The injustices of high- versus low-skilled temporary labour migration programs: With evidence from Canada

Among critics of temporary labour migration programs (TLMP), it is common to describe them as exploitative, rights-violating, and unfair. Often, however, these critics fail to distinguish between high- and low-skilled TLMP, the stipulations of which are often quite distinct. Where they do distinguish between them, the common conclusion is that only low-skilled TLMP pose problems of justice which require immediate action. Patti Lenard will examine these assumptions. She argues that both low- and high-skilled TLMP often pose problems of justice, and that while some of these apply only to high- or low-skilled programs, there are others which apply to both. She will illustrate these dilemmas by reference to the Canadian case, where the government has expanded the number of migrants participating in TLMP significantly over the last 10 years.