PM Trudeau urged to ensure safety by delivering the promised regularization program on International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia
Toronto – Gay, lesbian and trans undocumented people are speaking up on International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on May 17, 2024 to call on Prime Minister Trudeau to affirm equal rights and dignity for all by creating the regularization program he promised in December 2021. Undocumented people already live, work and have deep roots here, but without regularization – permanent resident status for undocumented people – they are facing deportation to countries where they will face violence and discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Many of these countries still have conversion therapy, strict anti-LGBTQ2I laws, punishment of same-sex relationships and even death penalties for queer people. Recently, the Liberal government reiterated its promise to bring a broad and comprehensive regularization program to Cabinet in the Spring, but Parliament is set to rise on June 6th, with no decision made yet.
Date: Friday, May 17, 2024
Time: 10:00 AM EST
Location: 2nd Floor, 720 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
What: Press conference with unmasked queer undocumented people and their supporting organizations
Speakers include:
- Charles Mwangi is a gay man from Kenya who works as a Personal Support Worker in a long-term care facility, and is facing deportation.
- Jane is a lesbian woman from Uganda, which recently made global headlines for legalizing the death penalty for queer people. She has been in Canada for 7 years.
- Maite Puerta is a queer woman from Colombia who has been in Canada for 8 years, working in cleaning.
- Debbie Douglas is the Executive Director of Ontario Council Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI). OCASI’s membership comprises more than 200 community-based organizations in Ontario.
- Fred Hahn is the President of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario and the first openly gay president in CUPE.
- Swathi Sekhar is the Director of Protection Initiatives at Rainbow Railroad, which is a global not-for-profit organization that helps at-risk LGBTQI+ people get to safety worldwide.
BACKGROUND
- Regularization is permanent resident status for undocumented people. See Migrant Rights Network’s position here: https://migrantrights.ca/regularization.
- It’s time for regularization. The last major regularization program in Canada was in 1973 under then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Migrant organizing resulted in Prime Minister Trudeau committing to regularization in December 2021. Immigration Minister Marc Miller promised to bring a proposal on regularization to Cabinet in the Spring.
- Undocumented people already live here. Undocumented people are not new arrivals. They have jobs, families, and roots in our communities. But they are unable to get any social services, benefits or protections because they are denied permanent resident status. Undocumented migrants are exploited by bad bosses and landlords, and face discrimination, abuse and deportation. Regularizing them, that is granting them permanent resident status, is about including them in the family of rights.
- Regularization will combat poverty and grow the economy: Undocumented people work in cash-based jobs, or are under-employed. Regularized migrants will be able to work where they want and what they are skilled for and earn more income. A recent report about regularization in France, when applied to Canada, showed that regularization will increase economic activity by $28 billion per year.
- Regularization will fund public services while the program will be cost neutral: Most undocumented people pay taxes but their employers, many of whom operate very profitable businesses, do not pay remittances. Regularizing 500,000 undocumented people will increase employer CPP and EI contributions by at least $5.6 billion, just in the first year. On the other hand, the cost of application processing will be met with existing funding and application fees.
- Regularization will increase worker rights: Employers of undocumented workers steal wages and threaten them with deportations to stop them from asserting their rights. This abuse results in overall worsening of working conditions in the labour market for migrants and citizens alike. Regularization will allow workers to leave bad jobs, and punish bad actors. It will improve working conditions for everyone.
- Regularization will ensure public health: Migrants do not access healthcare until it is absolutely necessary due to high fees. By the time they do, their health conditions are much worse, and the impact on the healthcare system is much higher. Regularization will improve all our health.
- Regularization will counter racism and increase gender inequality: Undocumented people are mostly racialized, low-waged people, often women. Regularization will give them the power to defend themselves against systemic exploitation. Women will be able to speak out against gender violence and leave conditions of domestic abuse.
- Regularization will build on best practices around the world: Regularization is a widely used policy tool – between 1996 and 2008, 24 of the 27 EU Member States implemented regularization programs, and some several times. An estimated 5.5 to 6 million people were regularized in that time.
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For media inquiries or to RSVP, please contact:
Fatima Hussain
Communications Organizer
fatima@migrantworkersalliance.org | 647-773-2068
Migrant Rights Network is Canada’s largest cross-country, migrant-led coalition. We ensure the leadership of people without permanent resident status – workers, international students, undocumented people, refugees and families. Member organizations of Migrant Rights Network have a long-standing commitment to ensuring regularization, and have been at the forefront of organizing for immigration justice for over 20 years.