#Breaking: Hundreds of Trinidadian migrant workers have been issued open work permits to stay in Canada after they found themselves stuck here, unable to return home after the harvest season, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. torstar.co/S6M650CNbl2
The seasonal workers had been denied Canadian employment insurance benefits because their original work permits were tied to specific farm operators, meaning they weren’t available to work for others — a criteria upon which Employment and Social Development Canada insists.
At the eleventh hour on Tuesday, just before they ran out of legal status as their initial closed work permits expired, the Canadian immigration department issued a public policy to let the stranded workers apply for an open work permit. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
“We don’t have winter clothes or boots. It’s chilly in the house. There’s wind coming through the doors and windows,” said one worker, who spoke to @nkeung last week, before the open work permits were issued: thestar.com/news/canada/20…
According to a government source, immigration officials are eager to get the workers home as soon as possible so they can spend the Christmas holidays with their loved ones during a year of hardship and uncertainty clouded by the global pandemic. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
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