According to a scathing report from the United Nations addressing Canada's efforts to curb unfair labor, Canada’s temporary foreign worker program serves as a "breeding ground for modern slavery."

The program allows employers to hire foreign workers for temporary positions when they cannot find qualified Canadians. The number of workers being hired through the program has grown significantly in recent years. According to the United Nations report, there were just over 84,000 permit holders in 2018. By 2022, there were nearly 136,000. Most of them worked in agriculture and related labor sectors.

The report, written by the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery Tomoya Obokata, states that the program places workers in an unfair power imbalance with their employers.

Obokata wrote, "For example, if a worker is terminated, they may be deported. That some workers are intentionally not informed of their rights or fear reporting exploitative working conditions." According to the report, many of them also fall into the trap of debt bondage while participating in the programs.

The report dated July 22, which was shared with the federal government before publication, states: "They may also incur debts to third-party recruiters, including costs that should be legally borne by the employer."

The program is managed by the Canadian Ministry of Employment and Social Development, the Canadian Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and the Canada Border Services Agency. In Quebec, the provincial government is an administrative partner.

According to the report, "The government shifts a significant portion of the responsibility for informing temporary foreign workers of their rights to employers, despite the clear conflicts of interest."

Obokata wrote that workers lack access to justice and are vulnerable to a range of other abuses.

"The Special Rapporteur has received reports of wage theft, physical, emotional, and verbal abuse, excessive working hours, limited breaks, off-contract work, unpaid administrative tasks, and a lack of personal protective equipment, including in hazardous conditions... Women reported sexual harassment and exploitation and abuse."

In a statement to CTV News, Mathis Denis, spokesperson for the Minister of Employment and Workforce Development and Official Languages, said the government recently increased fines imposed on companies that do not provide suitable working conditions for their foreign workers.

He stated that inspections conducted by Canada in the last fiscal year resulted in fines totaling $2.1 million, up from $1.54 million the previous year.

Employers found to be non-compliant are listed on a public website managed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Notable companies on that list include a Domino's Pizza location in Vancouver, where wages, working conditions, or job details did not match the job offer, according to the government. This location was fined $21,000.

The government found that Freshii in Richmond, British Columbia, was fined $15,000 for failing to provide an inspector with the required documents. A farm in Quebec was fined $60,000 and received a five-year ban from the program for the same reason, and because the government found that it "did not make sufficient effort" to ensure the workplace was free from retaliation and physical, sexual, or psychological abuse.

"The health and safety of temporary foreign workers in Canada is of paramount importance," Denis wrote.

He added that responses to a government survey of temporary workers found that the majority - 76 percent - of workers know their rights and responsibilities. About 80 percent of the 1,600 workers surveyed said their knowledge of their rights and available services improved.

Denis wrote: "It is the responsibility of employers who hire temporary foreign workers to ensure their safety and well-being throughout their employment. It is the federal government's responsibility to ensure employers comply with the program and hold those who do not accountable."