Bill to ban recruitment fees for migrant workers, who often pay thousands for temporary jobs

Migrant workers often pay thousands of dollars in recruitment fees to secure a temporary job in New Brunswick, a process that leaves many of them trapped in debt and poverty, according to migrant justice advocates.

On Tuesday, the provincial government introduced legislation that would prohibit recruitment agencies from charging workers those fees. Bill 6 would also require agencies to be licensed in New Brunswick. The bill passed second reading on Wednesday.

Migrant rights advocates welcomed the legislation, but called for tougher provisions.

In a statement, the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change said that some migrant workers borrow from family members, mortgage their land, or take on risky debts to secure a job through an agency.

However, when they arrive in Canada, they often find themselves unemployed or underemployed.

One worker described paying “more than $2,300 for a job in New Brunswick,” only to find that “the job simply didn’t exist,” according to the statement from MWAC.

“The recruiter lied to us. Now I have more debt in Mexico than I did before I came,” said the migrant worker, identified only as Areli. “Who is going to pay us back for what we have already spent?”

Legislation would ban fees

The bill would amend the Employment Standards Act, with a new provision that would ban employers or recruiters from charging migrant workers a “fee or expense for employment or for foreign worker recruitment services, directly or indirectly.”

Starting on April 1, 2028, recruiters would be required to hold a licence. The government could also require recruiters to post a financial security under the legislation, although it isn’t a blanket requirement.

If passed, the bill would also make certain information about employers and recruiters available to the public. For example, it would note whether their registration had been suspended or revoked.

The legislation would also eliminate a $900 limit on penalties for failure to comply; penalties would instead be set through regulations.

The bill would be implemented in stages, and would be fully implemented by the end of March 2029.

“We have a duty to ensure foreign workers are not abused financially and have a safe workplace,” said Labour Minister Alyson Townsend in a statement announcing the new legislation. “This legislation reflects our commitment to support newcomers to make New Brunswick home and to build a sustainable economy that benefits every community.”

Strengthen bill, advocates tell lawmakers

Niger Saravia, an organizer with MWAC, said measures included in the bill are “key steps” but that it should go further to protect migrant workers.

“Now this legislation must be strengthened so workers can actually get their money back, employers and recruiters are held jointly liable for abuses here and abroad, and the government proactively enforces the law without waiting for migrant workers to risk everything to speak up,” the migrant justice organizer said.

The group called for provisions explicitly allowing the province to “order repayment of recruitment fees, including those paid abroad.”

The bill should contain a “reverse onus of proof” so that payments are presumed illegal unless proven otherwise “even where workers have no receipts or payments are disguised as immigration consultation or permit processing fees,” MWAC said in a statement.

The group also called for changes to the bill requiring “disclosure of the full recruitment chain,” to hold employers and recruiters jointly responsible for violations, including those that occur abroad.

All licences recruiters should be required to post “at least $25,000 that can be used to repay affected workers,” and the government should hire more officers to enforce the law, the statement continued.

MWAC added that the province should extend time limits for workers to file complaints; make recruiter licensing a requirement upon Royal Assent, instead of waiting until April 2028; ensure that workers can get compensation for past recruitment fees; and “require employers to pay workers for any promised hours and periods of employment that are not paid.”

Migrant workers should be involved in drafting of regulations, and the province should advocate for temporary foreign workers to receive permanent status, MWAC added.

Most recruitment fees charged overseas

In 2025, MWAC conducted a survey of 108 current and former migrant workers about the issue. Sixty-five per cent of respondents said they had paid recruiters to work in Canada, according to the group.

“Of those who reported an amount, 47 per cent paid $2,000 to $3,000. Eighty-five per cent of those who paid did so outside Canada, mostly in Mexico, and 58 per cent received no receipt.”

Cristian Sanabria, a community legal worker at the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre, said his top question is about how enforcement of the bill will work in foreign countries.

Sanabria said the legislation is a good opportunity to strengthen employment standards, but it may represent “false hope” by failing to address larger systemic issues afflicting the temporary foreign worker program.

He noted that migrant workers normally have a contract lasting about nine months, but those contracts aren’t binding if the season is slow, or if there isn’t enough raw material to keep the workers employed.

In practice, that kind of provision is a “wildcard for the employer,” Sanabria said.

The Employment Standards Act prohibits employers or recruiters from supplying “false or misleading information to a foreign worker” about their workplace rights, but an employer can use that kind of provision to excuse themselves for a lack of work, he said.

Migrant justice groups have long maintained that temporary foreign worker schemes create a disposable underclass of low-wage workers.

Two former temporary foreign workers, Adriana de Leon Silva and Juan Pablo Lerma Lopez, recently reached a $11,500 settlement with their former employer, LeBreton & Sons Fisheries Ltd., after suing the company for issues including overcrowded, mold-infested living conditions and stolen wages. The company didn’t admit liability.

Editor’s note: Niger Saravia, an organizer with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, is also a member of the NB Media Co-op board of directors. Tracy Glynn, a director of the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre, is also coordinating editor of the NB Media Co-op and a member of its board of directors. Sarah Kardash is project manager for the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre and a member of the NB Media Co-op board of directors.