Envisioning Justice for Migrant Workers

In its 2011 examination of the notion of legal needs and rights of the working poor in British Columbia, the Public Commission on Legal Aid emphasized the need for public legal service providers to renew their way of working to be responsive to new demands for services for people living in underserved communities and remote rural areas. [...] While both BC and Ontario consistently bring in large numbers of migrant workers through the TFWP, much of the focus on the legal needs of migrant workers has been conducted in the Ontario context. [...] The increased use of the TFWP, as well as the vulnerabilities inherent in the program, make it crucial that in-depth research is conducted into the legal problems that migrant workers encounter and the specific ways in which migrant workers seek justice while they live and work in BC. [...] Objectives of the Research The overarching objective of the report is to increase the understanding of migrant workers’ needs for legal information and services and the barriers that they face in accessing justice while they live and work in the province. [...] Access to justice can be defined in a multitude of ways; however, for the purpose of this report, access to justice is conceptualized as the following: The ability for migrant workers entering BC through the low-wage streams of the TFWP to access: • Information about various laws, regulations and policies, ranging from the rules of the TFWP to employment rights to avenues for permanent residency,