Photo by Mehmet Serdar Kilic on Unsplash
The day to day lives of millions of Canadians, and by extension Canada’s economy, rely heavily on the labour of temporary foreign workers.
When COVID-19 hit, many of these workers were hailed as heroes for continuing to keep the country afloat. But very often, they simply had no choice.
The conditions of temporary visas are often highly restrictive, including tying you to one specific employer. There’s no quitting to find a safer job, sometimes no access to healthcare or sick leave, and certainly very little room to advocate for your own wellbeing during a pandemic.
Yet these stories aren’t often told.
Early in the pandemic, UBC researchers Vanessa Banta, Gabriele Dumpys Woolever and Geraldine Pratt partnered with Vancouver’s Migrant Workers Centre to learn more about these workers’ experiences, and amplify them to the broader public.
Here, masters’ student Gabriele Dumpys Woolever shares personal audio stories from three people making their way in Canada as non-citizens during COVID-19.
These episodes were released as part of the Global Migration Podcast, hosted by the Centre for Migration Studies at UBC.
Christina (Roommate Problems)
A woman in Surrey is trapped between two forces: the controlling roommate that wouldn’t let her leave their apartment for months because of COVID, and the government that will keep her unemployed if she moves out.
How much can she do to make life bearable until either force lets up?
Samir (Because the System)
After being exploited out of his job, a highly trained caregiver in Surrey seeks employment as an essential worker in the COVID economy.
Yet he faces fake jobs, demands for bribes, and months of unemployment while waiting for the government to process his new work permit, and now he’s running out of options to support his wife and two teenagers.
Sheila (Three Weeks Without You)
She’s lost three jobs in a row and might have to leave Canada if it happens again. But after a few weeks out sick, a nanny in Kelowna gets an angry call from her employer threatening to fire her for being unreliable and worried about COVID.
What she does next isn’t in the script for temporary foreign workers.
Christina (Roommate Problems)
Theme song: She Found Moments In Bells, MagnusMoone. Additional songs in order of appearance: Palladian - Blue Dot Sessions, Tamarinda - Blue Dot Sessions, Trenton Channel - Blue Dot Sessions, Palladian - Blue Dot Sessions, Louver - Blue Dot Sessions, Zulia Conspiracy - Blue Dot Sessions, Forgotten - Edoy, Pennies - Ketsa, Trenton Channel - Blue Dot Sessions, The Come Up - Audiobinger
Samir (Because the System)
Theme song: She Found Moments In Bells, MagnusMoone. Additional songs in order of appearance: Naborrada Danca - Lobo Loco, Goldfinch Flight to the North - Axletree, Lobo Lobo - Blue Dot Sessions, San Diego Sunday - Blue Dot Sessions, Goldfinch Flight to the North - Axletree, Lobo Lobo - Blue Dot Sessions, Sustained Light 1 - Daniel Birch, San Diego Sunday - Blue Dot Sessions, Metonic - REW, San Diego Sunday - Blue Dot Sessions, Naborrada Danca - Lobo Loco
Sheila (Three Weeks Without You)
Theme song: She Found Moments In Bells, MagnusMoone. Additional songs in order of appearance: Vela Vela - Blue Dot Sessions, Lina My Queen - Blue Dot Sessions, Vela Vela - Blue Dot Sessions, Pukae - Blue Dot Sessions, Angel Tooth - Blue Dot Sessions, Pukae - Blue Dot Sessions, Scattered - Ketsa, Pukae - Blue Dot Sessions, Angel Tooth - Blue Dot Sessions, Scattered - Ketsa, Lina My Queen - Blue Dot Sessions, Hedgeliner - Blue Dot Sessions, Scattered - Ketsa, Further Discovery - Blear Moon, Olivine - REW, Vienna Beat - Blue Dot Sessions
The research project ‘Temporary Foreign Workers During the Time of COVID-19’ is a collaboration between UBC researchers (Vanessa Banta, Gabriele Dumpys Woolever and Geraldine Pratt) and the Migrant Workers Centre in Vancouver.
Geraldine Pratt and the Migrant Worker’s Centre gratefully acknowledge the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada.
