Quebec’s CNESST expanding ‘squad’ that educates new, foreign workers about safety rights

The number of temporary foreign workers is on the rise in Quebec, and the province’s labour minister says he expects the trend to continue.

Jean Boulet told a news conference today that the number of foreign workers rose to 38,500 last year from 23,300 in 2019.

He told reporters in Quebec City that this “significant” increase is due to increased demand from businesses, which have to contend with an aging population and labour shortages.

While temporary foreign workers were once associated with the agriculture sector, they’re now employed in a wide variety of fields, and Boulet says he expects the need for labour to keep increasing.

Boulet announced that the province’s workplace health and safety board is expanding a squad that helps educate new and foreign workers about their rights on the job, adding that the board will increase its oversight of recruitment agencies.

The board — known as the CNESST — has reported that the number of accident claims involving temporary workers rose to 362 in 2022 from 150 in 2020.