Responding to the Precarious Rights of Migrant Workers in Canada
Old Chancellor Day Hall, Common Room ,听3644 rue Peel Montreal, H3A 1W9, Quebec
An Oppenheimer Chair Brown Bag Lunch Seminar with听Veena Verma.
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ABSTRACT
Historically, migrant workers have been used by the state to address labour shortages. As a British Columbia mining executive expressed in 1903: "We need immigrant workers...for the jobs Canadians won't do." In this session, the speaker will review the genesis of migrant worker programs in Canada as the state's response to labour shortages in sectors that have poor working conditions and low wages. 听The state's response will be examined in the context of immigration policies and race. The session will focus specifically on the systemic features of temporary foreign worker programs that make migrant workers' rights precarious and reinforce racial stereotypes. 听Finally, the session will review the political and legal strategies pursued in supporting migrant workers and seeking changes to migrant worker programs that allow for exploitive working conditions.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Veena Verma is a lawyer and consultant working in the areas of human rights, labour, and international law. She has extensive experience litigating and researching issues affecting migrant workers' rights both in Canada and abroad. Recently, she completed a project working with Chinese officials to improve labour rights enforcement for migrant workers in China. In 2002, she was retained by the North South Institute to prepare the first comprehensive report on the legal and policy framework of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program in Canada.Between 1999-2008, Veena was a practicing lawyer and partner at Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish in Toronto. During this time, she acted as co-counsel for the UFCW Canada in three constitutional challenges on behalf of agricultural and migrant workers relating to their coverage under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act; the right to collectively bargain; and the treatment of migrant agricultural workers under the Employment Insurance Act.听Veena has a Bachelor of Arts from 9I制作厂免费 and received her law degree from the University of Ottawa. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1999.