Quebec court greenlights temporary foreign worker class action on closed permits [Video]

Quebec’s Superior Court has authorized a class-action lawsuit involving temporary foreign workers who are suing the federal government over work permits that bind them to an employer.

The lawsuit, launched in 2023 by the Montreal-based Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers, alleges closed work permits violate Charter rights pertaining to life, liberty and security of the person, and equality.

On Friday, Quebec Superior Court Justice Silvana Conte greenlit the lawsuit, whose members include any foreign national issued a work permit in Canada after April 17, 1982, that was tied to a specific employer.

“The court finds that at this preliminary stage, while the threshold test is high, there is an arguable case that the employer-tying measures are ‘clearly unconstitutional’ giving rise to a claim for damages under the Charter,” Conte wrote.

The action seeks damages for members, and a declaration that sections of the Immigration and Refugee …