Advocacy groups say temporary foreign workers displaced by the raging wildfire engulfing Fort McMurray are at even greater risk than the rest of those who were forced to flee the northern Alberta city.
They say many of them could face an immediate accommodation crisis, since they often lack friends or family in the area to put them up.
A more pressing concern, however, is whether or not they will be allowed to stay in Canada once the blaze is extinguished.
Advocates say those who obtain a temporary foreign worker permit are tied to a single employer whose name is listed on the document, and if that employer no longer has work to offer, the migrants will have no choice but to leave the country.
They're calling on the federal government to make allowances for those workers under the circumstances.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said they are closely monitoring the situation in Fort McMurray and "assessing whether and when special measures will be necessary to address the needs of Canadian citizens, permanent residents and temporary residents in the region."
The Fort McMurray area has been a popular destination for temporary workers for the past several years, according to the Coalition for Migrant Workers Rights Canada.
The group's Alberta spokesman, Marco Luciano, said temporary workers don't usually get jobs in the oil fields around Fort McMurray, but they are often employed in the various lodges and restaurants the oilpatch workers frequent, as well as providing childcare for local families.
While he said the exact number of temporary foreign workers in the area was not known before the fire broke out, he expects dozens to reach out for help in the coming days.
Already 18 people have made it to Edmonton, and Luciano said their plight is grim.
"They evacuated only with their working uniform on," he said. "They had no time to pick up anything from their homes, and they came directly to Edmonton yesterday ... They don't know what to do."
The displacement is a new and serious obstacle for migrants who must already stumble through the rocky terrain of the country's foreign worker program.
Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, said the immigration system is bogged down in bureaucracy, adding even the national organization she leads struggles to navigate it at times.
Workers are already burdened with the knowledge that their temporary work permits may no longer be valid if the employer that hired them no longer has work to offer in the aftermath of the fire, she said.
The knowledge that the system ostensibly tasked to sort out these problems is so cumbersome may put some people under considerable stress, she said.
"All the people evacuated from Fort McMurray are obviously in a state of great anxiety, but you've got an extra level of concern and anxiety if you're on a temporary foreign work permit, wondering what the implications are going to be for you."
Dench said the fact that work permits are bound to a single employer not only prevents workers from fleeing an exploitative situation if it arises, but also bars them from seeking another job if their original one disappears.
Luciano said the loss of a stable Canadian address also leaves the government without the means of communicating with workers who may be in the midst of seeking permanent residency in the country, a complication he said could scuttle some applications.
Luciano said he hopes the government will allow for some flexibility under the circumstances and show some leeway to those who may find themselves without work through no fault of their own.
He said his organization will be hosting a dinner for those who recently fled Fort McMurray in the hopes that they can start offering help right away.
