Hundreds of South Koreans are expected to work at the NextStar EV battery factory in Windsor, Ontario, and they are legally qualified to work in Canada under the 2015 Free Trade Agreement negotiated and implemented by the previous Conservative government of Stephen Harper.

Concerns have been raised about the arrival of foreign workers in Canada when one social media post published by Windsor police indicated that up to 1600 South Koreans would need accommodations while working at the facility.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre responded to the news by calling for a full investigation into the number of taxpayer-funded jobs going to temporary foreign workers, saying that the federal support of $15 billion for the facility should only fund jobs for Canadians.

Four Liberal ministers also tried to ease tensions on this issue on Tuesday, explaining that South Koreans are qualified to work in Canada under the labor mobility provisions in the Free Trade Agreement that came into effect shortly before Poilievre was appointed Minister of Employment in 2015.

"We have a free trade agreement with South Korea. Under Article 186 of that agreement, people come and go with work visas, or without visas, and they can stay if they are within the scope of their reasons for being here," Immigration Minister Marc Miller told reporters after a federal meeting. 

Miller said that no Canadian job has been stopped or will be affected by this, but people come and go as part of the Free Trade Agreement with South Korea, just as Canadian companies get the same advantage when they are in South Korea. 

Labor Mobility Provisions

The temporary entry provisions for business persons in the bilateral trade agreement that came into effect on January 1, 2015, are reciprocal – meaning companies from both countries can benefit from the jurisdiction of each.

The office of Labor Minister Randy Boissonnault confirmed that so far only one temporary foreign worker has been allowed at the Windsor facility.

This interpretation remains, after Miller clarified that the recently raised 1600 number of South Korean ambassadors to Canada may not need temporary foreign work permits if they are business persons benefiting from the trade agreement entitlements.

Boissonnault told reporters there is a difference between a temporary foreign worker who comes here for a specified period of time and a foreign worker who comes through immigration... to help with technology transfer.