Skip links

Migrant Rights Network

Sarom

Sarom, Author at Migrant Rights Network

Advisory: New Migrant Care Worker Program Announced

Landed Status Now Working Group, Migrant Rights Network
Media Advisory

New Migrant Care Worker Program Announced

Toronto, Vancouver, June 3, 2024 — Migrant Care Workers across Canada are welcoming news of changes to the caregiver program set to be announced today at 4:45pm EST, which appeared, in part, in today’s Globe and Mail. 

“While we look forward to responding to all the requirements once they are made known to make sure that care workers in Canada are protected, we are welcoming and celebrating the news of permanent resident status on arrival as well as the lowering of educational requirements. Many thousands of caregivers have faced abuse and exploitation, and have been in limbo or have become undocumented over the last five years – Canada must now move urgently to implement a regularization program for undocumented caregivers to ensure no one is left behind.” 

– Jhoey Dulaca, Care Worker organizer, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change

According to reports today:

  • A new program will be created which will grant permanent resident status on arrival to migrant caregivers – a critical demand of the migrant workers movement since 1979. This change can serve as a template for permanent resident status on arrival for all migrant workers. 
  • Education requirements will be lowered from Canadian equivalency of 1 year post-secondary education to high school equivalency also in response to migrant care worker organizing. 

In addition to these two demands, the Landed Status Now Working Group of the Migrant Rights Network will be looking to see if the following have been addressed:

  • Removal of unfair language testing requirements 
  • Permanent resident status for all care workers on work permits in Canada without caps or exclusions
  • Regularization – permanent resident status for all undocumented care workers in Canada.
  • Expedited processing of permanent residency applications of caregivers in the backlog. 

See full care workers list of demands here.

Today’s changes are a long-time coming. In 2019, the federal government created a 5 year pilot, keeping most of the policy failures of the program created by the previous Conservative government in 2014, including increased education and language requirements. As a result, thousands of caregivers have been unable to gain permanent residency, either moving from one employer to another on tied work permits facing abuse, or becoming undocumented. 

###

For interviews with care workers

  • TORONTO: Jhoey Cruz, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 416-897-4388
  • VANCOUVER: Cenen Bagon, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregiver Rights – 604-805-0384
  • For background information and to receive updated press release after the full announcement today: info@migrantrights.ca 

Further Background

Migrant Rights Network is Canada’s largest migrant-led coalition of 40 organizations in 8 provinces which are made up of tens of thousands of migrant members including farmworkers, domestic workers, current and former international students, refugees and undocumented people. The Landed Status Now Working Group is composed of all the migrant care worker-led organizations in Canada including Caregiver Connections Education and Support Organization, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregiver Rights, Migrante Canada and Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.

Skyrocketing deportations

Today we exposed a 104% increase in deportations of undocumented people over the last two years following Prime Minister Trudeau’s promise of regularization which would grant permanent resident status to undocumented people. 

We released this information to pressure Prime Minister Trudeau to honour his commitment to ensure permanent resident status for all. We have received multiple assurances from Immigration Ministers that a regularization program is coming. Ripping people away from their communities today who would be regularized tomorrow is absurd and unfair. 

Amplify our findings and demands! Sharing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Then take two more actions! 

Together, we have been able to stop countless deportations, and we are continuing to fight for a regularization program so that not a single one of us are torn apart from our homes and loved ones here. 

But the numbers are alarming. We found that: 

  • Canada deported 7,032 people in just the first half of 2023, nearly double the deportations in either 2021 or 2022. 
  • Deportations surged by 104% in the first quarter of this year compared to the average of the first-quarter deportations over the previous two years.
  • 39 people were deported every day in the first half of 2023, compared to an average of 21 people per day in 2021.
  • These are just the number of “accompanied” deportations, many other people are coerced to self-deport. 
  • Canada Border Services Agency receives at least a staggering $46 million per year in public money for deportations – which averages out to $4,750 to deport one person. In contrast, providing settlement and integration services for a permanent resident cost a lot less, approximately $3,900.

One of the thousands of people deported is Rajan Gupta, a refugee from India who lived and worked in Montreal for four years. He was a volunteer with the Immigrant Workers Centre, and created theater performances to educate workers about their rights before he was deported in November. 

He said, “During my stay in Canada, I followed all the rules and regulations and I had full faith in the Trudeau government that they would fulfill their promise of regularizing all immigrants but they failed to deliver their promise. Now in India, I can’t go back to my house due to life threats. I am living at an undisclosed place away from my city to save my life along with my sister. I have spent four years of my life working in Canada. Now in India, I have no money or income source and also unable to work outside due to life risks.” 

We started looking for this data because we have been seeing increased enforcement visits, raids, coercion and removals across the country this year. This has created fear and despair in many communities as people anxiously await decisions on their own files and for their loved ones. Increasing deportations while promising regularization makes no sense. 

Most migrant workers, students and refugees in working class jobs are denied permanent residency despite following all the rules and face a dire choice: leave their friends, jobs and communities in Canada and face potential harm or become undocumented, and face exploitation and live in perpetual fear of deportation. 

Right now there are hundreds of thousands of undocumented people fighting for regularization. This includes Tareq Abuznaid is a 19 year old Palestinian who has lived in Canada for eight years and is facing deportation to the West Bank. He said, 

“It feels horrible and it’s honestly heartbreaking that Canada wants to deport me back to a country that is being the victim of an active genocide. Israel doesn’t recognize me as a citizen, and doesn’t even want me on “their land”. It’s so disgusting and shameful that after all we’ve been through, and after all we’ve given, they’re just willing to throw me and my family out into a death sentence. And I know we’re not the only victims of this. I demand that Justin Trudeau should stop all deportations and keep his promise to give permanent residency to all migrant and undocumented people.”

Join us in speaking up today to demand an end to deportation and full and permanent immigration status for all.