Advisories & News
Press Release
POLO Toronto holds Online Seminar on Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers in Canada
2020-08-22
PR 43-2020
19 Aug 2020 – PCG Toronto, under the leadership of Consul General Orontes Castro, participated in a virtual seminar entitled “Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers in Canada” organized by POLO Toronto on 15 August 2020. Atty. Buenos Aires Rivera, a Filipino-Canadian regulated immigration consultant who also holds a license with the Law Society of Ontario, was the speaker of the event. Other participants included officials of OWWA Toronto and some OFWs.
Labor Officer Rachel Zozobrado-Nagayo welcomed the participants and stated that it is important to recognize and understand the issues and laws affecting vulnerable workers in Canada.
Consul General Castro, in his remarks, acknowledged the important work of POLO-Toronto in providing assistance to OFWs in Ontario. He stated that Canada has become one of the primary destinations of Filipino immigrants, workers and students, and the seminar would greatly help vulnerable OFWs, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Atty. Rivera discussed extensively the issues on open work permit for vulnerable workers in Canada, including the objectives for the issuance of such work permit by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the fact that it provides foreign workers the opportunity to leave their abusive employers and search for new jobs. She also covered the kinds of abuses that migrant workers may experience in workplaces and the exploitations they may experience in the context of COVID-19. A description of how foreign workers can file their complaints with the IIRCC was also presented.
OWWA Toronto Welfare Officer Maria Lourdes Reyes, in her concluding remarks, thanked Atty. Rivera for her informative presentation and pointed out that migrant workers have to be aware of their rights and responsibilities in Canada. -END
