OPEN LETTER: We Have a Consensus – Permanent Residency & Rights, Not Cuts

In response to recent announcements affecting hundreds of thousands of migrants in Canada, including reductions of at least 775,000 study and work permits, as well as suggestions of further reductions in permanent residency, Canada’s civil society is united in calling for immediate and positive action. Together, we represent hundreds of thousands of people across Canada and we strongly believe there is a broad consensus in support of migrants and immigrants in the country. We urge the Canadian government to:

• Stop the implementation of any new immigration measures for temporary foreign workers and current and graduated students already in Canada and immediately provide them with access to permanent residency.
• Implement a comprehensive and inclusive regularization program for all undocumented migrants.
• Abolish the closed work permit regime to prevent exploitation.
• Ensure fairness and equality by guaranteeing permanent resident status for all and reject calls to reduce permanent residency numbers.

Recently Announced Measures Do Not Ensure Rights

Recent announcements will impact migrants in Canada, are being implemented without any additional support and do not provide protections including permanent residency. The federal government is:

• Reducing work permit lengths from two years to one – which will force migrants to pay large sums to recruiters and consultants each year to renew permits.
• Refusing to renew post-graduate work permits for migrants who have been working in Canada – many of whom have already applied for permanent residency and lived here for years but aren’t being granted permanent residency because of processing changes.
• Ending work permits for family members of migrant workers in high-wage, non-managerial jobs and for most international students.
• Imposing language testing requirements for work permits for international students.
• Rejecting applications by employers for temporary foreign workers in regions with over 6% unemployment and limiting the number of temporary foreign workers to 10% of an employer’s workforce (except in industries like agriculture and care work).
• Signaling no further action on the promised regularization program for undocumented migrants.

These Measures Are Unfair and Unjust

Applying these measures to migrants already in Canada who came under a different legal regulatory regime and with a promise of continued work and access to permanent residency is unfair.

• These measures will force thousands of migrants who have already been in Canada for several years—often with their families—to either leave the country or become undocumented.
• The denial of permits to families undermines family unity, contradicts federal government commitments to keep families together. Separating families hurts communities.
• These rules will significantly increase costs for migrants, who will turn to unscrupulous recruiters and agencies that charge exorbitant fees and spread misinformation, leaving them vulnerable to further exploitation. New requirements mean more costs. Those unable to pay will be forced to leave or become undocumented.

Comprehensive Action to End Systemic Exploitation

Principles of equality and rights for migrants must drive Canada’s immigration policy decisions.

• The employer-restricted work permit system and temporary migration schemes have been denounced by the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery as a breeding ground for exploitation. It must end.
• Families deserve to be together. Migrants in all sectors and with any immigration status must have the option to have their families join them.
• Undocumented migrants are denied access to essential healthcare, exploited at work, and live in fear. They already live and work here; regularizing their status is about including them in the family of rights.
• Permanent residency status in Canada is the mechanism through which all other rights are accessed. Capping or reducing permanent residency will mean that more migrants will remain in temporary and exploitable situations.

Migrants and Immigrants Build Our Communities, They Are Not to Blame

Migrant workers, international students, undocumented people and immigrants have invested their time, money, and labour into Canada. Migrants feed our communities, take care of children, sick and the elderly and are essential workers who kept us going during, before and since the COVID-19 pandemic. Most migrants pay taxes and contribute to social services for years without receiving the benefits—they are underwriting our social security and welfare net. A comprehensive regularization program would add over $28 billion in economic growth. Not only will many of the recently announced rules punish migrants already in Canada, but fewer migrants and immigrants will result in overall economic contraction, and hurt small businesses and rural areas.

Migrants are not responsible for Canada’s housing crisis, lack of jobs, or inadequate healthcare or other public services. They often live in some of the worst housing conditions, face extreme exploitation at work, and are denied access to basic services. Recent media coverage and public statements linking them to the affordability crisis are distractions from decades of federal and provincial policies that have underfunded and privatized public services. Reductions to migration numbers lean into these xenophobic ideas, eroding public confidence in immigration policies and resulting in greater racism.

The Path Forward: Permanent Residency for All

As leading civil society organizations in Canada, we know that permanent resident status is the key to accessing rights and protections. Canada’s temporary immigration system fuels precariousness and vulnerability and perpetuates systemic discrimination. It needs a fundamental overhaul with a focus on expanding rights and ensuring permanent residency on landing and for all. This government was elected on pro-immigration platform and promised permanent resident status for migrant workers, students and undocumented people at the start of the current mandate. People across Canada are expecting these promises to be honoured. Not delivering on them will be remembered at the ballot box.

We urge you to ensure permanent resident status for all migrants,  protect migrants in Canada from the impacts of recent announcements; implement a comprehensive regularization program, abolish closed work permits, and refuse to cut permanent residency.

Thank you,