement did not address Gatica's core concern: the gap between evacuation orders, lost wages, and eligibility for emergency income support. The number of migrant workers affected by the evacuation remains unclear, as does the total wages lost during the evacuation period.