The award-winning documentary Migrant Dreams by Min-Sook Lee tells the under-told stories

and plight of temporary migrant workers in Canada. The film reviews the dark, disturbing, and

hidden side of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program. “Leamington, Ontario is a town

built on agriculture. Low wage migrant workers are a significant part of Canada’s agricultural

workforce. Nearly, 110,000 low-wage migrant workers are in Canada.” (Migrant Dreams)

Many are women recruited by brokers or middlemen, who are in-fact Canadian citizens, and are

illegally charge fees up to $7,000 to come to Canada. The film explores the lives of such a group

of people who have travelled from home countries in vain to improve their lives. The film opens

with a detailed description of the problems of the migrants. They are tied to fixed, low, “one-

wage, one-job, one-employer.” (Migrant Dreams) It is shocking to learn the struggles of workers

who work in harsh condition and long hours in return for a few dollars. Most workers pay

between $100 to $200 every week to pay of their debt. The workers are abused in the homes,

they live under constant surveillance, the have curfews, their passports and documents are

confiscated, and they are coerced to pay money every Thursday. Many migrant workers have

died in farms and fields. The threats of being fired and deported are real. The documentary

shows that deception and lies that are being fed to workers that has destructed their lives. They

are living far away from their loved ones, with little or no personal or social life and are working

hard in return for minimum wages. It is important to note that among Indonesians there are

Jamaican and other migrants who also face discrimination and ridicule. All this among other

atrocities faced by migrants is the product systematic racism, discrimination, and oppression.

Canada is known to be an immigrant country, but I learned that the food production companies

heavily relied on low wage temporary migrant workers to make maximum profits. This entirely
changes my narrative of Ontario-grown food. I am now more grateful for my blessings and

careful to not waste food. The food placed in stores and markets in crisp beautiful packaging, is

not the reality of Canada’s immigration and food production systems. First and foremost, the

migrants should have proper housing, and sanitary conditions, the should not have communal

bathrooms. Migrants are living like slaves with 20-36 people in a garage. They rightfully feel

controlled and are ordered to inform about their whereabouts before entering or leaving the

housing premises. The migrants should not be giving recruitment fee. Foreign workers should

have access to Employment Insurance. The supports and services made by Ontario government

are only available to permanent residents. This is a policy flaw that does not take into account the

privacy, security and rights of temporary workers, students etc. The on-farm working conditions

should be improved. Such as workers who are exposed to chemicals should be given proper

clothing and masks that helps them cover themselves, so they do not develop skin or lung

diseases or infections. Government should mandate employers to provide temporary foreign

workers with information about their rights in Canada. Moreover, migrant workers should be

able to unionize and gain citizenship. There should be frequent inspections for warehouses,

companies etc. Migrants are a significant part of Ontario’s food production and should be given

their rights.

References

Lee, Min S, and Lisa Valencia-Svensson. Migrant Dreams, 2016. Archival material.