Unsafe trucking companies approved to hire temporary foreign workers across Canada
A Globe and Mail investigation found nearly 100 trucking firms with histories of safety violations and labour breaches were granted federal approval to hire migrant workers since 2019.
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Nearly 100 trucking companies with histories of safety infractions, labour violations, and regulatory failures have been granted federal approval to hire temporary foreign workers since 2019, according to a Globe and Mail investigation. The compliance issues ranged from flunking safety audits to concerns over forged documents. In some cases, companies were approved by Employment and Social Development Canada to use the migrant labour program despite failing to comply with wage theft orders issued by the same ministry.
One carrier identified by the Globe's analysis was decertified by Manitoba authorities over chronic safety issues yet was subsequently granted permission to hire temporary workers on three occasions. The Manitoba government has accused the company of setting up a related carrier in Alberta linked to a fatal collision in Brandon, Manitoba, in late May. The incident prompted the province to call for a national trucking registry to better track bad actors in the sector. The Globe also identified an instance where the federal government approved temporary foreign hires for a trucking company whose safety fitness certificate was suspended by Saskatchewan authorities. After the suspension, a company by the same name was set up in Alberta; Alberta's transport regulator said Saskatchewan did not share the prior safety record.
Critics argue that granting trucking companies with regulatory issues access to a pool of vulnerable workers defeats compliance efforts aimed at bolstering industry standards. Mike Hennessy, director of Teamsters Canada's freight and tankhaul division, said the findings show the government is "rubber-stamping permits for temporary foreign workers with little oversight or scrutiny of the companies that request them." Employment and Social Development Canada said the temporary foreign worker program is a "last-resort measure" to address critical job shortages when Canadians or permanent residents are not available, and that all applications are assessed "on their own merits, based on the information and documentation provided by the employer."
