N.B. seafood foreign workers faced awful conditions during COVID-19: study

By The Staff The Canadian Press Posted March 1, 2023 8:12 am 1:47 Asylum seekers: Quebec premier makes pitch to other provinces for closure of Roxham Road Quebec Premier François Legault is trying to increase pressure on the federal government to deal with influx of migrants entering Canada an unofficial crossing at Roxham Road. The premier wrote an opinion piece in a national newspaper calling on PM Justin Trudeau to improve the situation and close the access route. Global’s Gloria Henriquez reports. – Feb 21, 2023 A study by Dalhousie University says temporary foreign workers in New Brunswick’s seafood industry during the COVID-19 pandemic suffered grueling and sometimes dangerous conditions. The study, called “Unfree Labour: COVID-19 and Migrant Workers in the Seafood Industry in New Brunswick,” says workers endured low pay, long hours, overcrowded housing and limited access to health care.Lead author Raluca Bejan, an assistant professor of social work at Dalhousie, says she interviewed 15 foreign workers who arrived in New Brunswick after the start of the pandemic in 2020. Trending Now The study, which will be published on the online platform for Migrant Workers in the Canadian Maritimes, says that while workers paid recruitment fees of up to $2,000, they earned $13 per hour and made $300 a week. Story continues below advertisement Bejan says workers described problems such as overcrowded, dirty housing with limited space to refrigerate and cook food, no internet access, low water pressure, and insufficient heating.She says workers were afraid to report employer abuse — which included deportation threats — adding that they were widely unaware of the support and resources available to them.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2023. &copy 2023 The Canadian Press Sponsored content Flyers