A union representing sailors across Canada has filed a series of lawsuits challenging Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for allowing a ferry company to hire temporary foreign workers for jobs they claim could have gone to Canadians.
Earlier this month, the Seafarers’ International Union filed seven applications for judicial review with the Federal Court after learning the Quebec-based company Coopérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien (CTMA) had been given the green light by the federal government to issue work permits to seven foreign nationals from Mauritius, an island nation located in the Indian Ocean, under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
CTMA operates a fleet of vessels that service the Magdalen Islands, a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, including a ferry that operates between Souris, P.E.I. and Cap-aux-Meules.
The Temporary Foreign Worker Program was created as a last resort to allow employers to bring foreign workers to Canada on a short-term basis. Under the program, work permits are issued only if the company can prove that qualified Canadian citizens or permanent residents are not available to fill the jobs.
The Seafarers’ International Union’s lawsuit alleges that, in this case, the work permits were issued in contravention of the program.
No follow up to notice: union
Patrice Caron, executive vice president of the Seafarers’ International Union of Canada told SaltWire that CTMA came to the union about a year ago and said they were considering hiring workers from Mauritius. He said CTMA was told that as long as the union could not provide seafarers it would be fine, but, Caron said, there was no follow up.
Caron said the union operates hiring halls from coast to coast and at each one there are plenty of Canadians coming in looking for work. He also noted the Magdalen Islands have an unemployment rate of about 13 per cent.
“We have seafarers ready to work and these people should be first in line to get any jobs,” he said.
As for why the company didn’t go to the union with a job call as they have done in the past to fill positions, Caron said he doesn’t know, but he’s concerned if this is allowed to slide it could set a precedent in the maritime industry that will leave Canadian sailors out of work.
“We’re not going to let that happen,” he said. “There’s something behind this and I'm not sure what it is, but certainly it does open a door that we’re going to close.”
SaltWire reached out to CTMA for comment but did not receive a response. Employment and Social Development Canada would not provide comment as the matter is before the courts.
