“To Know is Not Enough”: A Critical Study of the Provision of Public Legal Education and Information Programming for Migrant Workers and other People with Precarious Migration Status


Temporary foreign workers and other people with precarious migration status employed in low-skills, low-paid occupations are entitled to many of the legal rights of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. However, this sector of the population is constantly experiencing lack of free and reliable information about both their legal rights and where to find a lawyer when legal problems occur to them. In British Columbia, thanks to collaborations between community-based organizations and the public legal services sector limited public legal education and information (PLEI) programs and services are available to some migrant workers. This study uses a critical ethnographic research methodology and post-structural/adult education theoretical perspectives to examine challenges and opportunities encountered by funders and migrant servicing organizations at designing, implementing, and evaluating PLEI programs that are responsive to the socio-cultural and legal realities of migrant workers in British Columbia.

Angela M. Contreras
Degree: PhD
Supervisors: Shauna Butterwick, Hongxia Shan, and Annette Henry
Department and University: Department of Educational Studies, University of British Columbia
Email: amcontre@verapax.org