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David Suzuki, Labour, Health, Refugee and Climate Organizations Unite to Call for Status for All

Media Advisory
Migrant Rights Network

David Suzuki, Labour, Health, Refugee and Climate Organizations Unite to Call for Status for All

When Parliament returns Trudeau must deliver on his promise

Toronto, September 15, 2023 – Over 200 organizations representing millions of people in Canada have joined forces behind migrant and undocumented actions taking place in 15 cities across Canada this weekend on the eve of Parliament’s return (details for each action below). The groups are calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to deliver on his promise to provide permanent status and equal rights for all migrants in Canada. It has been twenty months since Prime Minister Trudeau gave mandate letter instructions to provide permanent resident status for undocumented people, migrant workers, students, and families. This commitment has since been reiterated repeatedly by multiple elected officials and civil servants in government media statements, in Parliamentary committees and in meetings with migrant-led movements. Hundreds of thousands of people in Canada suffer from poverty, fear, and exploitation because they are denied permanent resident status. Migrants care for grandparents and children, work in factories, keep our hospitals running, and build homes, but they are excluded from the same rights that others in Canada take for granted. 

This weekend’s actions are endorsed by over 200 organizations including major labour bodies like Unifor and Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE); environmental groups like Climate Action Network, Greenpeace and David Suzuki Foundation; faith bodies like the United Church of Canada; health organizations like Canadian Doctors for Medicare andCanadian Federation of Nurses Unions and human rights groups like Oxfam Canada and dozens of immigrant and refugee rights organizations

“We live in fear. We are hopeless sometimes. I have been spat at, pushed, abused and denied fairness at work but I can’t leave because I am undocumented and no one else will hire me. I am a personal support, I worked to save so many people in COVID-19. My mother is sick, I haven’t seen her in six years, and I think I may never see her again unless we get permanent resident status for all like prime minister Justin Trudeau promised twenty months ago. We want status for all so we can all live a complete and equal life.”
Jane, undocmented, Migrant Rights Network

“The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) will continue fighting for fairness and justice for migrants.  These workers and their families contribute greatly to the economy and society and deserve pathways to security and permanency. Many live and work in fear of detection, detainment and deportation. Their status also makes them vulnerable to workplace exploitation and abuse. Today, the CLC expresses its continued support for migrants in the fight for their rights and freedoms.”
Siobhán Vipond, Executive Vice-President, Canadian Labour Congress

“The people of The United Church of Canada hold the belief that we are called to love and show hospitality to everyone in our midst. We believe in the dignity of creation and of God’s loving grace and its equitable expressions. We also believe that love for the whole community of creation is a universal value, shared by all peoples of the world. It is these beliefs that drive us to call on Canada to ensure equal rights for all by extending permanent residence to 1.7 million migrants, including 500,000 undocumented migrants who bring their whole selves and skills to their new lives on this land. Status for All will benefit Canada greatly, enhance the diversity of our country and ensure that all people in our country are able to live with dignity and access their inherent human rights.”
Rev. Dr. Jennifer Henry, Executive Minister, The United Church of Canada

“The Canadian Health Coalition supports regularizing the immigration status of a half million people because it would lift up Canada’s public health care system in three important ways. First, so many temporary and undocumented residents are trained health care professionals who want to fill the staffing shortages from home care to hospital emergency rooms in our communities. Not having permanent residency status restricts where people can work. Second, not having permanent residency status denies migrants the right to health care. Nell Tousssaint, who lost her status to stay in the country after experiencing employer abuse, brought Canada to court for denying her essential health care because of her status. She died far too young due to not having timely access to health care. Finally, by denying public health care to certain groups of people, we further kick open the door to privatization when we should be shutting it. Let’s regularize the immigration status of people to stop private interests from profiting from vulnerable populations. It supports Canada’s dream of Medicare to give all of us accessible and comprehensive public health care.”
Steve Staples, National Director, Canadian Health Coalition

“As a grandson of immigrants, I know the sting of discrimination as my Canadian born parents and I were denied all rights of citizenship during World War II, incarcerated for three years then expelled from British Columbia at war’s end. The exploitation of migrants today is simply a consequence of the continuing racism on which this nation was founded.  I am ashamed that the county hasn’t been able to transcend this legacy.”
David Suzuki

“The federal government committed almost two years ago to regularize the status of a range of vulnerable migrant populations who are living, working and contributing to Canadian society without access to permanent residence —from seasonal workers to caregivers to those fleeing persecution and exploitation. The silence on this file is now deafening.  Our 200 members see how every day of continued precarity for these individuals perpetuates a two-tiered society and leaves many migrants —generally racialized and largely women— without access to their rights. It’s past time for status for all.”
Gauri Sreenivasan, Co-Executive Director, Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR)

“This summer’s accelerating climate disasters have taken an especially heavy toll on migrants – who play an essential role to feed us, take care of us, and, most importantly, are valued members of our communities. As Canada continues to pour fuel on the fire of the global climate crisis, which is displacing more and more people from their homes, Status for All is a matter of climate justice. Politicians have waited long enough. The moment to act on a historic and pragmatic opportunity to better thousands of lives is now.”
Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director, Climate Action Network Canada

Migrant Rights Network Actions in Edmonton, Halifax, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Montreal, Ottawa, St Catharines, St Johns, Sudbury, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Whitehorse and Winnipeg.

EDMONTON, AB: September 17, 1:00 PM, Alberta Legislature
Media Contact: Clarizze Truscott, Migrante Alberta, 780-716-5284

HALIFAX, NS: September 15, 11:30am, MP Andy Fillmore’s office, 1888 Brunswick Street
Media Contact: Stacey Gomez, No one is illegal – Nova Scotia, (902) 329-9595

HAMILTON, ON: September 17, 1:30pm, MP Filomena Tassi’s Office, 1686 Main St W
Media Contact: Monika Dutt, Justice for Workers – Hamilton, 905-818-5978

KINGSTON, ON: September 17, 11am, MP Gerretsen’s office, 841 Princess Street
Media Contact: Sayyida Jaffer, Migrant Justice YGK, (613) 539-8594 

LONDON, ON: September 17, 1pm, Victoria Park – North-West entrance
Media Contacts: Sam Kaplun, Democratic Socialists of Canada, (416) 312-2671; David Heap, People for Peace London, (519) 859-3579. 

MONTREAL, QC: September 17, 2pm, Minister Millers’ office, 3175 Rue Saint-Jacques
Media Contact: Solidarity Across Borders, 514-809-0773

OTTAWA, ON: September 16, 11am, Parliament Hill
Media Contact: Emilio Rodriguez, Citizens for Public Justice, 343-996-4199

ST CATHARINES, ON: September 17, 2pm, MP Chris Bittle’s Office, 61 Geneva Street
Media Contact: David Tulloch, 905-380-6133, Justice for Workers – Niagara

ST JOHN’S, NL: September 24, 4pm, Harbourside Park
Media Contact: Adi Khaitan, Migrant Action Centre, 709-693-6032

SUDBURY, ON: September 17, 1pm, Memorial Park
Media Contact: Scott Florence, Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre, 705-470-3323

TORONTO, ON: September 17, 2pm, Bloor & Yonge
Media Contact: Rajean Hoilett, Migrant Right Network – Ontario,  289-923-3534

VANCOUVER, BC: September 17, 4pm, CBSA HQ, 300 West Georgia Street
Media Contact: Byron Cruz, Sanctuary Health Vancouver Collective (SH), (604) 315-7725, Julie Diesta, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights (CDWCR), (778) 881-8345, WeiChun Kua, Migrant Students United at SFU, (778) 887-4936

VICTORIA, BC: September 17, 11am, BC Legislature
Media Contact: Pamela Charron, Worker Solidarity Network, 705-698-6380

WHITEHORSE, YT: September 15, 12-3pm, 308 Hanson St, Whitehorse
Media Contact: Jess Dorward, Yukon Status of Women Council, 867-332-5541 

WINNIPEG: September 17, 3pm, City Hall
Media Contact: Damon, No One Is Illegal Treaty One, 431-293-6534

About Migrant Rights Network

Migrant Rights Network is Canada’s largest coalition of migrant-led organizations, with nearly 40 members in 8 provinces and territories. To see our list of members, please visit www,migrantrights.ca/about 

Cross-Country Media Contact:
Syed Hussan, Migrant Rights Network Secretariat,  416-453-3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org 

Media Advisory: Thousands of Migrants & Supporters to March in 15 Cities on Eve of Parliament’s Return For Equal Rights

Media Advisory
Migrant Rights Network

Cross-Country Media Contact: Syed Hussan, Migrant Rights Network Secretariat,  416-453-3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org 

Thousands of Migrants & Supporters to March in 15 Cities on Eve of Parliament’s Return For Equal Rights

Permanent resident status for all migrants will ensure a fair society and help everyone in Canada thrive.  

Toronto, September 12, 2023 – The eve of Parliament’s return will be marked by a weekend of massive demonstrations and actions calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to implement his promise of equality and fairness in the upcoming Parliamentary session. The actions, led by migrants including undocumented people, migrant workers, students, refugees, and families, are calling for permanent resident status for everyone. These actions come shortly after the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery called Canada’s temporary migration streams a “breeding ground” for exploitation. 

Hundreds of thousands of people in Canada suffer from poverty, fear, and exploitation because they are denied permanent resident status. Migrants care for parents and children, work in factories, keep our hospitals running, and build homes, but they are excluded from the same rights that others in Canada take for granted. Prime Minister Trudeau promised change when he mandated permanent resident status for migrant students and workers; as well as undocumented people (termed regularization) in December 2021. No program has been implemented in the 20 months since. 

Permanent resident status for all will add billions of dollars to the public purse per year through contributions by employers who currently don’t pay taxes when they hire undocumented people; improve overall health outcomes as hundreds of thousands of people will access primary care and not end up in emergency rooms; and end the downward pressure on wages and working conditions caused by employer exploitation of migrants. It will also allow migrants to lay down deeper roots, participate more fully in society, and gain labour mobility to fill jobs in industries and regions where workers are needed. 

Migrant Rights Network Actions in Edmonton, Halifax, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Montreal, Ottawa, St Catharines, St Johns, Sudbury, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Whitehorse and Winnipeg.

EDMONTON, AB: September 17, 1:00 PM, Alberta Legislature
Media Contact: Clarizze Truscott, Migrante Alberta, 780-716-5284

HALIFAX, NS: September 15, 11:30am, MP Andy Fillmore’s office, 1888 Brunswick Street
Media Contact: Stacey Gomez, No one is illegal – Nova Scotia, (902) 329-9595

HAMILTON, ON: September 17, 1:30pm, MP Filomena Tassi’s Office, 1686 Main St W
Media Contact: Monika Dutt, Justice for Workers – Hamilton, 905-818-5978

KINGSTON, ON: September 17, 11am, MP Gerretsen’s office, 841 Princess Street
Media Contact: Sayyida Jaffer, Migrant Justice YGK, (613) 539-8594 

LONDON, ON: September 17, 1pm, Victoria Park – North-West entrance
Media Contacts: Sam Kaplun, Democratic Socialists of Canada, (416) 312-2671; David Heap, People for Peace London, (519) 859-3579. 

MONTREAL, QC: September 17, 2pm, Minister Millers’ office, 3175 Rue Saint-Jacques
Media Contact: Solidarity Across Borders, 514-809-0773

OTTAWA, ON: September 16, 11am, Parliament Hill
Media Contact: Emilio Rodriguez, Citizens for Public Justice, 343-996-4199

ST CATHARINES, ON: September 17, 2pm, MP Chris Bittle’s Office, 61 Geneva Street
Media Contact: David Tulloch, 905-380-6133, Justice for Workers – Niagara

ST JOHN’S, NL: September 24, 4pm, Harbourside Park
Media Contact: Adi Khaitan, Migrant Action Centre, 709-693-6032

SUDBURY, ON: September 17, 1pm, Memorial Park
Media Contact: Scott Florence, Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre, 705-470-3323

TORONTO, ON: September 17, 2pm, Bloor & Yonge
Media Contact: Rajean Hoilett, Migrant Right Network – Ontario,  289-923-3534

VANCOUVER, BC: September 17, 4pm, CBSA HQ, 300 West Georgia Street
Media Contact: Byron Cruz, Sanctuary Health Vancouver Collective (SH), (604) 315-7725, Julie Diesta, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights (CDWCR), (778) 881-8345, WeiChun Kua, Migrant Students United at SFU, (778) 887-4936

VICTORIA, BC: September 17, 11am, BC Legislature
Media Contact: Pamela Charron, Worker Solidarity Network, 705-698-6380

WHITEHORSE, YT: September 15, 12-3pm, 308 Hanson St, Whitehorse
Media Contact: Jess Dorward, Yukon Status of Women Council, 867-332-5541 

WINNIPEG: September 17, 3pm, City Hall
Media Contact: Damon, No One Is Illegal Treaty One, 431-293-6534

Background

  • Over 33,000 people have sent messages to the Cabinet in support of permanent resident status for all: www.StatusforAll.ca.
  • These actions are endorsed by over 200 organizations including major labour bodies like Unifor and Ontario Federation of Labour; environmental groups like Climate Action Network and David Suzuki Foundation, faith bodies like the United Church of Canada and civil society groups like Oxfam Canada. 

Cross-Country Media Contact:

Syed Hussan, Migrant Rights Network Secretariat,  416-453-3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org

Fires & Firing: Climate Change, Reprisals & Migrant Fightback

Intense fires are ravaging the country. Thousands have been forced out of their homes. Indigenous communities are particularly impacted.

Similar to the floods in BC in 2021, migrant workers, especially those in the agricultural sector, are once again facing exclusion and exploitation.

Migrant farmworkers without income; forced to work during fires

In the Okanagan Valley of BC, over 600 migrant farmworkers have been displaced. Despite their devastating losses, some employers are refusing to provide income support, leaving these workers dependent on migrant-led organizations such as Sanctuary Health and RAMA for assistance.

Worse still – some of the workers in the fire-affected communities were moved to nearby farms. Their new employers are forcing them to work, even as the air is thick with smoke and temperatures are soaring.

No real protections exist for migrant workers during extreme weather events. Where there are some rules, workers are unable to speak up because employers can fire them, evict them, kick them out of the country and bar them from returning.

This is why you need to join or organize an action on September 16 & 17, 2023 for #StatusForAll

Fired for speaking out

Jamaican farm workers were recently sent home two months early as retaliation from their Ontario employer after a one-day strike protesting appalling housing conditions. These workers had released footage of overflowing bathrooms and their employer berating them.

And just this week in New Brunswick, 25 migrant fishery workers were coerced into signing “resignation letters” two months before their contract will end after organizing a meeting to address insufficient work and income. Please take two minutes and send a message to support them right now!

Climate change is not just fires and extreme weather events

The crisis caused by climate change extends beyond fires and extreme weather. As weather patterns become unpredictable, many migrant workers in food and other seasonal industries are working fewer hours than usual.

The minimum wage they earn in Canada is worth less because the prices of everything have gone up around the world. This year, migrant organizations are distributing emergency aid and food boxes to migrant workers even more than we did during the pandemic.

Rather than ensuring equal rights and permanent residency for all migrants, the federal government has made it even easier for employers to hire more workers on a precarious basis.

We need justice and status for all

This open season for exploitation is a response from the federal government to the employer push for more precarious workers to fill what they insist is a labour shortage. But we know the real issue is lack of worker rights, not a lack of workers. Even as employers and bosses are pushing for more precarious workers, they are also blaming immigrants for the increase in housing prices.

Over the last few weeks, big business supporting voice in the media have been loudly complaining about too many immigrants causing the housing crunch. Their main argument is that there are too many newcomers, and so Canada needs to build new homes and/or reduce the number of people. But focusing on housing supply, instead of investor profiteering, is just a way for those who are making the big bucks from construction and development to continue to do so.

The facts reveal a different story. In 2020, immigration in Canada fell as the borders were closed. But housing prices still skyrocketed! [9]

Help us push back against misinformation blaming immigrants for the housing crisis.

Share this graphic of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and download and share with your friends.

Some amazing news: Organizing and speaking up works!

Migrant farmworker Kerian Burnett won temporary access to healthcare after she joined with No One Is Illegal Halifax. Migrante Canada chairperson Danilo De Leon won a stop to his deportation and will likely get permanent resident status!

Welcome the new Cabinet: Take Action for Status for All

On July 26, Prime Minister Trudeau made changes to Cabinet – the 39 Ministers who are responsible for making a decision about regularization and permanent resident status for undocumented people and all migrants. There’s a new Minister of Immigration, and 7 new Ministers who haven’t heard from us yet!  

Together, let’s make sure they know our demands before the Cabinet Retreat which takes place in Charlottetown, PEI in August and our massive day of action on September 17, 2023 across the country. Here’s what to do:  

(1)  Visit Cabinet Minister constituency offices – especially the 7 new ones
(2) Call the Cabinet Ministers and the new Minister of Immigration everyday
(3) Send emails, write letters and deliver petitions to Cabinet Ministers.

Over the next few weeks, we must push as hard as we can, get as loud as we can to make sure that Cabinet Ministers create a program to ensure permanent resident status for all undocumented people. But if they choose to delay, we won’t stop, let’s keep up the pressure over the summer and beyond to win. 

(1) Visit or Poster Cabinet Minister Constituency Offices

Step 1: Find the closest constituency office near you. Check the map below to see if you are near a Cabinet constituency office (or click here). If there is no Cabinet Minister near you, then find your local MP and their office [here]. We especially want to visit the 7 new Cabinet Ministers:

  • Arif Virani – Parkdale—High Park, Ontario
  • Soraya Martinez Ferrada – Hochelaga, Quebec
  • Gary Anandasangaree – Scarborough—Rouge Park, Ontario
  • Terry Beech – Burnaby North, BC
  • Ya’ara Saks – York Centre, Ontario
  • Jenna Sudds – Kanata—Carleton, Ontario
  • Rechie Valdez – Mississauga—Streetsville, Ontario

Step 2: Check when they are open. Use Google to see when they are open. Constituency offices are usually open to the public between 10am to 4pm, Monday – Thursday, but make sure to confirm. Pick a time that you can go and invite friends to come with you if you can. Let us know when you are going so we can encourage those nearby to join you, email us at info@migrantrights.ca. If you are only putting up posters – then you can go any time. 

Step 3: Print out these three things:

Step 4: Go to the Constituency Office. When you arrive, tell them you are a local resident and there to speak about regularization. Ask the staff to pass on the message to the Cabinet Minister that local residents and voters support an inclusive regularization program that grants permanent resident status to all undocumented people. Ask for the contact information of the person you spoke to, and tell them you will be calling to ask what the Minister said. If you don’t feel comfortable talking, you can also just give them the letter and the policy brief. Make sure to put up some posters outside. Watch a simple video tutorial [here]. If you are only putting up posters, then go anytime, incuding when they are open and put posters on the doorway and send us photos. 

Step 5: A few days later, call the office to ask if they passed on your message to the Minister.

Step 6: Email us and let us know what happened – info@migrantrights.ca

(2) Call the Cabinet Ministers 

Call as many of the Cabinet Ministers as you can. Two ways to call: 

Call Using Our Automated Caller: Enter your information here and click Make the Call. Our system will dial a Cabinet Minister. You can leave message for one Minister or stay on the line, and the system will move to the next Minister when you’re done. A phone script will appear on the next page. This will allow you to stay anonymous and let us track how many calls are being made.

Call Directly From Your Phone:  Click here for their phone numbers and a script. 

  • Start by calling the new Minister of Immigration Marc Miller – 613-995-6403 

(3) Send emails, write letters, and deliver petitions to Cabinet Ministers.

Every time you or a friend adds their name here: www.StatusForAll.ca; an email is automatically sent to all Cabinet Ministers. The more emails they receive, the more they know this is an issue they need to act on.

You can also gather paper petition signatures. Download them from here, print, and take them to your community events, when you go for religious service, or a picnic, or outside a local transit hub. You can do it on your own or with friends, simply take a clipboard and pen.

If you would like to send an email yourself, use the template email here, and get their contact email addresses here. Letters can be individual or organizational. Even if you’ve written an organizational letter, please send another one. 

Le Réseau pour les droits des personnes migrantes salue l’appel de l’ONU en faveur de la régularisation et exhorte le premier ministre Trudeau à tenir sa promesse

Toronto, 29 juin 2023 – Le Réseau pour les droits des personnes migrantes – la plus grande coalition menée par les personnes migrantes au Canada – salue l’appel lancée cette semaine au Conseil des droits de l’homme par Felipe González Morales, rapporteur spécial des Nations Unies sur les droits humains des personnes migrantes, en faveur de la création de programmes de régularisation accordant le statut de résidence permanente aux migrant-e-s sans-papiers et un meilleur soutien pour les travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s.

En publiant son dernier rapport très attendu à la fin de son mandat, Monsieur Morales a insisté que « la régularisation est un outil de protection et d’inclusion qui bénéficie aux personnes migrantes, leurs familles, les pays de destination et les communautés. Les États doivent offrir des options pour la résidence permanente, la citoyenneté et une participation significative des personnes migrantes dans les sociétés d’accueil. »

Ce rapport, paru après une étude menée sur une période d’une année, met en lumière les raisons pour lesquelles les personnes migrantes deviennent sans-papiers, les conséquences qui accompagnent l’absence de statut et les critères spécifiques que les programmes de régularisation doivent satisfaire, qui s’enlignent tous avec les recommandations du Réseau pour les droits des personnes migrantes. En décembre 2021, le premier ministre Justin Trudeau a promis d’assurer un statut de résident-e permanent-e aux personnes migrantes sans-papiers, ainsi que pour les étudiant-e-s et les travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s. La troisième session parlementaire depuis cette promesse a pris fin ce juin sans action ni annonce.

« Depuis des décennies maintenant, les personnes migrantes sans-papiers et leurs organisations ont promu la régularisation comme programme le plus efficace pour respecter les droits et la justice pour les personnes migrantes sans-papiers. Plus de 500 organismes de la société civile se sont ralliés à nous, et les Nations unies ajoutent maintenant leur voix. Qu’est-ce qu’il faut de plus au premier ministre Trudeau pour faire la bonne chose ? », demande Syed Hussan, secrétaire du Réseau pour les droits des personnes migrantes. « Nous réclamons que le premier ministre Trudeau accorde sans plus tarder le statut de résident-e permanent-e à toutes les personnes migrantes sans-papiers, les travailleurs et travailleuses, les étudiant-e-s et les familles migrantes ».

Le rapporteur spécial des Nations unies sur les droits humains des personnes migrantes a noté que « la régularisation constitue une première étape vers l’intégration économique et sociale concrète pour les personnes migrantes dans leurs pays de destination et leurs communautés. En termes économiques, la régularisation permet aux personnes migrantes d’accéder aux emplois réguliers, d’entreprendre des initiatives entrepreneuriales, de lancer des petites entreprises, de travailler à leur compte et de faire pleinement usage de leur capacité d’innovation. En ce qui concerne les droits sociaux, l’obtention d’un statut régulier permet aussi aux personnes migrantes d’accéder aux systèmes de protection et de sécurité sociale puisque, dans certains pays, les soins de santé universels sont limités aux traitements d’urgence et l’éducation disponible aux enfants migrants avec un statut irrégulier se limite aux écoles primaires; les personnes migrantes dans une situation régulière bénéficient d’un meilleur accès aux systèmes de santé et d’éducation » (paragraphe n° 44).

La recommandation prioritaire du rapport est que « le rapporteur spécial conclut qu’à travers des avenues d’immigration régulière basées sur les droits humains et sensibles au genre, ainsi qu’avec la régularisation des personnes migrantes sans-papiers, les États doivent offrir des options pour la résidence permanente, la citoyenneté et une participation significative à la vie civique afin de faciliter l’intégration sociale et familiale ».

Monsieur Felipe a aussi souligné que les États doivent « offrir plus de flexibilité pour s’assurer que les droits et le statut de résidence des personnes migrantes ne soient pas liés à un seul employeur », afin d’éviter que ces personnes deviennent sans-papiers. 

Mise en contexte

Contact pour les médias

Syed Hussan, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org.

Migrant Rights Network Welcomes UN Call for Regularization, Urges Prime Minister Trudeau to Keep His Promise

Toronto, June 29, 2023 – The Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s largest migrant-led coalition – welcomes the call by Felipe González Morales, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants at the Human Rights Council this week, urging countries to create regularization (permanent resident status) programs for undocumented migrants and provide more supports to migrant workers. 

Releasing his much-awaited final report at the end of his tenure, Mr Morales insisted that “Regularization is a tool of protection and inclusion that benefits migrants, their families, destination countries and communities. States must provide options for permanent residence, citizenship and meaningful participation of migrants in host societies.”

The report, issued after a year-long study, outlines the reasons that migrants become undocumented, the impacts of living without status and the specific criteria regularization programs must meet, all of which are in line with the recommendations of Migrant Rights Network. In December 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to ensure permanent resident status for undocumented migrants, and for migrant students and workers. The third Parliamentary session since this promise ended this June without any action or announcement.

“For decades now, undocumented migrants and their organizations have called for regularization as the single-most effective policy program to ensure rights and justice for undocumented migrants, over 500 civil society organizations have joined us, now the United Nations is adding their voice, what more will it take for Prime Minister Trudeau to do the right thing?”, asked Syed Hussan, Migrant Rights Network Secretariat. “We call on Prime Minister Trudeau to ensure permanent resident status for all undocumented people, migrant workers, students and families without delay.”

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants report noted that “Regularization serves as a first step towards concrete economic and social integration for migrants in their destination countries and communities. In economic terms, regularization allows migrants to obtain formal employment, undertake entrepreneurial ventures, establish small businesses, pursue self employment and exercise their capacity for innovation. Regarding social rights, obtaining regular status also allows migrants to access social security protection systems as, in some countries, universal health care is limited to emergency treatment and the schooling available to migrant children with irregular status is limited to primary education; migrants in regular situations enjoy greater access to health-care systems and education” (Paragraph #44)

The top-recommendation of the report is that “The Special Rapporteur concludes that through human rights-based, gender responsive pathways for regular migration and for the regularization of undocumented migrants, States must provide options for permanent residence, citizenship and meaningful participation in civic life to facilitate social and family integration.”

Mr Felipe further recommends that States must “provide more flexibility to ensure that the rights and residence status of migrants are not tied to one employer” so as to ensure that migrants do not become undocumented. 

Background

Media Contact
Syed Hussan, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org 

 

Act Now: Let’s win Regularization!

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his 38 Cabinet Ministers will be discussing regularization sometime before the session ends on June 23rd (not June 9). They can either make a decision immediately, or continue to delay. They can create a small and exclusionary program for just a few or ensure permanent resident status for all undocumented people.

Together, let’s make sure they do the right thing and ensure status for all. 

(1)  Visit MP & Cabinet offices
(2) Call the Cabinet Ministers everyday
(3) Send emails, write letters and deliver petitions to Cabinet Ministers.

Over the next few weeks, we must push as hard as we can, get as loud as we can to make sure that Cabinet Ministers create a program to ensure permanent resident status for all undocumented people. But if they choose to delay, we won’t stop, let’s keep up the pressure over the summer and beyond to win. 

(1) Visit MP and Cabinet Offices

Print and display these impactful posters at your nearest MP’s office. Let’s ensure our message cannot be ignored. Find your local MP and their office [here], and download our posters [here]. Email photos of posters to info@migrantrights.ca or post on social media with #StatusForAll.

If you’re near a Cabinet Minister, deliver a letter and our brief. Here’s how:

Step 1: Find the closest constituency office near you.

Step 2: Check online using Google to see when they are open. Constituency offices are usually open to the public between 10am to 4pm, Monday – Thursday, but make sure to confirm. Pick a time that you can go and invite friends to come with you if you can. Let us know when you are going so we can encourage those nearby to join you, email us at info@migrantrights.ca. 

Step 3: Print out these three documents:

Step 4: Go to the Constituency Office. When you arrive, tell them you are a local resident and there to speak about regularization. Ask the staff to pass on the message to the Cabinet Minister that local residents and voters support an inclusive regularization program that grants permanent resident status to all undocumented people. Ask for the contact information of the person you spoke to, and tell them you will be calling to ask what the Minister said. If you don’t feel comfortable talking, you can also just give them the letter and the policy brief. Make sure to put up some posters outside. Watch a simple video tutorial [here].

Step 5: A few days later, call the office to ask if they passed on your message to the Minister.

Step 6: Email us and let us know what happened – info@migrantrights.ca

(2) Call the Cabinet Ministers everyday

Call as many of the Cabinet Ministers as you can, starting with Prime Minister Trudeau, and then Ministers in the province you are in. Two ways to call: 

Call Directly From Your Phone:  Click here for their phone numbers and a script. 

Call Using Our Automated Caller: Enter your information below and click Make the Call. Our system will dial a Cabinet Minister. You can leave message for one Minister or stay on the line, and the system will move to the next Minister when you’re done. A phone script will appear on the next page. 

 

(3) Send emails, write letters, and deliver petitions to Cabinet Ministers.

Every time you or a friend adds their name here: www.StatusForAll.ca; an email is automatically sent to all Cabinet Ministers. The more emails they receive, the more they know this is an issue they need to act on.

You can also gather paper petition signatures. Download them from here, print, and take them to your community events, when you go for religious service, or a picnic, or outside a local transit hub. You can do it on your own or with friends, simply take a clipboard and pen.

If you would like to send an email yourself, use the template email here, and get their contact email addresses here. Letters can be individual or organizational. Even if you’ve written an organizational letter, please send another one. 

 

What is the STCA?

A sudden extension: Without any warning, at 12:01am on March 24th, the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) was extended to cover the entire 9,000 kilometer border between the US and Canada.

Deportation without any process: Under the STCA, any migrant caught crossing on foot or via waterway without a visa can be deported without any processing. Those who were coming via Roxham Road in Quebec are now being deported.

Refugee applicants caught within 14 days can be deported: Any refugee claimant in Canada who arrived from the US must now prove that they were in Canada for 14 consecutive days to be eligible to apply. If they can’t, they will be deported without processing. There are a few exceptions.

Migrants are in crisis now on the US side of the border: Migrants coming over to Canada on foot are now being arrested, and those that don’t meet the exceptions are being handed over to US border officials who either jail them or are dropping them off in Plattsburgh New York. Most have nowhere to go to, having spent all their savings to come to the border. Despite sub-zero weather, many don’t even have winter clothes.

While the extension is new, the STCA is not: The STCA was created in December 2004. Until this weekend, it only applied to “official” crossings, which meant that refugees that walked across the border from any other area could still apply for refugee status. The most common route in recent years was Roxham Road in Quebec.

The US is not safe for refugees: The STCA was created under the premise that refugees arriving in Canada or the US should apply for refugee status in the first “safe country” they arrive in. Except, the US is also not safe for all refugees. In 2022, the acceptance rate for Haitian refugees in the US was 8%; and for Mexico was 5%. Refugees are routinely criminalized, children jailed, and it takes years to get a decision.

Migrants were already dying: Because of the STCA, many people were already taking dangerous journeys in both directions. In the last few months, two migrants, Fritznel Richard and Jose Leos Cervantes died crossing into the US on foot from Canada. 

This extension of STCA means more suffering: Now with the STCA extended to the entire border, migrants will choose even more remote and difficult terrain to cross to avoid detection. As a result, many more will die. The 14 day rule means that refugee claimants that do cross over will go into hiding for two weeks, during which time they will likely be exploited and abused. 

Prime Minister Trudeau caved to racism: Even though it was announced on Friday, the STCA extension was negotiated in secret over a year ago. It came as a response to increased anti-refugee demands from racist politicians. Depending on which government source you believe, there were between 20,000 and 40,000 refugees, almost all of whom were racialized, who crossed on foot into Canada from the US in 2022. In that time period, over half a million Ukranians, almost all white, were issued permits to come to Canada without any of the backlash. 

Migrants are not the crisis, the super rich are: Migrants including refugees are being blamed for using healthcare services and taking up housing to distract us all from the big businesses who are jacking up prices, pushing to privatize healthcare and gambling with housing prices.

But it’s not over yet. The Supreme Court of Canada will soon to issue its decision on whether the STCA is legal. Even if they do vote in favour of it, migrants and refugees will continue to take whatever steps they need to travel for safety and dignity. And as migrant movements, we will do everything in our power to support them. We must continue to oppose war, climate inaction, and economic oppression in the Global South that Canada profits from, and which forces people to migrate.

We must continue to fight for Status For All: We need to continue to take action for rights and dignity for all migrants, and to demand permanent resident status for all because it is the only way to access rights and power. Right now, we are taking action for:

  • Undocumented migrants to be regularized without exception. We want an uncapped program that grants permanent resident status to all undocumented people without exception. We need to commit to doing whatever is necessary to make sure no one is left out.
  • Migrant workers including care workers, farmworkers, fishery workers to be granted permanent resident status, and be united with their families without unfair education accreditation and language testing requirements. All migrant workers must have permanent resident status, rights at work and at housing, without exception including seasonal workers. 
  • Migrant student workers to get fairness at school, at work, and to be able to get permanent resident status without exclusions.

Release: Migrant Organizations Condemn “Unprincipled and Dangerous” Roxham Road Closure, Call on PM Trudeau to Ensure Safe Access and Equal Rights for Migrants 

Migrant Rights Network
Media Release

Migrant Organizations Condemn “Unprincipled and Dangerous” Roxham Road Closure, Call on PM Trudeau to Ensure Safe Access and Equal Rights for Migrants 

Ottawa – Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s largest cross-county coalition of migrant-led organizations – is condemning the unprincipled and dangerous decision to close Roxham Road, details of which are yet to be announced. Closing it will only force migrants to take even more dangerous routes because the Safe Third Country Agreement and other immigration laws do not allow migrants more dignified or safer ways of crossing to travel or seek asylum in either country, a right that is protected under international law. We call on Prime Minister Trudeau to end the Safe Third Country Agreement, to ensure migrants can safely cross the US-Canada border, and to ensure equal rights through permanent resident status for all migrants. 

United States and Canadian corporate and military interests profit from war, climate catastrophe, and economic precarity in the Global South, and both countries routinely meddle in elections and elected governments abroad, creating crises that cause people to migrate. 

Facts about Roxham Road crossing:

  • According to the latest numbers reported, 20,891 people crossed into Canada by foot to claim asylum in 2022. This is a comparatively small number:
    • 616,429 Ukranians have been approved for travel to Canada since 2022; 
    • Nearly 1.2 million new work and study permits were approved in Canada in 2022;
    • 60,158 total in-country asylum claims were made in Canada in 2022 (including those who crossed by foot from the United States). 
  • When asylum claimants arrive on foot from the US, they go through normal security screenings and the refugee claim process just like any other claimant. The acceptance rate for asylum seekers crossing on foot is 60%, the same as all other claimants. 

Available for comment:

  • Quebec (fr/en): Hady Anne, tel. 514-809-0773 , Solidarity Across Borders 
  • Alberta: Marco Luciano, 780-966-5908, Migrante Alberta 
  • British Columbia: Omar Chu 778-883-6627, Sanctuary Health
  • New Brunswick: Niger Saravia, 506-251-7467, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
  • Nova Scotia: Stacey Gomez, 902-329-9595, No One Is Illegal – Nova Scotia
  • Ontario: Sarom Rho, 416-887-8315, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
  • Prince Edward Island: Ryan MacRae, Cooper Institute, 902-916-5002

—

Migrant Rights Network
info@migrantrights.ca 

Advisory: Thousands to mark Anti-Racism day across Canada calling for equal rights and permanent resident status for migrants and refugees

Migrant Rights Network
MEDIA ADVISORY

Thousands to mark Anti-Racism day across Canada calling for equal rights and permanent resident status for migrants and refugees

Canada – Thousands of migrants and supporters will mark International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Edmonton, Montreal, Sudbury, Toronto, Vancouver and Niagara Falls on March 18 and 19 to call on Prime Minister Trudeau to ensure permanent resident status for all migrants and refugees, including undocumented people, as he promised in December 2021. Over 1.7 million migrants grow food, take care of children, the sick and the elderly, and are essential to our communities but are denied rights available to everyone else because they don’t have permanent resident status. Mostly in low wage essential jobs, migrants are also the hardest-hit by the affordability crisis. An uncapped regularization program that grants permanent resident status (not temporary permits) to all undocumented people could lift half a million people out of poverty; give them the tools to protect themselves against abuse; ensure gender justice; unite families and correct a historic wrong. With only a few weeks left till Parliament rises for the summer, any delay or an exclusionary program will continue the indefinite and ongoing exploitation of hundreds of thousands of our neighbours and friends. These actions are taking place in the lead-up to President Biden’s trip to Canada where refugees are on the agenda.  

Migrant Rights Network actions across Canada

EDMONTON – March 19, 2023, 1pm. Rally at Alberta Legislature Grounds.
Media contact: Marco Luciano, 780-966-5908, Migrante Alberta

MONTREAL – Outside Refugee Board at Guy-Favreau Complex, 200 René Lévesque West.
> March 18, 8pm: Out of the Shadows: Testimonies, projections, lights, music, solidarity serving for unhoused community.
> March 19, 9am: Press Point: We are not a Crisis, We are in a Crisis.
Media contact: 514 222 0205, Solidarity Across Borders

NIAGARA – March 19, 2023, 2pm. Rally at Niagara Falls City Hall.
Media contact: Kit Andres, 905-324-2840, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change

SUDBURY – March 18, 2023, 2:30pm, Main Public Library, 74 MacKenzie Street.
Media contact: Scott Florence, 705-470-3323, Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre

TORONTO – March 19, 2023, 2pm. Rally at Christie Pits Park, march to Deputy PM Freeland’s constituency office.
Media contact: Sarom Rho, 416-887-8315, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change

VANCOUVER – March 19, 2023, 12pm. Rally at CBC Plaza.
Media contact: Chris Sorio, 416-828-0441, Migrante BC

Background

  • Migrant Rights Network’s proposal for a comprehensive regularization program that is uncapped, will grant permanent resident status (not temporary permits) and will not exclude anyone: https://migrantrights.ca/resources/regularization-in-canada/ 
  • Every migrant-led organization in Canada, as well as over 500 civil society, labour and environmental organizations, support this proposal and are calling for full and permanent immigration status for all migrants in the country, as well as permanent resident status for all on arrival in future. 
  • Comprehensive regularization will address a historic wrong; improve working conditions by giving migrants the power to protect themselves; guarantee public health; and add at least $1.1 billion dollars to the public purse through contributions by employers who currently don’t pay taxes.  
  • Over 1.2 million temporary permits were issued in Canada in 2022 including 136,350 temporary foreign work permits; 472,070 international mobility program work permits; 551,405 study permits and 60,158 referred refugee claimants. Those in low-waged work in particular have no access to permanent residency so eventually they are forced to either leave or stay in the country undocumented. As a result, there are over 500,000 undocumented people in the country, for a total of 1.7 million migrants.
  • Lack of permanent resident status for low-waged migrants makes it difficult, and often impossible for them to speak up for their rights at work or access services, including the few services they are eligible for, because of a well-founded fear of reprisals, termination, eviction and deportation. They cannot unite with their families, and undocumented people live in daily fear of detention and deportation.  
  • Over 26,000 people have sent messages to Cabinet in support of permanent resident status for all: www.StatusforAll.ca 
  • 39,171 refugee claimants crossed into Quebec on foot from the US via Roxham Road in 2022. That’s about 3% of the 1.2 million temporary residents who came into Canada the same year; or 0.09% of Canada’s total population. As soon as they enter Canada, they are registered, and apply for refugee status. A hearing is scheduled where a Board Member (not a judge or a lawyer) decides whether to grant them refugee status. 60% of the asylum seekers who crossed via Roxham Road and have had a hearing were granted refugee status. That is the exact same acceptance rate as applicants who come through other ways. 

Cross-Country Media Contact
Syed Hussan, Migrant Rights Network Secretariat
416-453-3632 

The Manufactured Crisis About Refugees Coming in Via Quebec

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Quebec Premier Legault are calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to close Roxham Road. Refugees are being shipped out of Quebec. Over in Niagara Falls, the Mayor is complaining about refugee children taking up space in school. Many people are talking about refugees taking up services and jobs. 

This is strategic racism and it must be understood and opposed as such. 

Join or organize actions across the country on March 18 & 19. 

Say it loud, say clear: Refugees Welcome! Status for All Now! 

Politics of Hate, Fear and Division

Because of our collective action, permanent resident status for over half a million undocumented people is concretely possible. Federal pharmacare, childcare and dental care programs are on the horizon. Where workers are fighting collectively, wages are increasing. At the same time, many of us are angry because corporations are getting rich while the rest of us are struggling to pay the bills. In times like these, racism and anti-immigrant hysteria is a strategy of the rich to distract us and divide us, and it has deadly consequences. Once again, we must act firmly, and unite against racism. 

Nothing exceptional about refugees crossing at Roxham Road 

Refugees are making the dangerous crossing from the US on foot, primarily near Roxham Road in Quebec because Canada and the United States have closed regular border crossings to refugees through the Safe Third Country Agreement. As soon as they enter Canada, they are registered, and apply for refugee status. A hearing is scheduled where a Board Member (not a judge or a lawyer) decides whether to grant them refugee status. 60% of the asylum seekers who crossed via Roxham Road and have had a hearing were granted refugee status. That is the exact same acceptance rate as applicants who come through other ways. 

We cross the border for safety 

The US refugee determination system is in some ways even worse than Canada’s. 73% of refugee applicants were rejected in the USA under President Trump. Under President Biden, 63% are being rejected. As in Canada, refugees in the US are abused, separated from children, mistreated, denied services, imprisoned and deported. When the US is not safe, people cross over to Canada for asylum. Similarly, when Canada is not safe, they cross into the US.

39,000 refugee claimants is not a crisis

Only 39,171 refugee claimants crossed into Quebec from the US in 2022. That’s about 3% of the 1.2 million temporary residents that came into Canada the same year; or 0.09% of Canada’s total population. Compare 39,000 to 559,868 refugees from Ukraine over the last year who get many of the same services, without any of the demands by politicians to close the border to them. The call to close Roxham Road is a cynical attempt by politicans to distract us from our low-wages and exploitation. Just like their Trump counterparts in the United States.

Refugees are dying crossing the border

Fritznel Richard froze to death leaving Canada on foot to reunite with his family for Christmas. The entire Patel family froze to death going to the US. If Roxham Road is entirely closed, migrants will continue to try to travel, through even more unsafe ways, and even more will die. We need to create more safe paths for refugees, not less. 

Underfunding of healthcare, schools and services are to blame 

12 billion dollars were cut from schools in Ontario under Ford, it’s not refugee children who are taking up spaces. The crisis in healthcare is a result of under-funding, lack of support for healthcare workers and a push towards privatization. A few thousand refugee claimants are not overrunning the system. Rather refugees use less healthcare and social services than citizens. 

Home prices are artificially inflated, food prices are rising, wages stay the same

Over 235,000 people go without shelter in Canada each year. But billionaire developers are creating housing for investments and profit, not people. Up to 40% of housing is now controlled by investors. Food prices have been increased astronomically by large grocery stores but wages lag far behind inflation. We are all struggling to find housing, and it’s certainly not because of those of us who are refugees or immigrants. 

Unite Against Racism and Bosses and Win Status For All!

The most effective opposition to racist division is to push forward a pro-immigrant united agenda. The struggle for status for all is a struggle against exploitation of all workers by wealthy bosses. More than ever, now is the time to call for permanent resident status for all migrants, including undocumented people, all refused refugees, and temporary workers. Reject racist tricks to divide and silence us in our just demands. 

Now is the time to speak to your friends and family members and invite them to join in the struggle by asking them to sign on at www.StatusForAll.ca and come out on 18 & 19 March, 2023. 

Migrant Rights Network: Federal immigration program announcement insufficient

We call for permanent resident status for all and an end to deportations. 

Canada, January 20, 2023 – Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s largest migrant-led coalition – is reiterating its call for an uncapped and inclusive regularization program that ensures permanent resident status for all 500,000 undocumented people and their families in response to today’s announcement that provides an extremely difficult path to permanent residency to just 500 undocumented construction workers in the Greater Toronto Area. Migrant Rights Network will be demonstrating in support of equality and fairness for all outside the winter Cabinet retreat on Monday, January 23, 2023, at 12pm in Hamilton, Ontario.

Byron Cruz, organizer with Sanctuary Health in Vancouver says, “This announcement from the federal government definitely does not respond to the demands of the undocumented communities across the country. We urgently need a cross-country immigration regularization program, inclusive for all. Enough is enough we do not want migrants to be detained or to die in immigration prisons.”

Prime Minister Trudeau promised a regularization program on December 16, 2021. Without it, many continue to suffer. An as yet unnamed undocumented migrant died in immigration custody in Surrey, BC on Christmas Day. Fritznel Richard died a few days later in Quebec while crossing the border back to the US after being unable to get a work permit in Canada. 

Yonnel Destin, an undocumented spokesperson for the Montreal based Solidarity Across Borders, added, “This program is completely insufficient. Undocumented people live all over Canada, and work in all kinds of industries. While they’re playing around with pilot programs, we live in fear of detention and deportation. Where is the full regularization programme we’ve been promised? We don’t need yet another completely inadequate program that entirely fails to recognize that I am equal to everyone else in this country.”

The announcement today is an extension of a public policy first launched in January 2020 and ran for three years, in which time only 500 applications were processed because of exclusionary requirements. Only those who are related to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident are allowed to apply. Among other requirements, applicants must also prove that they have been living in Canada for five years and that they have been working in specific jobs in construction for at least 4,680 hours – both of which requires documentation from landlords, and employers that puts them at greater risk of exploitation. 

Marco Luciano, Director, Migrante Alberta, based in Edmonton, added, “Today’s announcement is disappointing. It does not address the fundamental issue of undocumented migrants. Piecemeal regularization is not the solution. We demand an inclusive regularization program without caps and for all sectors. We must end the inhumane deportation and detention of migrants.”

Every migrant-led organization in Canada, as well as over 480 civil society organizations, have jointly called for full and permanent immigration status for all migrants in the country, as well as permanent resident status for all on arrival in future. 25,000 people have sent messages to Ministers over the last few months. 

Nina Gonzalez, undocumented organizer with the Immigrant Workers Centre in Montreal says. “It might be good news for the undocumented people working in construction in the Greater Toronto Area who can qualify, but it gives again a sense of exclusion to all the migrant construction workers who work in the rest of Canada and other migrants who are not working in the construction sector. We need an inclusive and predictable regularization program based on universal human rights, applied to all over Canada regardless of occupation, work experience or other unfair requirements.”

“Every person that gets status means one more person included in the family of rights, so today’s announcement means that potentially 500 racialized, working class people will have the power to protect themselves and be with their families; now we need a regularization program for the 499,500 undocumented migrants and their families and 1.2 million migrants on temporary status that are being shut out of equal rights,” said Syed Hussan, Executive Director, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.

BACKGROUND

  • Migrant Rights Network proposal for regularization: https://migrantrights.ca/resources/regularization-in-canada/  
  • Comprehensive regularization (a program that includes all 500,000 undocumented people without caps or exclusions) will address a historic wrong; improve working conditions by giving migrants the power to protect themselves; guarantee public health; and add at least $1.1 billion dollars to the public purse through contributions by employers who currently don’t pay taxes.  
  • While statistics have not been released, migrant organizations have all reported a sharp increase in detentions and deportations in 2022. In fiscal year 2020-2021, Canada deported an average of 31 people each day. An undocumented migrant died in Surrey immigration prison on Christmas Day. 
  • 2022 is set to become the year with the highest number of temporary work and study permits, without any increase in access to permanent rights for low-waged migrants. Over 853,000 work and study permits were issued January – September, 2022.
  • There are at least 1.2 million people in Canada on temporary work, study or refugee claimant permits issued in Canada each year. Those in low-waged work in particular have no access to permanent residency so eventually they are forced to either leave or stay in the country undocumented. As a result, there are over 500,000 undocumented people in the country. 
  • That is, there are at least 1.7 million migrants – 1 in 23 residents in Canada – who do not have equal rights.  
  • Migrants are excluded from healthcare and social services and cannot unite with their families. Lack of permanent resident status makes it difficult, and often impossible, for migrants to speak up for their rights at work or access services, including those they may be eligible for, because of a well-founded fear of reprisals, termination, eviction and deportation. 
  • Migrants – mostly low-waged, racialized, working class people – are deemed essential but are excluded from rights. Thousands of migrants lost their lives and livelihoods in COVID-19 while working in farms, long-term care homes, construction, cleaning, and delivery work. 

Media Contact:
Syed Hussan, 416-453-3632, Migrant Rights Network Secretariat  

 

Communiqué de presse: Annonce insuffisante du programme fédéral d’immigration

Le Migrant Rights Network demande un statut de résident permanent pour tous et toutes et la fin des déportations.

Canada, 20 janvier 2023 – Le Migrant Rights Network – la plus grande coalition dirigée par des migrant-e-s au Canada – réitère son appel en faveur d’un programme de régularisation non plafonné et inclusif qui garantisse le statut de résident permanent à l’ensemble des 500 000 personnes sans papiers et à leurs familles, en réponse à l’annonce d’aujourd’hui qui offre un chemin extrêmement difficile vers la résidence permanente à seulement 500 travailleurs et travailleuses sans papiers du secteur de la construction dans la région du Grand Toronto.  Le Migrant Rights Network manifestera en faveur de l’égalité et de l’équité pour tou-te-s à l’extérieur de la retraite du Cabinet, le lundi 23 janvier 2023, à midi, à Hamilton, en Ontario.

Byron Cruz, organisateur avec Sanctuary Health à Vancouver, déclare : “Cette annonce du gouvernement fédéral ne répond absolument pas aux demandes des communautés sans-papiers à travers le pays. Nous avons besoin de toute urgence d’un programme de régularisation de l’immigration à travers le pays, inclusif pour tou-te-s. Trop c’est trop, nous ne voulons pas que les migrant-e-s soient détenu-e-s ou meurent dans les prisons d’immigration.”

Le premier ministre Trudeau a promis un programme de régularisation le 16 décembre 2021. Sans ce programme, beaucoup continuent de souffrir. Un sans-papiers, dont le nom n’a pas encore été dévoilé, est mort en détention par les services d’immigration à Surrey, en Colombie-Britannique, le jour de Noël. Fritznel Richard est mort quelques jours plus tard au Québec alors qu’il traversait la frontière pour retourner aux États-Unis après avoir été incapable d’obtenir un permis de travail au Canada. 

Yonnel Destin, porte-parole sans-papiers pour le groupe montréalais Solidarité Sans Frontières, a ajouté : “Ce programme est totalement insuffisant. Les sans-papiers vivent partout au Canada, et travaillent dans toutes sortes d’industries. Pendant qu’ils s’amusent avec des programmes pilotes, nous vivons dans la peur de la détention et de la déportation. Où est le programme de régularisation complète qu’on nous a promis ? Nous n’avons pas besoin d’un autre programme complètement inadéquat qui ne reconnaît absolument pas que je suis égal à tous les autres dans ce pays.”

L’annonce d’aujourd’hui est la prolongation d’une politique lancée en janvier 2020 et qui a duré trois ans, au cours desquels seules 500 demandes ont été traitées en raison d’exigences restrictives. Seules les personnes ayant un lien de parenté avec un-e citoyen-ne canadien-ne ou un-e résident-e permanent-e sont autorisées à présenter une demande. Entre autres exigences, les demandeurs et demandeuses doivent également prouver qu’ils vivent au Canada depuis cinq ans et qu’ils ont occupé des emplois spécifiques dans le secteur de la construction pendant au moins 4 680 heures, ce qui nécessite la remise de documents par les propriétaires et les employeurs et les expose à un risque accru d’exploitation. 

Marco Luciano, directeur de Migrante Alberta, basé à Edmonton, a ajouté : “L’annonce d’aujourd’hui est décevante. Elle n’aborde pas le problème fondamental des sans-papiers. La régularisation au compte-gouttes n’est pas la solution. Nous demandons un programme de régularisation inclusif, sans plafond et pour tous les secteurs. Nous devons mettre fin à la déportation et à la détention inhumaines des migrant-e-s.”

Toutes les organisations dirigées par des migrant-e-s au Canada, ainsi que plus de 480 organisations de la société civile, ont conjointement demandé un statut d’immigration complet et permanent pour tou-te-s les migrant-e-s du pays, ainsi qu’un statut de résident permanent pour tou-te-s à leur arrivée dans le futur. 25 000 personnes ont envoyé des messages aux ministres au cours des derniers mois. 

Nina Gonzalez, organisatrice sans-papiers au Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrants à Montréal, déclare. “C’est peut-être une bonne nouvelle pour les personnes sans papiers travaillant dans la construction dans la région du Grand Toronto qui peuvent se qualifier, mais cela donne à nouveau un sentiment d’exclusion à tou-te-s les travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s de la construction qui travaillent dans le reste du Canada et aux autres migrant-e-s qui ne travaillent pas dans le secteur de la construction. Nous avons besoin d’un programme de régularisation inclusif et prévisible, basé sur les droits universels de la personne, appliqué à tout le Canada, indépendamment de la profession, de l’expérience professionnelle ou d’autres exigences injustes.”

“Chaque personne qui obtient un statut signifie qu’une personne de plus est incluse dans la famille des droits, donc l’annonce d’aujourd’hui signifie que potentiellement 500 personnes racisées, de la classe ouvrière, auront le pouvoir de se protéger et d’être avec leurs familles ; maintenant nous avons besoin d’un programme de régularisation pour les 499 500 migrant-e-s sans papiers et leurs familles et les 1,2 millions de migrant-e-s avec un statut temporaire qui sont exclu-e-s de l’égalité des droits”, a déclaré Syed Hussan, directeur exécutif de Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.

MISE EN CONTEXTE

  • Proposition de régularisation du Migrant Rights Network : https://migrantrights.ca/resources/la-regularisation-au-canada/
  • Une régularisation complète (un programme qui inclut l’ensemble des 500 000 personnes sans papiers, sans plafond ni exclusion) permettra de réparer un tort historique, d’améliorer les conditions de travail en donnant aux migrant-e-s le pouvoir de se protéger, de garantir la santé publique et d’ajouter au moins 1,1 milliard de dollars au trésor public grâce aux contributions des employeurs qui ne paient actuellement pas d’impôts.  
  • Bien que les statistiques n’aient pas été publiées, les organisations de migrant-e- ont toutes signalé une forte augmentation des détentions et des déportations en 2022. Au cours de l’exercice 2020-2021, le Canada a expulsé en moyenne 31 personnes par jour. Un migrant sans papiers est mort dans la prison d’immigration de Surrey le jour de Noël. 
  • 2022 est en passe de devenir l’année où le nombre de permis de travail et d’études temporaires a été le plus élevé, sans aucune augmentation de l’accès aux droits permanents pour les migrant-e-s à bas salaires. Plus de 853 000 permis de travail et d’études ont été délivrés entre janvier et septembre 2022.
  • Au moins 1,2 million de personnes vivent au Canada grâce à des permis temporaires de travail, d’études ou de demande d’asile délivrés chaque année au Canada. Les personnes occupant un emploi faiblement rémunéré, en particulier, n’ont pas accès à la résidence permanente et sont donc contraintes de quitter le pays ou d’y rester sans papiers. En conséquence, il y a plus de 500 000 personnes sans papiers dans le pays. 
  • Autrement dit, il y a au moins 1,7 million de migrant-e-s – 1 résident sur 23 au Canada – qui ne disposent pas de droits égaux.  
  • Les migrant-e-s sont exclu-e-s des services de santé et des services sociaux et ne peuvent pas retrouver leur famille. L’absence de statut de résident permanent rend difficile, voire impossible, pour les migrant-e-s de défendre leurs droits au travail ou d’accéder aux services, y compris ceux auxquels ils et elles peuvent être éligibles, en raison d’une crainte fondée de représailles, de licenciement, d’expulsion et de déportation. 
  • Les migrant-e-s – pour la plupart à bas salaires, des personnes racisées et issues de la classe ouvrière – sont considéré-e-s comme essentiel-le-s mais sont exclu-e-s des droits. Des milliers de migrant-e-s ont perdu leur vie et leurs moyens de subsistance avec la COVID-19 alors qu’ils et elles travaillaient dans des fermes, des centres de soins de longue durée, dans la construction, l’entretien et le travail de livraison. 

 

 

Migrants and Supporters Will Be Outside Federal Cabinet Ministers Retreat in Hamilton

A fair society is only possible when everyone has equal rights; and equal rights are only possible if everyone has the same immigration status.

Toronto – Hundreds of migrants including undocumented people, farmworkers, domestic workers, current and former international students and refugees will be joined by supporters outside the Hamilton Convention Centre in Ontario at noon on Monday, January 23, 2023 where the winter federal Cabinet Ministers retreat is taking place. Migrants are gathering to demonstrate support for a life-altering uncapped and inclusive regularization program through which an estimated half a million undocumented people and their families will get permanent resident status; as well as calling for permanent resident status for all migrants.

Prime Minister Trudeau promised regularization of undocumented people and permanent resident status for migrant workers and international students on December 16, 2021 following decades of mobilization by migrants, but Cabinet has still not made a final decision. Exploitation, abuse and deportation continues in the meantime.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY

TORONTO – 10am, Monday, January 23, 2023, 720 Spadina Avenue.
HAMILTON – 12pm, Monday, January 23, 2023, Outside Hamilton Convention Centre, Meet at Hamilton City Hall

  • VISUALS: Buses departing from Toronto and arriving in Hamilton; large banners; migrants, families and supporters
    WHO: Migrants, including those facing deportation, community leaders and organizers will be available for comment

BACKGROUND

  • Migrant Rights Network proposal for regularization: https://migrantrights.ca/resources/regularization-in-canada/
  • Comprehensive regularization (a program that includes all 500,000 undocumented people without caps or exclusions) will address a historic wrong; improve working conditions by giving migrants the power to protect themselves; guarantee public health; and add at least $1.1 billion dollars to the public purse through contributions by employers who currently don’t pay taxes.
  • While statistics have not been released, migrant organizations have all reported a sharp increase in detentions and deportations in 2022. In fiscal year 2020-2021, Canada deported an average of 31 people each day. An undocumented migrant died in Surrey immigration prison on Christmas Day.
  • 2022 is set to become the year with the highest number of temporary work and study permits, without any increase in access to permanent rights for low-waged migrants. Over 853,000 work and study permits were issued January – September, 2022.
  • There are at least 1.2 million people in Canada on temporary work, study or refugee claimant permits issued in Canada each year. Those in low-waged work in particular have no access to permanent residency so eventually they are forced to either leave or stay in the country undocumented. As a result, there are over 500,000 undocumented people in the country.
  • That is, there are at least 1.7 million migrants – 1 in 23 residents in Canada – who do not have equal rights.
  • Migrants are excluded from healthcare and social services and cannot unite with their families. Lack of permanent resident status makes it difficult, and often impossible, for migrants to speak up for their rights at work or access services, including those they may be eligible for, because of a well-founded fear of reprisals, termination, eviction and deportation.
  • Migrants – mostly low-waged, racialized, working class people – are deemed essential but are excluded from rights. Thousands of migrants lost their lives and livelihoods in COVID-19 while working in farms, long-term care homes, construction, cleaning, and delivery work.
  • Every migrant-led organization in Canada, as well as over 480 civil society organizations, are jointly calling for full and permanent immigration status for all migrants in the country, as well as permanent resident status for all on arrival in future.
  • Canada recently announced an immigration target of 465,000 for permanent resident status in 2023, but less than 8,000 of those are available for low-waged migrants like seasonal agricultural workers and careworkers. In addition to low numbers, program requirements make it impossible for most to apply.
  • Over 24,000 people have sent messages to Cabinet in support of permanent resident status for all: www.StatusforAll.ca

Media contact: Syed Hussan, 416-453-3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org

December 2022: Let’s get 14 Cabinet Ministers to Support Status for All

14 federal Ministers in the Cabinet Committee on Economy, Inclusion and Climate “B” are set to debate regularization – permanent resident status for undocumented people – sometime in December. They will decide who and how many people will be included, before sending their proposal to all Ministers (the whole of Cabinet) early next year.

We need these 14 Ministers – and especially Prime Minister Trudeau – to support an uncapped program through which all undocumented people and their families can apply for permanent residency immediately. We need them to oppose any exclusions, or a program that gives just temporary status.  And we need them to support permanent resident status for all 1.7 million migrants. 

We can do this! Here’s how:

(1) Send emails: Nearly 22,000 people have already sent messages to Cabinet Ministers. Please keep signing and sharing: www.StatusForAll.ca. We have heard from many Ministers that they are paying attention.

(2) Put up posters:  Go and put up a poster on their windows and around the offices. Addresses are listed below.
>> Download posters here
>> Make sure to take a photo when you put it up and send it to use either tagging @MigrantRightsCA on social media or via email to info@migrantrights.ca

(3) Send organizational letters: f you are part of a group or organization, use this template to send a letter to all Cabinet Ministers. Click here for template letter

(4) Leave a phone message: Use this tool to leave a phone message to as many of the 14 Ministers as you can. 

(5) Take Action on December 16-19: Actions are taking place in Toronto, Montreal, Shediac, Vancouver and Alberta. Click here for details.

Cabinet Committee on Economy, Inclusion and Climate “B” 

Ontario
>> Hon. Ahmed Hussen – 613-995-0777 – Ahmed.Hussen@parl.gc.ca – 48 Rosemount Avenue, Unit B, York, Ontario, M9N 3B3
>> Hon. Carolyn Bennett – 613-995-9666 – carolyn.bennett@parl.gc.ca – 103-40 Holly Street, Toronto, Ontario M4S 3C3
>> Hon. Mark Holland – 613-995-8042 – mark.holland@parl.gc.ca – 100 Old Kingston Road, Ajax, Ontario, L1T 2Z9
>> Hon.Mary Ng – 613-996-3374 – Mary.Ng@parl.gc.ca – 16 Esna Park Drive, Markham, Ontario L3R 5X1

Quebec
>> Hon. Diane-Lebouthillier – 613-992-6188 – Diane.Lebouthillier@parl.gc.ca – 153 La Grande Allée East, Suite 104, Grande-Rivière, Quebec, G0C 1V0
>> Hon. François-Philippe Champagne – 613-995-4895 – Francois-Philippe.Champagne@parl.gc.ca – 632 Grand-Mère Avenue, Suite 1, Shawinigan, Quebec, G9T 2H5
>> Hon. Marc Miller – 613-995-6403 – Marc.Miller@parl.gc.ca – 3175 Saint-Jacques Street, Montréal, Quebec H4C 1G7
>> Hon. Pascale St-Onge – 613-947-8185 – pascale.st-onge@parl.gc.ca – 301-145 Rue de Sherbrooke, Cowansville, Quebec, J2K 5E7
>> Hon. Steven Guilbeault – 613-992-6779 – Steven.Guilbeault@parl.gc.ca – 800 Boul de Maisonneuve E, Suite 1010, Montréal, Quebec, H2L 4L8

British Columbia
>> Hon. Joyce Murray – 613-992-2430 – joyce.murray@parl.gc.ca  – 2112, West Broadway, Suite 206, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6K 2C8

Alberta
>> Hon.Randy Boissonnault – 613-992-4524 – randy.boissonnault@parl.gc.ca – 202-10235, 124 St NW, Edmonton, Alberta, T5N 1P9

Atlantic Canada
>> Hon. Dominic LeBlanc –  613-992-1020  – dominic.leblanc@parl.gc.ca – 328 Main Street, Suite I, Shediac, New Brunswick, E4P 2E3
>> Hon. Gudie-Hutchings – 613-996-5511 – gudie.hutchings@parl.gc.ca – 49-51 Park Street, Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, A2H 2X1
>> Hon. Sean Fraser – 613-992-6022 – minister@cic.gc.ca – 2A – 115 MacLean Street, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, B2H 4M5

Message to send to your email lists

Because of migrant organizing, Prime Minister Trudeau instructed the federal Minister of Immigration to create a “regularization program”, which means giving permanent resident status to undocumented migrants (people without a valid permit to live in Canada). He also promised to ensure permanent resident status for migrant students and workers. 

We now have a historic opportunity to push for equality for all migrants, including undocumented people. The details of the final program are being debated in a federal Cabinet sub-committee right now, and will be sent to the whole of Cabinet soon after. This is the time to speak up and to make sure that no one is left behind.

Collective action has brought us this far. We are at the brink of winning equal rights for over a half million racialized working class people and their families. However, there are many forces, including big business lobbyists, pushing to make these programs as small and exclusionary as possible so that they can continue to profit from migrant worker precarity. 

Send a message to everyone in Cabinet letting them know that you believe in equality, rights, dignity and justice for all: www.StatusforAll.ca 

Oct 16: Tell Cabinet To Ensure #StatusforAll Without Delay

On October 16th, it will be 10 months since Prime Minister Trudeau promised a regularization program! Join us to call on Ministers across Canada to move swiftly to ensure regularization for undocumented migrants and permanent resident status for all.

Thousands on the street .. What’s next?

Over 5,000 people rallied, marched, and met in 13 cities. Many of us braved heavy rain and lightning knowing that our collective action was essential to achieve status for all. 

Even with the almost blanket media coverage of a funeral in England, we captured media attention. Dozens of outlets, including radio, TV and print, carried our message of full immigration status for all undocumented people, as well as all other migrant workers, student and families to millions of households. 

This action is not a one-off. We must keep moving.  

Step 1: Get the news out wider this week

Parliament is back, and our efforts must now kick into high gear. Many politicians have not been around over the summer, and now is the time to get their attention. There are a few ways to do this. 

First is to share photos and videos from September 18. 

Share photos on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

The second is sharing news articles. Nowadays, the more a news story link is clicked, the more it is shown to other readers. So, click each of these links and share as many as you can: Canadian Press, CBC National News Network, Le Devoir, La Presse, CTV Vancouver, CBC Toronto, Radio Canada Vancouver, Omni Filipino – Ottawa. 

We have also created a playlist of all the TV coverage here. Watch and listen to hear migrants explain directly what they are facing.

Step 2: New this week: Understanding the response to M-44

Back in May, Parliament unanimously passed a symbolic motion (M-44) asking Immigration Minister Fraser to share a plan to ensure permanent resident status for workers of all skill levels. Yesterday, the immigration department submitted a 40-page report in response. 

This report focuses on possible changes for farmworkers, care workers, migrant students and other migrant workers – but there are no details. It is separate from the regularization program that Minister Fraser is already in the process of developing for undocumented migrants (people who have already lost their status), which is moving ahead more quickly and we must keep up the pressure.

The M-44 report does two things: It re-announces changes already made, and it says that the government is reviewing the immigration system and may potentially make other changes in the future. 

The lack of real change is frustrating. At the same time, it is our collective action that has forced the government to review the immigration system and it is up to us to make sure that we win status for all.

If you are a migrant, and are not already part of an organization, email us at info@migrantrights.ca and we will connect you to others like you.  

Step 3: The fight ahead

In the weeks and months ahead, we will continue to share updates about the fight for the rights of temporary migrant workers and students. 

Right now we need to continue to fight for permanent residency for half a million undocumented people. Here’s what will happen next:

[A] Government Action: Soon the Minister of Immigration (elected) and the Department of Immigration (the bureaucrats) will write a “Memo to Cabinet” (MC). In it they will propose which and how many undocumented people should be given PR
Our Response: RIGHT NOW: We must sign petitions, make phone calls, and ask organizations to write letters to ensure that there is no delay, and that everyone is included. Educators: Add your name here; Healthcare workers: Add your name here. 

[B] Government Action: Once the MC is finalized, it is submitted to one of the Cabinet Sub-Committees for review.  
Our Response: Once we know which Cabinet Committee will receive the proposal, we will make sure that those Ministers hear from us. 

[C] Government Action: The Cabinet Sub-Committee will send the proposal to the whole Cabinet.
Our Response: We will organize visits, rallies and calls to all members of the Cabinet. 

[D] Government Action: Once Cabinet decides, the Immigration Department will create the application forms and other guides.
Our Response: We will keep up the pressure to make sure there is no delay

[E] Government Action: Once the Immigration Department has finalized its plan, the program will finally be announced.
Our Response: We will celebrate, and demand changes if anyone is left out

[F] Government Action: The program will be launched
Our Response: We will together make sure that all undocumented people can apply while campaigning to expand the program if it is exclusionary.

As you can see, we don’t have timelines listed. We have learned from COVID-19, and the war in Ukraine that when the government wants to move quickly, it will. Our actions will determine how quickly we can win status for all.

September 18 Endorsers / Appuyé par les organisations suivantes : 350.org Canada, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services, Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, Anglican Diocese of Toronto, Apatrides anonymes, Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network (ARSN), Black Lives Matter – Canada, Canada Without Poverty, Broadbent Institute, Canadian Federation of Students – Ontario, Canadian Federation of Students – National, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Canadian Initiative on Workplace Violence Ltd., Canadian Refugee Health Network, Canadian Women’s Foundation, Centre d’aide aux familles latino américaines (CAFLA), Centre des femmes de Laval, Centre international de solidarité ouvrière (CISO), Citizens for Public Justice, Climate Action Network – CAN-RAC, Coalition étudiante pour un virage environnemental et social (CEVES), ClimateFast, Collectif Bienvenue // Welcome Collective, Community Solidarity Ottawa, Council of Canadians, Le Conseil Des Canadiens, CUPE Local 3902, CUPE Ontario, Davenport Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre, David Suzuki Foundation, Earth Education League, ETFO / PETL, Fédération des femmes du Québec, FoodShare Toronto, Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU) Foyer du Monde, Global Peace Alliance Society, Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team (HAMSMaRT), HIV Legal Network,  Hogan’s Alley Society, Hospital Employees’ Union, Indigenous Climate Action, Inter Pares, Italian-Canadians for Black Lives, Jasper Employment & Education Centre, Jesuit Refugee Service Canada, Justice For All Canada, Justice for Workers, KAIROS Toronto West, Leadnow, Legal Clinic of Guelph & Wellington County, Mary Ward Centre – Toronto, Médecins du Monde / Doctors of the World, Migrant Action Centre, Migrant Worker Community Program, La Ligue des droits et libertés, Médecins du monde Mouvement contre le viol et l’inceste, National Union of Public and General Employees, Neighbourhood Legal Services, Niagara Community Legal Clinic, Oasis Dufferin Community Centre, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), Ontario Federation of Labour, Ontario Nurses’ Association, Ontario Parent Action Network, Ontario Nurses’ Association, OPIRG Carleton, Ottawa and District Labour Council, Our Lady of Guadalupe Tonantzin,  Community, Oxfam Canada, Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, Romero House, SEIU – Local 2, Showing up for Racial Justice – Toronto, Social Justice Co-op NL, Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre, SWAN Vancouver, SURJ XYE, The Caring for Social Justice Collective-Le Collectif Soignons la justice sociale, Toronto350, The Neighbourhood Group, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW Canada), Vancouver and District Labour Council, Water Watchers, Workers Solidarity Network, West Coast LEAF, YWCA, YWCA Toronto. Please endorse this action/Veuillez SVP endosser cette action.

 

Release: Trudeau Told to Act Swiftly To Implement Fair Immigration Rules to Ensure Equal Rights for 1.7 Million People

Media Liaison(EN/FR): Mary Foster, 514-222-0205, mary@migrantworkersalliance.org. Please get in touch for a recording of the briefing. 

Trudeau Told to Act Swiftly To Implement Fair Immigration Rules to Ensure Equal Rights for 1.7 Million People

Cross-Country Migrant Coalition & Major Civil Society Groups Organizing Protests in 12 cities on September 18

Ottawa, September 14, 2022 — For the first time in half a century, Canada is moving forward on a regularization programme for undocumented migrants. A cross-country coalition of migrants has united with Canada’s largest human rights, climate, health, legal and labour organizations to call on the government to ensure permanent residency for all 1.7 million migrants with precarious status, including regularization of all 500,000 undocumented migrants. Actions in support of full regularization will take place in 12 cities across the country on Sunday, September 18, 2022 (see below for list of all the actions). Over 480 civil society organizations have already endorsed this call for immigration justice. 

Joining an online briefing today, Caroline Michael, an undocumented healthcare worker, Nigerian refugee in Toronto, and member of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change explained, “Undocumented people like me are underpaid and unfairly treated by our employers and we can’t be bold enough to report them to appropriate authorities for fear of being picked up by the police. All of us migrants should be given the right to live a human-like life and shouldn’t be treated like animals, that means permanent resident status for all, no one left out, no exemptions, no conditions. The next Parliament must make our demands their number one priority.”

Lauren Ravon, Executive Director, Oxfam Canada, emphasized that, “A regularization program that provides status to all in Canada is a triple win, it advances gender justice, reduces inequality and has numerous benefits for the economy. Canada benefits so much from the contributions of migrants and undocumented workers. The time is now to provide hundreds of thousands of people in Canada with access to rights and services for a dignified life.” 

Caroline Brouillette, National Policy Manager, Climate Action Network – Canada’s largest Climate Coalition – added, “As the climate crisis forces more and more people from their homes, ensuring equal rights for migrants is fundamental to climate justice. Transforming our unequal, exploitative system into one that ensures dignity and safety for all is a key step towards addressing Canada’s climate debt, and we urge the federal government to seize this opportunity.” 

Danilo De Leon, an undocumented former temporary foreign worker, and chairperson of Migrante Canada, from Edmonton, said, “We came here to work because you need workers. We are more than just workers that feed your economy. We are human beings who have the right to live in Canada with dignity and we need a regularization program that does not discriminate.” 

The Migrant Rights Network estimates that regularizing 500,000 undocumented workers will increase employer contributions by at least $1.1billion per year. 

Many undocumented people are unable to afford expensive healthcare, ending up sicker and impacting public health explained Pénélope Boudreault, director of national operations at Doctors of the World. “The Doctors of the World’s Medical Clinic’s team can testify to this. A safe, comprehensive and inclusive regularization program is an essential tool to guarantee the fundamental rights and health of migrants with precarious status and to promote the well-being of society as a whole”. 

There are at least 500,000 undocumented people in Canada. The vast majority are racialized. They entered on temporary work and study permits or as refugees but were not able to get permanent residency because of Canadian immigration rules, which favour people with high wages. Most others are turned away. 

Nina Gonzalez, coordinator of the Regularization Campaign of the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC), active member of the IWC’s Women’s Committee, and non-status migrant explains, “The immigration system systematically creates people without immigration status, either as a result of the refugee application being refused or because the employer has refused to extend the work permit and it expires. Loss of status is an administrative problem imposed by the system, it is not a criminal act.” 

Without full immigration status, many migrants face exploitation, even as they are deemed essential. This includes farmworkers who characterize their work as “systematic slavery”. Laurence Guénette, Coordinator of the Ligue des droits et libertés joined the call today for fair rights for all reminding Prime Minister Trudeau that, “All human rights are universal: this universality means that all human beings enjoy the same fundamental rights regardless of their status. The Canadian government must put in place a regularization program granting full and permanent status to all persons with precarious immigration status in Quebec and Canada. A universal regularization program that leaves no one behind.”

Syed Hussan from the Migrant Rights Network Secretariat added, “Prime Minister Trudeau has a choice right now: either finally ensure historic equal rights for 1.7 million people who have been oppressed and exploited by bad bosses, institutions and landlords because of Canadian immigration rules by guaranteeing permanent resident status to all, or continue to make partial, temporary changes that continue exploitation for most. Migrants and our supporters are united in our expectations that Prime Minister Trudeau will do what he knows is right”.

Actions across Canada and Media Contacts for Sunday, September 18, 2022

TORONTO, ON: Rally & March for Rights, Regularization & Status For All
Sep 18, 2:00pm, Christie Pits Park, March to Deputy PM’s Office
Contact: Rajean Hoilett, 289-923-3534, Migrant Rights Network – Ontario

MONTREAL, QC: Rally & March – Un Statut pour tous et toutes – on ne laisse personne pour compte / #StatusForAll: No One Left Behind
Sep 18, 2:00pm, Place du Canada (corner of René-Lévesque and Peel)
Media Contact: Hady Anne (En/Fr), 514 358 8836, Solidarity Across Borders

VANCOUVER, BC: Rally – Rights, Regularization, Status For All
Sep 18, 2:30 PM, Grandview Park. 1657 Charles St, Vancouver
Media Contact: Byron Cruz, Sanctuary Health, (604) 315-7725

EDMONTON, AB: Rights, Regularization, Status for All!
Sep 18, 12:00 PM, Sir Winston Churchill Square. 10404 104 Ave NW.
Media Contact: Clarizze Truscott, 780-998-2885, Migrante Alberta

OTTAWA, ON: Migrant Regularization March – Status For All!
Sep 18, 2:00 PM, Confederation Park. Elgin St and Laurier Ave W, Ottawa
Contact: Aimee Beboso, 613-255-1921, Migrante Ottawa

SUDBURY, ON: Sudbury & Region: Status For ALL – Community Gathering
Sep 18, 1:30pm, Flour Mills Community Farm. 736 Bruce Ave.
Contact: Tt Scott, communications@sudburyworkerscentre.ca, Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre

CHARLOTTETOWN, PE: Status for All: Reimagining PEI
Sep 18, 1pm, Victoria Park Pavilion, 36 Victoria Park Driveway
Media Contact: Ryan MacRae, ryan@cooperinstitute.ca, Cooper Institute 

MIRAMICHI, NB: Rights, Regularization, Status for All
Sep 18, 2pm, Queen Elizabeth Park Town Square. 141 rue Henry Street
Contact: Sonia Aviles, 289 990 1349, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change

FREDERICTON, NB: Status for All Day of Action Fredericton – Madhu Centre Organization Launch
Sep 18, 1pm, 577 Hillcrest Drive
Media Contact: Kalum Ng,  info@madhucentre.ca, Madhu Centre

GUELPH, ON: Public Meeting: Immigration: Who Benefits? Who Suffers?
Sep 18, 3:00 PM, 10C. 42 Carden St. , 3rd Floor, Activity Room.
Media Contact: Susan Rosenthal, Guelph Justice for Workers, guelph@Justice4workers.org

CLARKSBURG, ON: Rights, Regularization, Status for All
Sep 18, 10am, Clark Street and Main Street
Media Contact: Amaris Terner, 416 417 3520

JOHN’S, NL: Status for All Picnic
Sep 18, 1pm, Bannerman Park
Media Contact: Adi Khaitan, 709-693-6032

ANTIGONISH, NS: “United We Call: Status for All!” at Antigonight: Art After Dark Festival
Sep 17, 7pm, Main Street Grounds (Scotiabank)
Media Contact: Stacey Gomez, noii.hfx@gmail.com, No one is illegal – Halifax/Kjipuktuk, Migrant Workers Program

Background

  • There are at least 1.2 million people in Canada on temporary work, study or refugee claimant permits issued in Canada each year. Most migrants in low-waged work do not have access to permanent residency so eventually they are forced to either leave Canada or stay in the country undocumented. Migrant farm workers recently testified that these temporary migration schemes are “systematic slavery”. 
  • Many are unable to return to sending countries because of war, discrimination, lack of economic opportunities and/or because they have built relationships in Canada. Today, there are over 500,000 undocumented people in the country. 
  • As a result, there are at least 1.7 million migrants – 1 in 23 residents in Canada – who do not have equal rights.  
  • Migrants are excluded from healthcare and social services and cannot unite with their families. Lack of permanent resident status makes it difficult, and often impossible, for migrants to speak up for their rights at work or access services, including those they may be eligible for, because of a well-founded fear of reprisals, termination, eviction and deportation. 
  • Migrants – mostly low-waged, racialized, working class people – are deemed essential but are excluded from rights. Thousands of migrants lost their lives and livelihoods in COVID-19 while working in farms, long-term care homes, construction, cleaning, and delivery work. 
  • Comprehensive regularization (a program that includes all 500,000 undocumented people) will address a historic wrong; improve working conditions by giving migrants the power to protects themselvesand; guarantee public health; and add at least $1.1 billion dollars to the public purse per year through contributions by employers who currently don’t pay taxes.  
  • Canada created the “Guardian Angels” program for some refugee and undocumented healthcare workers, which expired in August 2020. The Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident (TR to PR) program was created in May 2021, and expired in November. These programs excluded the vast majority of racialized, low-waged migrants. No permanent changes have been made to ensure immigration justice. 

Nearly 10,000 people have signed a petition in support of these demands: www.StatusforAll.ca

Communiqué de presse: Trudeau sommé d’agir rapidement pour mettre en œuvre des règles d’immigration équitables afin de garantir l’égalité des droits pour 1,7 million de personnes

Personne-contact pour les médias (AN/FR): Mary Foster, 514-222-0205, mary@migrantworkersalliance.org.  Veuillez nous contacter pour obtenir un enregistrement de la conférence.

Trudeau sommé d’agir rapidement pour mettre en œuvre des règles d’immigration équitables afin de garantir l’égalité des droits pour 1,7 million de personnes

Une coalition pancanadienne de migrant.e.s et de grands groupes de la société civile organisent des manifestations dans 12 villes le 18 septembre

Ottawa, 14 septembre 2022 — Pour la première fois en un demi-siècle, le Canada va de l’avant avec un programme de régularisation pour les migrants sans papiers. Une coalition pancanadienne de migrants s’est unie aux plus grandes organisations canadiennes de défense des droits humains, climatiques, en matière de santé et de travail pour exhorter le gouvernement à garantir la résidence permanente aux 1,7 million de migrants à statut précaire, y compris la régularisation de tous les 500 000 sans-papiers. Des actions en faveur de la régularisation complète auront lieu dans 12 villes du pays le dimanche 18 septembre 2022 (voir ci-dessous la liste de toutes les actions). Plus de 480 organisations de la société civile soutiennent déjà cet appel à la justice en matière d’immigration. 

Lors d’une conférence de presse en ligne aujourd’hui, Caroline Michael, travailleuse de la santé sans papiers, réfugiée nigériane à Toronto et membre de Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, a expliqué: « Les sans-papiers comme moi, nous sommes sous-payé.e.s et traité.e.s injustement par nos employeurs et nous n’osons pas les dénoncer aux autorités compétentes de peur d’être pris.e.s par la police. Nous tous et toutes, les migrant.e.s, devrions avoir le droit de vivre une vie humaine et ne pas être traité.e.s comme des animaux, ce qui signifie un statut de résident permanent pour tous et toutes, sans exception, sans exclusion, ni conditions. Le prochain Parlement doit faire de nos revendications sa priorité numéro un.»

Lauren Ravon, directrice d’Oxfam Canada, souligne que: «Un programme de régularisation qui offre un statut à tous et toutes au Canada représente un gain triple, il fait progresser la justice en matière de genre, réduit les inégalités et présente de nombreux avantages pour l’économie. Le Canada bénéficie tellement de la contribution des migrant.e.s et des travailleurs et travailleuses sans papiers. Le temps est venu de donner à des centaines de milliers de personnes au Canada l’accès aux droits et aux services pour vivre dans la dignité.»

Caroline Brouillette, directrice des politiques nationales au Réseau Action Climat – la plus grande coalition climatique au Canada – ajoute, «Alors que la crise climatique force de plus en plus de personnes à quitter leur pays, garantir des droits égaux pour les migrant.e.s est fondamental pour la justice climatique. Transformer notre système d’exploitation et d’inégalité en un système qui garantit la dignité et la sécurité pour tous et toutes est une étape clé pour répondre à la dette climatique du Canada, et nous exhortons le gouvernement fédéral à saisir cette opportunité.»

Danilo De Leon un sans-papier anciennement travailleur étranger temporaire, et président de Migrante Canada, d’Edmonton, dit: « Nous sommes venu.e.s ici pour travailler parce que vous avez besoin de travailleurs et de travailleuses. Nous sommes plus que des travailleurs qui alimentent votre économie. Nous sommes des êtres humains qui ont le droit de vivre au Canada dans la dignité et nous avons besoin d’un programme de régularisation qui ne fasse pas de discrimination.»

Le Migrant Rights Network estime que la régularisation de 500 000 travailleurs et travailleuses sans papiers augmentera les cotisations des employeurs d’au moins 1,1 milliard de dollars par an. 

De nombreuses personnes sans papiers n’ont pas les moyens de se payer des soins de santé coûteux, ce qui les rend plus malades et a un impact sur la santé publique, explique Pénélope Boudreault, directrice des opérations nationales de Médecins du Monde. « L’équipe de la Clinique médicale de Médecins du Monde peut en témoigner. Un programme de régularisation sûr, complet et inclusif est un outil essentiel afin de garantir les droits fondamentaux et la santé des personnes migrantes à statut précaire tout en favorisant le bien-être de l’ensemble de la société ».

Il y a au moins 500 000 personnes sans papiers au Canada. La grande majorité d’entre elles sont racisées. Elles sont entrées au pays avec des permis de travail et d’études temporaires ou en tant que demandeurs d’asile, mais n’ont pas pu obtenir la résidence permanente en raison des règles d’immigration canadiennes, qui favorisent les personnes ayant des salaires élevés. La plupart des autres sont refoulées. 

Nina Gonzalez, coordinatrice de la campagne pour la régularisation du Centre de travailleurs et travailleuses immigrants, membre active du comité Femmes du CTI et migrante sans papiers, explique: « Notre système d’immigration entraîne systématiquement des personnes sans statut d’immigration, soit en conséquence du rejet de la demande d’asile ou à cause de l’expiration du permis de travail, pour lequel l’employeur a refusé la prolongation. Perte d’un statut, c’est un problème administratif imposé par le système, ce n’est pas un acte criminel. »

Sans statut d’immigration complet, de nombreux migrants et de nombreuses migrantes sont confronté.e.s à l’exploitation, même s’ils et elles sont considéré.e.s comme essentiel.le.s. Cela inclut les travailleurs et travailleuses agricoles qui qualifient leur travail d’« esclavage systématique». Laurence Guénette,coordinatrice de La Ligue des droits et libertés s’est joint à l’appel pour des droits égaux pour tous et toutes aujourd’hui, rappelant au Premier ministre Trudeau que: « Tous les droits humains sont universels : cette universalité signifie que tous les êtres humains jouissent des mêmes droits fondamentaux indépendamment de leur statut. Le gouvernement canadien doit mettre en place un programme de régularisation octroyant un statut complet et permanent, pour toutes les personnes ayant un statut migratoire précaire au Québec et au Canada. Un programme de régularisation universel, qui ne laisse personne derrière. »

Syed Hussan du Secrétariat du Migrant Rights Network a ajouté: «Le Premier ministre Trudeau a un choix à faire dès maintenant : soit assurer enfin une égalité de droits historique pour 1,7 million de personnes qui ont été opprimées et exploitées par de mauvais et mauvaises patrons, institutions et propriétaires à cause des règles d’immigration canadiennes en garantissant le statut de résident permanent à tous et toutes, soit continuer à faire des changements partiels et temporaires qui poursuivent l’exploitation pour la plupart. Les migrant.e.s et nos allié.e.s sont uni.e.s dans leurs attentes que le Premier ministre Trudeau fasse ce qu’il sait être juste ».

Actions à travers le Canada et contacts pour les médias pour dimanche le 18 septembre 2022

MONTRÉAL, QC : Rassemblement et marche – Un Statut pour tous et toutes – on ne laisse personne pour compte / #StatusForAll: No One Left Behind
18 septembre à 14h00 à la Place du Canada (coin René-Lévesque et Peel, métro Bonaventure)
Contact : Hady Anne (En/Fr), 514 358 8836, Solidarité Sans Frontières

 VANCOUVER, CB : Rassemblement – Droits, régularisation, #StatusForAll
18 septembre à 14h30, parc Grandview. 1657 rue Charles, Vancouver
Contact : Byron Cruz, Sanctuary Health, (604) 315-7725

EDMONTON, AB : Droits, régularisation, Statut pour tous et toutes!
18 septembre à 12h00, Sir Winston Churchill Square. 10404 104 Ave NW.
Contact : Clarizze Truscott, 780-998-2885, Migrante Alberta

OTTAWA, ON : Marche pour la régularisation des personnes migrantes – Statut pour tous et toutes!
18 septembre à 14h00, parc de la Confédération, rue Elgin et avenue Laurier Ouest, Ottawa
Contact : Aimee Beboso, 613-255-1921, Migrante Ottawa

SUDBURY, ON : Sudbury et la région : Statut pour TOUS ET TOUTES – Rassemblement communautaire
18 septembre à 13h30, Flour Mills Community Farm. 736 avenue Bruce
Contact : Tt Scott, communications@sudburyworkerscentre.ca, Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Center

CHARLOTTETOWN, IPE : Statut pour tous et toutes : réimaginer l’Île du Prince-Édouard
18 septembre à 13h00, Victoria Park Pavilion, 36 Victoria Park Driveway
Contact : Ryan MacRae, ryan@cooperinstitute.ca, Cooper Institute 

MIRAMICHI, NB : Droits, régularisation, Statut pour tous et toutes
18 septembre à 14h00, Queen Elizabeth Park Town Square. 141 rue Henry
Contact : Sonia Aviles, 289-990-1349, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change

FREDERICTON, NB : Journée d’action à Frédéricton pour un statut pour tous et toutes -Ouverture du centre d’organisation Madhu
18 septembre à 13h00, 577 Hillcrest Drive
Contact : Kalum Ng,  info@madhucentre.ca, Madhu Centre

GUELPH, ON : Rassemblement public : Immigration : Qui en bénéficie ? Qui souffre ?
18 septembre à 15h00, 10C. 42 Carden St., 3e étage,  Activity Room.
Contact : Susan Rosenthal, Guelph Justice for Workers, guelph@Justice4workers.org

CLARKSBURG, ON : Droits, régularisation, Statut pour tous et toutes
18 septembre à 10h00, Clark Street et Main Street
Contact : Amaris Terner, 416-417-3520

ST JOHN’S, TN: Pique-nique pour un Statut pour tous et toutes
18 septembre à 13h00 au Parc Bannerman
Contact : Adi Khaitan, 709-693-6032

Mise en contexte

  • Il y a au moins 1,2 million de personnes au Canada avec des permis temporaires de travail, d’étude ou de demandeur d’asile. La plupart des personnes migrantes avec des emplois à bas salaire n’ont pas accès à la résidence permanente, et elles sont donc forcées éventuellement de quitter le Canada ou de rester sans papiers dans le pays. Les travailleurs et travailleuses agricoles migrants ont récemment confirmé que ces programmes de migration temporaires sont un « esclavage systématique».
  • Plusieurs ne peuvent pas revenir dans leur pays d’origine à cause de la guerre, de la discrimination, du manque d’opportunités économiques et/ou à cause des relations construites au Canada. En ce moment, il y a plus de 500 000 personnes sans papiers à travers le pays.
  • Il y a donc au moins 1,7 million de personnes migrantes – un.e résident.e du Canada sur 23 – qui n’ont pas des droits égaux.
  • Les personnes migrantes sont exclues des soins de santé et des services sociaux, et elles ne peuvent pas se réunir avec leurs familles. L’absence d’un statut de résident.e permanent.e rend difficile, et souvent impossible, la défense de leurs droits au travail ou l’accès aux services, incluant ceux pour lesquels elles sont éligibles, à cause d’une peur justifiée de représailles, de résiliation, d’éviction et de déportation.
  • Les personnes migrantes – qui sont souvent des personnes de classe ouvrière, racisées et avec des emplois à faible salaire – sont qualifiées d’essentielles, mais sont exclues des droits. Des milliers de personnes migrantes ont perdu leurs moyens de subsistance et leur vie avec la COVID-19, en travaillant sur des fermes, des centres pour des soins de longue durée, la construction, l’entretien ménager et les services de livraison. 
  • La régularisation complète (un programme qui inclut toutes les 500 000 personnes sans papiers) va redresser un tort historique, améliorer les conditions de travail en donnant aux personnes migrantes le droit de se protéger elles-mêmes, garantir la santé publique et ajouter au moins 1,1 milliard de dollars dans les coffres publics à travers les contributions par des employeurs qui ne paient pas d’impôt actuellement. 
  • Le Canada a créé le programme « Anges gardiens » pour certain.e.s demandeurs d’asiles et des travailleurs et travailleuses sans statut dans le domaine de la santé, qui a expiré en août 2020. Le Programme de la résidence temporaire à la résidence permanente a été créé en mai 2021 et a expiré en novembre. Ces programmes excluaient la vaste majorité des personnes migrantes racisées et à bas salaire. Aucun changement permanent n’a été apporté afin d’assurer la justice pour les personnes migrantes.
  • Près de 10 000 personnes ont signé une pétition en soutien à ces revendications : www.StatusforAll.ca 

 

Organizational Letters of Support for Regularization & #StatusforAll

Major organizations across the country are writing letters to Prime Minister Trudeau and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser supporting regularization and Status for All.

If you haven’t yet, please do so using our template letters for Environmental organizations, Labour organizations and all other civil society organizations.

Educators can sign this letter and Healthcare workers can sign this letter too.

Letters of Support for Regularization and #StatusForAll

Organizational Actions for Status for All!

Labour, environmental and other civil society organizations have a crucial role to play right now as we work to fundamentally transform the immigration system and correct a historic wrong. If you are part of an organization, there’s a lot you can do, including:

  1. Endorse the September 18 Day of Action for Rights, Regularization and Status for All! Fill out this form to let us know. 

  2. Writing a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser urging them to (1) Regularize all undocumented people in the country without exception and (2) Ensure that all low-wage migrants in Canada have immediate access to permanent residency. See template letters for Environmental organizations, Labour organizations and all other civil society organizations. See letters already written.

  3. Share our petition – www.StatusforAll.ca – on your email lists and promote widely. See sample text you can use in your emails. Please reach out to info@migrantrights.ca if you need support.

  4. Join our regular bi-weekly meetings on Tuesdays at 7pm EST to get the latest updates.

  5. Encourage your members to join our upcoming actions & events.

Sharing Petition Information With Migrant Rights Network

Thank you so much for building our movement. Gathering petition signatures [Download ready to print petitions here] is the most effective way to reach new people and connect them to our struggle for Status for All. Please send us a photo or a scanned copy of the petitions originally. In addition, if you are able to type up the contact information of the signatories, it will make it easier and faster for us to get in touch with them. There’s two ways to share the information with us:

  1. Fill out the form below – you will have to complete the form each time for every signatory to the petitions (every row)
  2. Put the information into an Excel sheet, or Google spreadsheet and email it to info@migrantrights.ca. Make sure to have the information in the following columns: First Name, Last Name, Street Address, City, Postal Code, Email Address.

Caregiver Online Mother’s Day Rally with Special Guests

Migrant Caregivers: Join our online Mother’s Day rally to talk about the long years of family separation, difficulties that we face while working in Canada, challenges in applying for permanent residency and the impact of the backlog.

Media Release: Federal Budget Creates New Programs to Exploit Migrant Workers, Makes Life Harder for Refugees

Canada, April 8, 2022 — The 2022 Federal Budget entrenches exploitative migrant worker programs, gives more power to the federal immigration minister, and does not ensure access to equal rights that are only possible through permanent resident status. 

Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s largest cross-country coalition of migrant led-organizations – reiterates our call for full and permanent immigration status for all now, and in the future. 

The Federal Budget brings in major policy changes that will impact hundreds of thousands of mostly racialized, working class people. This includes:

  1. The creation of a “new foreign labour program for agriculture and fish processing”.
    • Exploitation, and vulnerability is well-documented in temporary foreign worker programs. Migrants must receive permanent resident status on landing to protect themselves in any new program. 
  2. The creation of a “Trusted Employer” program that will make it easier for employers to hire migrants without ensuring protections for migrants. 
    • With the well-documented reality of reprisals against workers who speak up, and the 2021 Auditor General report that found Canada’s inspections of employers woefully inadequate, there is simply no way to know who is a “trusted employer”. 
  3. Amendments to the “Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to … require the electronic submission of asylum claims.” 
    • Many refugee claimants do not have access to computers, internet connection, and digital copies of evidence that is required to navigate electronic systems. No resources are being made available to support refugees to apply, which makes it even more difficult for low-waged, racialized people to get rights and protections. 
  4. Reaffirms the Immigration Levels Plan announced in February of this year, which does not ensure full and permanent inclusion of the 1.6 million and growing migrants in the country. 
    • In particular, thousands of migrant care workers, who have been waiting for years to reunite with their families while taking care of children, the sick and the elderly, and who were left out of the Immigration Levels Plan continue to be excluded. Migrant care workers must get permanent resident status without exclusions immediately.  
  5. Gives new unchecked powers to the Immigration Minister through the “authority to use Ministerial Instructions to help select those candidates who best meet Canada’s labour market needs .. through the Express Entry System”. 
    • There have been no invitations to apply for permanent residency in the Express Entry system since September 2021, and thousands, particularly graduated international students, have been waiting in limbo. They are on non-renewable post-graduate work permits, which have expired or are expiring, at which point they become undocumented or are forced to leave the country. Now the Minister can pick and choose, instead of processing all the applicants waiting. At minimum, post-graduate work permits must be made permanently renewable. 
  6. The creation of a “special permanent residence stream for immediate and extended Ukrainian family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents”
    • This is an important and crucial step to ensure families are united, and it must be expanded to families in conflict zones around the world, including Yemen, Afghanistan, South Sudan, etc. Non-Ukrainian citizens fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, mostly racialized people, must also be provided with the same rights and protections. 

###

For more information, please contact us at info@migrantrights.ca  

Media Advisory: Migrants Speak Up Against Increasing Racism, Demand Full & Permanent Immigration Status for All

Canada – Migrants, refugees, undocumented people, workers and international students are taking action on March 20, 2022 in 10 cities in Canada, and and 16 locations in Jamaica, Trinidad, St Vincent and Cayman Islands to call for full and permanent immigration status for all, and to mark the International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Actions are being organized following the increased racism during the “Freedom Convoy”, and Canada’s continued exclusion of racialized refugees from the Global South. The actions mark two years since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, which continues to disproportionately impact racialized migrants. Migrants are urging Prime Minister Trudeau to make urgent and permanent changes to ensure immigration rights instead of partial, time-limited programs. 

The international day of action is coordinated by the Migrant Rights Network, Canada’s largest migrant-led coalition. Public actions are taking place in Burnaby, Calgary, Edmonton, Guelph, Montreal, Niagara, Ottawa, Sault Ste Marie, St John’s, and Toronto. Migrant farmworkers are also organizing activities in farms across the country, as well as in Siparia, Trinidad; Kingston, Mandeville – Manchester, Balcarres – Portland, Alexandria – St Ann, Linstead – St Catherine, Portmore – St Catherine, Santa Cruz – St Elizabeth, Montego Bay – St James, Gayle – St Mary,  Morant Bay – St Thomas, Cedar Valley – St Thomas and Litchfield – Trelawny; St Vincent and Cayman Islands. Many other online activities are also being organized.

Many other online activities are also being organized. 

Coordination Media Contact: Syed Hussan, 416-453-3632, Migrant Rights Network Secretariat 

Actions in Canada on Sunday, March 20, 2022

    • Toronto, ON: 2pm, Rally at Larry Sefton Park (500 Bay Street), march to Queen’s Park
      • Contact: Rajean Hoilett, 289-923-3534
    • Burnaby, BC: 12pm, MP Terry Beech’s office, 3906 E Hastings St
      • Contact: WeiChun Kua, Migrant Students United – SFU, 778-887-4936
    • Calgary, AB: 2pm, Peace Bridge
      • Contact: Vanessa Ortiz, AMexCal, 403-612-7396
    • Edmonton, AB: 4pm, MP Randy Boissonnault’s office, 10235 124 St NW. 
      • Contact: Danilo de Leon, Migrante Alberta, 780-860-0731
    • Guelph, ON: 2pm, MP Lloyd Longfield’s office, 111 Farquhar St
      • Contact: Susan Rosenthal, Justice for Workers – Guelph, j4wguelph@gmail.com
    • Montreal, QC: 12:30pm, Premier François Legault’s office, 770 Sherbrooke O
    • Niagara, ON: 2pm, NOTL Townhall. 
      • Contact: Kit Andres, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, 905-324-2840
    • Ottawa, ON: 12:30pm, Human Rights Monument, 220 Elgin
      • Contact: Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, 416-993-1813
    • Sault Ste Marie, ON: 11:30am, Paroisse Sainte-Marie-Du-Sault, 847 Trunk Road 
      • Contact: 438-837-8942
    • St John’s, NL: 1pm, Harbourside Park,
      • Contact: Adi Khaitan, Migrant Students United – NL, 709-693-6032

Background

  • Racism is increasing. Some protestors brought Nazi symbols and anti-Semitic and racist images to Freedom Convoy events. The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change launched a reporting tool to track discrimination and it was over-run with vile and violent messages.
  • Canada made the right decision to issue two year permits to Ukranian refugees, but racialized non-Ukranian citizens who are refugees, as well as asylum seekers from countries in the Global South with mostly racialized people do not have the same access.  
  • There are over 1.6 million migrants (residents without permanent resident status) in Canada, equivalent to 1 in 23 residents. 
  • As a result, many are excluded from healthcare and social services and cannot unite with their families. Lack of permanent resident status makes it difficult, and often impossible, for migrants to speak up for their rights at work or access services, including those they may be eligible for, because of a well-founded fear of reprisals, termination, eviction and deportation.
  • Thousands of migrant workers, refugees, students and undocumented people lost their lives and livelihoods in COVID-19. At one point, migrant farmworkers were five times more likely to get COVID-19 than healthcare workers. 
  • Canada created the “Guardian Angels” program for some refugee and undocumented healthcare workers, which expired in August 2020. The Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident (TR to PR) program was created in May 2021, which expired in November. These programs excluded the majority of racialized, low-waged migrants. No permanent changes have been made to ensure immigration rights. 
  • Every migrant-led organization in Canada, as well as over 400 civil society organizations, are jointly calling for full and permanent immigration status for all migrants in the country, as well as permanent resident status for all on arrival in future: www.StatusforAll.ca 

 

Home Stretch: Let’s get #StatusForAll on the Cabinet Retreat Agenda

Prime Minister Trudeau and all federal Ministers are meeting in Hamilton from January 23rd to 25th to plan out their priorities for the year. If you act now, we can win historic immigration changes. If all the Ministers at the meeting support regularization, then Cabinet can schedule a meeting soon after to create an uncapped program through which all undocumented people and their families can apply for permanent residence as early as February. If the Ministers aren’t in full support next week then they will schedule more meetings for discussion. Delays mean exploitation, deportation and even death. Two migrants died this Christmas – an undocumented migrant in immigration prison in BC, and Fritznel Richard, a Haitian refugee crossing into the US after being unable to get a work permit in Montreal. Let’s win #StatusForAll and an end to detentions and deportations. 

Week of Action – Now to January 25, 2023:

(1) Send emails: Over 23,000 people have already sent messages to all Cabinet Ministers. Please keep signing and sharing: www.StatusForAll.ca. We have heard from many Ministers that they are paying attention.

(2) Put up posters:  If you are near a Cabinet Minister’s office, please put up a poster on their windows and around the offices. Addresses are in the map below.
>> Download posters here
>> Make sure to take a photo when you put it up and send it to use either tagging @MigrantRightsCA on social media or via email to info@migrantrights.ca

(3) Leave a phone message: Use the phone numbers to call and leave this message: “Dear Minister, please support regularization for all undocumented people and permanent resident status for all migrants at the winter cabinet retreat.  We need an uncapped program that leaves no one behind. A fair society means equal rights, and that’s only possible with permanent resident status for all, no deportations, no exclusions.” 

(4) Join us in Hamilton at 12pm on Monday, January 23rd at the Winter Cabinet Retreat: Buses are leaving from Toronto. RSVP now!

Call a Federal Cabinet Minister nearest to you and ask them to Regularize Everyone, and Ensure #StatusForAll

  • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – 613–992–4211
  • Randy Boissonnault – Minister of Tourism – 613 – 992 – 4524 – Edmonton – Alberta
  • Carla Qualtrough – Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion – 613 – 992 – 2957 – Delta – British Columbia
  • Harjit S. Sajjan – Minister of International Development – 613 – 995 – 7052 – Vancouver – British Columbia
  • Jonathan Wilkinson – Minister of Natural Resources – 613 – 995 – 1225 – North Vancouver – British Columbia
  • Joyce Murray – Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard – 613 – 992 – 2430 – Vancouver – British Columbia
  • Dan Vandal – Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada – 613 – 995 – 0579 – Winnipeg – Manitoba
  • Dominic LeBlanc – Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities – 613 – 992 – 1020 – Shediac – New Brunswick
  • Ginette Petitpas Taylor – Minister of Official Languages – 613 – 992 – 8072 – Moncton – New Brunswick
  • Gudie Hutchings – Minister of Rural Economic Development – 613 – 996 – 5511 – Corner Brook – Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Seamus O’Regan – Minister of Labour – 613 – 992 – 0927 – St. John’s,  – Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Sean Fraser – Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship – 613 – 992 – 6022 – New Glasgow – Nova Scotia
  • Ahmed Hussen – Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion – 613 – 995 – 0777 – York – Ontario
  • Anita Anand – Minister of National Defence – 613 – 995 – 4014 – Oakville – Ontario
  • Bill Blair – President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada – 613 – 995 – 0284 – Scarborough – Ontario
  • Carolyn Bennett – Minister of Mental Health and Addictions – 613 – 995 – 9666 – Toronto – Ontario
  • Chrystia Freeland – Minister of Finance – 613 – 992 – 5234 – Toronto – Ontario
  • Filomena Tassi – Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario – 613 – 992 – 1034 – Hamilton – Ontario
  • Helena Jaczek – Minister of Public Services and Procurement – 613 – 992 – 3640 – Markham – Ontario
  • Kamal Khera – Minister of Seniors – 613 – 992 – 0778 – Brampton – Ontario
  • Karina Gould – Minister of Families, Children and Social Development – 613 – 995 – 0881 – Burlington – Ontario
  • Marci Ien – Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth – 613 – 992 – 1377 – Toronto – Ontario
  • Mark Holland – Leader of the Government in the House of Commons – 613 – 995 – 8042 – Kingston – Ontario
  • Mary Ng – Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development – 613 – 996 – 3374 – Markham – Ontario
  • Mona Fortier – President of the Treasury Board – 613 – 992 – 4766 – Vanier – Ontario
  • Omar Alghabra – Minister of Transport – 613 – 992 – 1301 – Mississauga – Ontario
  • Patty Hajdu – Minister of Indigenous Services – 613 – 996 – 4792 – Thunderbay – Ontario
  • Marco Mendicino – Minister of Public Safety – 613 – 992 – 6361 – Toronto – Ontario
  • Lawrence MacAulay – Minister of Veterans Affairs – 613 – 995 – 9325 – Montague – Prince Edward Island
  • David Lametti – Minister of Justice – 613 – 943 – 6636 – Montréal – Quebec
  • Diane Lebouthillier – Minister of National Revenue – 613 – 992 – 6188 – Grande – Rivière – Quebec
  • François – Philippe Champagne – Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry – 613 – 995 – 4895 – Shawinigan – Quebec
  • Jean – Yves Duclos – Minister of Health – 613 – 992 – 8865 – Québec – Quebec

 

What we did, what we will do – Intl Migrants Day 2021

This morning, students, teachers and migrants will rally at an elementary school in New Westminster, BC, where immigration enforcement stalked and arrested an undocumented mother after she dropped her daughter there.

Today is International Migrants Day, and this action shines a light on the injustices here in Canada and the courage and resilience of migrants.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants do not have basic rights to education, healthcare and labour protections. For many of us, accessing the few rights we do have can mean detention and deportation.

Yet despite this injustice, every morning, we wake up and go to school, go to work, care for our loved ones, and are active in our communities.

And so on this International Migrants Day, we reiterate our commitment to survive and thrive, no matter what the odds.

PM Trudeau just released a letter outlining his priorities for the immigration system. These priorities include the possibility of more access to permanent residency for low-wage and racialized migrants, and a continued expansion of temporariness and precariousness for many.

We are the ones that know what changes are needed. Promises have been made and broken before, so in 2022, Migrant Rights Network members will continue to organize migrants, and unite with allies to win fairness, equal rights and justice for all. We will win Status for All!

When migrants organize, and join with our supporters, we win. In 2021:

Our demand for full and permanent immigration status for all is not just about accessing rights here in Canada – it is about challenging the idea that people can be exploited and pitted against each other. It is a call for unity, here and everywhere.

We have done so much together. And in 2022, we must do more. Join us.

Migrants Visit MPs: We Live Here! The Crisis is Now!

Last weekend, migrants and supporters delivered our message to MPs & officials across Canada. From BC to Newfoundland, we insisted that We Live Here, and our Crisis is Now.

 

What you can do

  1. Call your MP: Leave a message for your new Member of Parliament telling them that they must ensure permanent resident status for all: https://migrantrights.ca/callforstatus/

 

Migrants Mandate Letter to Federal Cabinet

The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Canada, Ottawa
The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion
The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health
The Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety

Cc: Members of Canada’s Federal Cabinet; Leaders of Opposition Parties

29 October, 2021

Dear Sir/Madam,

We would like to welcome you to your new Cabinet positions by outlining key issues that are shaping Canada’s recovery and on which you must take swift action in your new mandate.  

We are the Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s largest cross-country migrant-led coalition. Our membership is composed of people without permanent resident status – workers, students, undocumented people, refugees and families. Being rooted in migrant communities makes us experts on the impacts of existing policies and programs and the changes necessary to ensure fairness and dignity. As we outline below, initiatives under the previous Liberal mandates have failed to adequately address the real needs of migrants both within and outside Canada, and have not lived up to public promises or statements. Therefore, it is absolutely urgent to chart a new course in this new mandate, informed by the realities and failures of the past.

We call on you to immediately ensure Permanent Resident status for every resident in the country today, and to ensure that all future migrants arrive with Permanent Resident status. Canada has shifted to a system of permanent temporariness: there were at least 1,146,008 migrants on temporary permits on December 30, 2020, and at least an additional 500,000 undocumented people, as compared to only 184,000 new permanent residents in the same year. Over 1.6 million migrants in the country – 1 in 23 residents – face exclusions and exploitation every day. In order to build a fair society and ensure a genuine recovery from the pandemic, migrants must have permanent residency so that they have the same rights and protections as other residents. In order to enable this, the following steps must be taken:

  • First, the federal government must meet with migrant organizations like ours to establish an immigration system that works for everyone and prioritizes the best interests of migrants;
  • Second, a comprehensive regularization process must be created for all migrants in the country to get permanent resident status or citizenship, without any exclusions on the basis of work history, previous immigration status, health status, previous access to social assistance, criminality, or any other language or educational requirements. As an immediate measure, all migrants in Canada should get immediate and open work authorization and full access to basic entitlements;
  • Third, a moratorium on detentions and deportations must be instituted to ensure undocumented people applying for status are protected; and
  • Fourth, all working class migrants arriving to Canada in the future should arrive with Permanent Resident status if they so choose.

In addition, there are several concrete and immediate policy changes that must be instituted in order to protect the health, well-being and safety of migrant and undocumented people, and to prevent the reversal of some important measures put in place during COVID-19. We call on you to make the following changes in the first 100 days of your terms as Ministers in your new portfolio. 

Ensure Safe and Dignified Access to Vaccination and Documentation for All Migrants

  • Vaccine access for all: Many migrants without health coverage, including undocumented people, students, workers and refugees, are still without their first or second dose of the COVID vaccine. We urge you to work with provinces to ensure vaccines are made immediately accessible for all. 
  • Special measures for migrant workers crossing borders: With new rules barring air travel for those without vaccines, many migrant workers, particularly seasonal agricultural workers, risk not being able to board flights to their home countries at the end of the season. Accessible vaccines and special exemptions must be created to ensure that those who wish to travel are able to do so. 
  • Access to vaccine passports: Migrants without ID or health cards who were able to get vaccinated do not have access to vaccine verification systems or passports, and are therefore being denied access to many services and gathering spaces. We call on you to work with us to create specific, accessible and secure documentation systems for those without permanent resident status. Without such mechanisms, vaccine passports must not be instituted.  

Fix the Permanent Residency Pathway System

Our primary demand is ensuring permanent resident status for all, but interim changes to the existing economic immigration regimes can be made, including:

  • Fix the Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Program: This first-come first-served program, with its arbitrary caps and unfair eligibility requirements, has caused chaos as workers have scrambled to apply. The International Graduates stream closed within 27 hours of opening, the Essential Workers stream closed in ten weeks, and the Healthcare stream has been virtually unused, with nearly 15,000 spots available, but closes November 5th. For the remaining spots available in the program, all eligibility requirements must be waived, including the requirement for temporary resident status so that refugee claimants, those whose applications have been denied and are awaiting appeal or are on a PRRA, and all undocumented people can apply.
  • Transform the Agri-food Immigration Pilot: Only 343 applications have been made in the program as of August 31st from the 2,750 allotted spots. It is clear that the eligibility requirements exclude most agricultural workers. The program must allow Seasonal Agricultural Workers to apply, the education and language requirements must be removed, and workers must be allowed to apply without a job offer from an employer – this requirement only gives employers unchecked power to exploit workers with the promise of permanent residency.
  • Transform the Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilot programs: As a result of changes in 2019, almost no migrants have been able to apply for this program from outside the country. 1 in 3 migrant care workers lost their jobs during COVID-19, and are therefore unable to meet the work requirement necessary to apply. The Home Child Care Provider stream has been closed for the rest of the year because the arbitrary cap of 2,750 was reached. Those inside Canada are unable to apply because it is impossible to meet educational and language criteria. We urge you to remove the cap, remove the unfair education and language requirements, and remove the requirement of 24 months of work experience. 
  • Change the work requirements in the Canadian Experience Class and lower the CRS score: Currently most migrants in gig work, low-waged work, or part-time work, as well as those with work experience gathered while on a study permit or applying for refugee and humanitarian considerations, are excluded from applying. The requirement for one year of high-waged (so-called ‘high skilled’) work experience excludes racialized, poor and working people, even as those same workers have been essential to ensuring our society continues to function during a pandemic. We urge you to allow all migrants with any work experience in Canada to apply. 
  • Ensure Bridging Open Work Permits (BOWP) for permanent residency applicants: Migrants who applied through the Live-In Caregiver Program or the Interim Pathway for Caregivers, as well as other permanent residency streams, have been waiting months, some for over a year to get BOWPs. Some migrants have applied for PR but were unable to apply for BOWPs before their permit expired and have visitor status or become undocumented,  which means they are unable to work. For the TR to PR program, BOWPs are only being issued if an applicant’s permit expires within 4 months but some migrants who are on employer-tied permits that are still valid are unable to change jobs. We urge you to issue BOWPs to all permanent residency applicants regardless of stream or length of current permit. 
  • Allow migrants to fix errors in permanent residency applications: Currently many applications are returned or turned down for minor errors like missing a single signature by hand, document or translation. Instead migrants should be given the opportunity to remedy errors or provide missing documents. Note that IRCC has often said documents are missing when in fact they were attached with the application. This can delay application processing for years, during which time migrants lose status or income, or their children age out of the family sponsorship age restrictions. The immigration system must be reformed to support migrants to apply rather than punishing them for minor errors. 
  • Clear the backlog: Over 12,000 care workers have PR applications stuck in a processing backlog, in some cases for over 5 years. In addition, processing of permanent resident applications during COVID-19, including those that were initially approved, are stuck in a further backlog. The government promised before the election, to partially clear the backlog this year, and clear the remainder the following year, but the backlog remains. Meanwhile, workers are struggling to get permits, risk losing access to health care, and remain in limbo about their futures, separated from their families. We urge the immediate clearing of the backlog.

Fix the Humanitarian System

  • Transform the in-land refugee processing system: Only 18,500 people – less than a third of the previous year’s total of 58,378 – were able to apply for refugee status in 2020 because of the high costs and evidentiary requirements that were impossible to meet during COVID-19, and compounded by border closures. The numbers in 2021 are worse: only 8,624 asylum claims have been referred in the first six months of the year. There are currently 63,420 people in the refugee backlog. Hearings for inland refugee claims are decided by a board member in an “inquisitorial process” where the board member acts as judge and prosecutor. We urge you to fix the in-land refugee system with direction from refugee organizations focusing on supporting refugee claimants to access refugee status rather than an adversarial system.
  • Transform the Government Assisted refugee resettlement system: Canada accepts only a small number of overseas refugees (39,500 in 2019), and processing can take years while the refugee claimant is stuck living, usually without status, in a third country. Refugee resettlement is at an all-time low due to COVID-19, with only 7,885 refugees referred by the UN to Canada as of September 2021. As has become clear with Canada’s response to the situation in Afghanistan, even targeted and responsive programs have missed the mark and point to much larger problems in Canada’s refugee resettlement system, which is woefully inadequate at meeting the challenges at hand. We urge you to expedite and expand the refugee resettlement process, particularly expanding the government assisted refugee program, resettle refugees beyond those determined by the UNHCR and accept refugees who are still in their country of origin.
  • Transform the Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) application system: H&C rejections in Canada doubled in the last two years, from 35% in 2019 to nearly 70% in the first quarter of 2021. Many were turned down for not having “compelling reasons” which is not the test set by the Supreme Court. H&C applications take an average of three years to process, during which time the applicant can be deported and their claim abandoned. We urge you to grant permanent residency to H&C applicants including those that have been denied. Deportations must not take place while an H&C application is being processed. The H&C process must be overhauled focusing on supporting migrants to gain permanent residency on humanitarian grounds rather than an adversarial process.
  • Ensure access to permanent residency and family reunification: Currently, once accepted as refugees, the processing times for permanent resident status is almost two years. Family reunification for people accepted as Convention refugees in Canada reportedly takes about 39 months. We urge you to provide permanent residency immediately to all refugees and ensure family reunification. 

Fix Work Permit Rules and Ensure Decent Work 

  • Restrictions on work create a fundamental “power imbalance”, as Minister Qualtrough acknowledged in June 2020. Migrants are unable to assert their rights because doing so can mean homelessness, deportation, inability to return to work in Canada, or losing a chance at permanent residency.  We urge you to provide work authorizations to all migrants in the country and remove all restrictions on work including employer specific work permits, restrictions on hours of work for study permit holders, and the exclusion of work in “businesses related to sex trade”. 
  • Do not bend to employer calls for more temporary foreign workers: Many business lobby groups are currently appealing to the government to meet labour shortage needs by bringing in more workers on employer restricted permits, which have proven to engender exploitation. We urge you to choose stability and equality over temporariness and exploitation. 
  • Extend the restoration period: For most of COVID-19, migrants who were not able to renew their work permits were given an extended period, until August 31 2021, to restore their status. However, LMIA processing remains slow, and many migrants continue to be unable to get jobs. The restoration period must be extended until the World Health Organization declares an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Make post graduate work permits renewable: Many migrant student workers have not been able to gain the work experience required to apply for PR within the limited duration of the 1 – 3 year work permits they were granted. The permit was made renewable once but the window closed on July 27th, leaving many excluded. 
  • Expand the public policy to allow employers to hire migrants on visitor status: Migrants on visitor status who have been able to secure a job should be granted work authorization without the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Tying workers to employers because of their status enables employer abuse. 
  • Fix the Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers (OWP-VW): Currently it is impossible for a migrant worker to apply for this permit without support from legal case workers, which is untenable for most. The burden of evidence is such that most workers are unable to apply. The permit is non-renewable with no access to permanent residency, meaning that migrants have no choice but to return to the exploitative jobs and employer restricted work permits they were fleeing in the first place. Furthermore, most employers are unwilling to apply for LMIAs for workers who have spoken up against abuse. The OWP-VW system must be streamlined to allow migrants to apply on their own, and in their own language; workers must be provided transition support by way of income and housing while applying; the permits must be renewable; and migrants on other work and study permits in a vulnerable situation must be allowed to apply.
  • Implement enforceable national housing standards for migrant workers as recommended in our November 2020 submissions to the consultation on migrant worker housing standards. 
  • Work with provinces and territories to increase wages and ensure proactive employment standards enforcement: Migrant workers do not have direct enforceable rights under existing federal rules. There is no legislation that governs enforcement and no court or legal process workers can turn to to denounce violations of their rights. Neither is there any meaningful mechanism for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to ensure workers receive remedies for violations of their rights. All that exists is a tip-line but by law ESDC is barred from sharing the fact of inspections, and results of inspections, with workers that made complaints.

Stop Detentions and Deportations

  • COVID-19 saw a reduction in immigration detention in some regions with no negative impact on communities, demonstrating that detention is unnecessary, unfair and arbitrary. We urge you to end detentions, without resorting to in-community detention practices like electronic monitoring bracelets or voice recognition check-ins. 
  • 2020 saw more deportations than the previous five years, even as many countries around the world are still facing serious COVID-19 crises. We urge you to immediately halt all removals. 

Unite Families

  • Being with our loved ones is a fundamental human right and we urge you to make changes so that migrants are able to have their families stay with them and visit them if they so choose. 
  • Ensure access to open work permits, study permits and universal healthcare for spouses, children, parents and grandparents on super visas. Many of them are working, but forced to do so without labour protections and therefore face greater exploitation.
  • Expand family reunification to include extended and adopted family members, including adult siblings and cousins. We urge you to allow migrants to determine who their family members are.

Reinstate CRB for all migrants, fix Employment Insurance and ensure access to federal supports

  • The Canada Recovery Benefit ended on October 23, 2021, despite the on-going COVID-19 economic downturn. Most migrants, including those without Social Insurance Numbers, were unable to apply in the first place. We urge you to extend benefits until the pandemic is officially declared over by the World Health Organization, restore the minimum weekly benefit rate of $500 for all recipients, and ensure all residents have access regardless of immigration status.
  • We urge you to amend the Employment Insurance Act to ensure that all work in Canada is “insurable” for the purposes of accessing EI, regardless of SIN. Canada should pursue employers who fail to submit EI contributions, rather than punishing workers. In order to end disentitlement due to administrative error, Service Canada must immediately issue instructions to Service Canada agents to ensure the EI application process is accessible to all by providing interpretation services, clear information that the Record of Employment is not needed to submit an application, and alternatives to online applications and communications. The government must end discriminatory disentitlement to special benefits for workers outside of the country or with expired SINs, and take all steps necessary to ensure that information workers submit to EI is not shared with immigration officials.
  • Ensure that the Canada Child Benefit is available to all families regardless of the immigration status of the parents or the child.
  • Ensure that all migrants, regardless of immigration status, are able to access the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security and any other federal benefits and entitlements. 
  • Work with provinces and territories to ensure that healthcare, primary and post-secondary education, public housing, social assistance and all other entitlements are accessible to migrants regardless of immigration status.  

We look forward to discussing these pragmatic steps towards ensuring full and permanent immigration status for all, and rebuilding a more equitable society. Please contact us at info@migrantrights.ca to continue the conversation. 

Sincerely,
Migrant Rights Network

Download PDF: Letter to Cabinet – Migrant Rights Network October 2021

Tell Parliament to ensure a just recovery from COVID-19!

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After the elections

The Liberal Party of Canada has again won a minority government. Though Parliament looks very similar to what it did before the election was called, there are both opportunities and dangers that we must all respond to.

Already, Canada’s lobby group for rich corporations (Canadian Chamber of Commerce) is calling for more money for the rich, and more temporary immigrants for bosses to exploit. In the next few weeks, Canada’s political parties can choose to focus on cutting back spending and public services, and allow racism to continue to grow, or they can support a more just recovery from COVID-19 that includes everyone, particularly Indigenous people, working class people, women, racialized people, migrants, poor, queer and disabled communities. 

What they do is up to us.

Send a message right now calling for Parliament to focus on a recovery from COVID-19 that ensures justice for all of us.

The challenges

None of the political parties got what they wanted in this election. The Liberal party was not able to get a majority of seats, and the Conservatives, the New Democratic Party, and the Green Party expected a much better result than they got. There is a danger that political parties may choose to focus on internal problems, like changing party leaders, instead of on fixing the problems the majority of us are facing right now. Politicians may choose to do little to play it safe. 

The Conservative Party gained more votes (though they didn’t win the most seats), and the right-wing populist People’s Party of Canada also doubled its vote count. The Liberal Party and the NDP might think that this means they should abandon their more progressive ideas and push more conservative ones instead, so that they can win back some of those votes in the future. 

Our job right now therefore is to insist on courageous and transformative action rather than allow political parties to either do nothing or to slash supports and rights for working class people.

There is no time to lose. In a matter of weeks, many emergency income supports created during COVID will be cut off. Politicians will start to sound the alarm about deficits and COVID spending, demanding cuts everywhere. Low-waged people will have nowhere to turn, even as a fourth wave of COVID-19 rages on, particularly in Alberta. The clock is ticking on climate change and Canada is lagging behind. This election has also seen the coming together of those opposing vaccines and violent racists, who now feel more bold. A Punjabi migrant student was murdered in Nova Scotia just two weeks ago. This racism must be confronted. 

The opportunity

Liberal minority governments have historically meant more progressive action can be pushed through Parliament. With the New Democratic Party’s support, the Liberal Party has enough votes to pass any law. Liberal promises are a mixed bag – some good, some bad. But a strong public push on the streets, and raising our voices on social and mainstream media, can push the NDP and the Liberals to do the right thing. 

Most political parties promised a “path to permanence” during the elections. This is a response to migrants organizing to show that without permanent resident status it is not possible to have basic rights. But this solution is wrong. Pathways means people come, live, and work in Canada in dangerous and difficult conditions, with an uncertain hope of ever getting equal rights through citizenship. A “path to permanence” is continued exploitation. We instead demand full and permanent status immediately.   

Parties also promised a $15 federal minimum wage, 10 paid sick days, $10 a day childcare, pharmacare and action on Indigenous concerns, racism, housing, climate and global justice. The Migrant Rights Network calls for immediate implementation of these measures in a way that includes all migrants and under the leadership of movements who are fighting on these issues. 

We win what we have the power to win.

Migrants win when we unite with others like us and take brave action for justice. The Migrant Rights Network will support migrants to get organized – get in touch with us! Migrants also win when we unite with others struggling for justice – Indigenous people, labour and student unions, gender justice and queer movements, anti-poverty and disability rights movements, and climate justice organizations. The Migrant Rights Network calls on all such movements to unite and push for better. 

Take the next step – scroll up to send an email. 

Migrants: Us and the Federal Election

On September 20, Canadian citizens will vote for their representatives in government. These representatives, called Members of Parliament, will decide laws that impact the lives of 1.6 million migrants like us who are in Canada without permanent resident status. 

Migrant farm workers, care workers, students, refugees and undocumented people cannot vote on September 20. But there are a lot of things we can do and should do. 

Between now and September 20, Canadians are debating the future of the country. The news media is focused on what the new government may do differently. This is an opportunity for migrants to raise our demand for full and permanent immigration status for all. Migrants can make sure that our lives are a priority. 

Here’s what you can do right now: 

How do Elections Work in Canada? 

Every few years, Canadians vote for someone to represent their district, or “riding”, in the national government. There are 338 ridings in Canada. 

The candidates who try to get elected in every riding are usually part of a political party that has chosen them to run for election. While the individual candidate’s opinions matter, they must follow the political positions of their party. Political parties do what they think will appeal most to their supporters. That is why it is important to speak to people who can vote to influence what they demand of their elected representatives and the political parties they are a part of. 

When a candidate wins, they and their party get one seat in the Canadian parliament. The party that wins the most seats becomes the government. Parliament is in Ottawa, and in July, that’s where the Migrant Rights Network went to demand Status for All (check out these photos). 

How are laws and policies made in Canada?

Parliament is where laws are supposed to be debated and voted on by elected representatives. But the majority of the decisions that affect migrant lives – programs like the recent Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident (TR for PR) program – are made outside Parliament, by the Minister of Immigration and by civil servants who are not elected but work in government. 

This means there is little accountability or transparency about the decisions that affect our lives. 

Who are the political parties in this election and where do they stand on migrant rights?

Only two political parties have ever formed government in Canada – the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. 

Both these political parties say that they represent the interests of working people like us. But the reality is that they almost always defend the interests of employers and the rich. In this election, no party has said it supports Status for All, only ‘pathways’ to PR that will exclude most people through unfair requirements and give more power to bad bosses.  

THE LIBERALS: The current government is the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau. The Liberals are well-known for saying the right things, but not always doing the right thing. During COVID-19, the Liberals were in power. Some of the decisions they made include::

  • Emergency income support (CERB or CRB) was only available to migrants with a valid Social Insurance Number
  • Borders were closed and many families were separated
  • Refugee acceptance dropped to an all-time low
  • Canada deported more people in 2020 than in any of the previous 5 years
  • Post Graduate Workers were able to renew their permit once during a limited time period
  • Humanitarian and Compassionate applications were rejected at twice the rate as previous years
  • A one-time pathway was created for some temporary residents to apply for permanent residency – 90,000 people were accepted but many people were unable to apply because of unfair requirements. 

If elected, the Liberals promise to keep doing what they were doing before. That means small improvements for some, but no real change. 

THE CONSERVATIVES: The Conservatives, unlike the Liberals, are more honest about their plans for migrants, and their plans are not good. They want to ensure that most people remain temporary and without rights. While the Conservatives have promised to make some good changes,  like making it easier to correct mistakes in applications, and more oversight of immigration officers, they also plan to:

  • Cancel the government-assisted refugee system
  • Make it easier for employers to hire migrants on tied work permits and with few rights.
  • Give employer the power to control access to permanent resident for migrant workers
  • Make it harder for parents and grandparents to be sponsored
  • Make visas more difficult, and allow rich people to pay to get to the front of the line. 

THE NEW DEMOCRATS: The New Democratic Party (NDP) is the third largest party in Canada. In 2021, politicians said that they would support full and permanent immigration status for all. But they have not publicly said that during the election campaign or in their platform. 

What happens after the election?

Right now, it does not look like any party will get a majority of seats in Parliament. That means the party who wins the most seats will need to get the support of one of the other parties in order to have the power to pass laws in Parliament. And that means that the first few days after the election, political parties will be negotiating with each other, exchanging policy promises for political support. That’s why it’s crucial now that we send a message to ALL the parties telling them that people in Canada demand nothing less than full and permanent immigration status for all. Send a message now: www.migrantrights.ca/Elxn44

Even though as migrants we cannot vote, we do have the power to make ourselves heard. No matter who forms the government, we must unite together so that no one can treat us unfairly, and so that we can demand the equal rights and protections we deserve. 

Get in touch with us, and let us know where you live and what work you do, and we will connect you with a migrant organization closest to you: info@migrantrights.ca 

Dangerous plans no one is talking about

The Conservatives are leading in the polls, and their plans for immigration are very worse than what they want you to believe.

Take action now to demand equal rights for migrants, send a message to all political parties: https://migrantrights.ca/elxn44/ 

The Conservatives Immigration Plan: 

(1) US border police in, refugees out

The Conservatives plan to start US style border patrols and expand the Safe Third Country Agreement making it even more dangerous for refugees to come into Canada. And they plan to grow a controversial program that would give armed US border police* the power to stop and arrest refugees inside Canada. 

*Yes, the same US border police that jails children.

(2) Scrap the government assisted refugee program

The Conservatives plan to scrap Canada’s entire government assisted refugee resettlement program. This will mean massive cuts to already insufficient support. The Conservatives plan to create instead a private and joint public-private sponsorship system which they say won’t mean less funding or fewer refugees. But we know from the last 20 years, more privatization means cuts to government assistance. 

(3) More power for bad bosses

Migrants in agriculture, care work and other industries fell sick and died during COVID-19 because without citizenship they could not protect themselves. The Conservatives plan to make it even easier for employers to hire migrant workers on tied work permits with few rights. The Conservatives also want to make a “path to permanence” dependent on employer sponsorship. This means even more power for bad bosses who can use the promise of immigration as a carrot and a stick to further exploit migrants. 

(4) Poor people to the back of the line

The Conservatives plan to make the immigration system pay-to-play. Rich people will be able to speed up their applications by paying more. Poor and working class people will have another disadvantage and be pushed to the back of the line, separated from our families and denied rights for years. 

(5) Keeping out our parents and grandparents

The Conservatives plan to create new testing requirements for parents and grandparent unification. This means immigrants with elders who don’t have the resources to learn one of Canada’s official languages and take expensive tests at their old age will not be able to unite with their families. 

(6) More police and prisons

The Conservatives plan to expand prison and police for migrants. Canada deported more people in 2020, during a global health pandemic, than in any of the previous five years. The Conservatives believe that Trudeau didn’t go far enough. They also want to add even more enforcement rules to visas which will mean more criminalization of people of colour.

Take action now to demand equal rights for migrants, send a message to all political parties: https://migrantrights.ca/elxn44/ 

 

Speak up for migrant rights this election!

Migrants sustain communities, but cannot vote. But the election will impact us.

TAKE ACTION!
+ Add your name below and tell political leaders to leave no one behind this election.
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Talk to politicians

Politicians and party volunteers will be going door to door asking for votes. They will come to your door or that of a friend’s. There will be debates in each electoral district in the country and party leaders will be making stops in towns and cities everywhere trying to win support. Talk to them at the doorstep and go to events. Explain that nothing short of Status for All is acceptable. Ask them: Do you believe in equal rights for migrants? If you do, will you ensure that the next government provides full and permanent immigration status for all?

Our historic March to Ottawa

On July 25, 2021, almost 1000 of us – undocumented, migrant worker, refugee, student worker – took over the streets of Ottawa to demand full and permanent immigration status for all now from the Trudeau government. We came on buses, cars, trains and bikes from around the country.

Our historic march was covered on the CBC, Capital Current, Radio Canada, Journal de Montréal, Le Droit, La Presse, TVA Nouvelles, and Ming Pao.  Scroll below to watch this Global TV coverage featuring the voices of migrants from across Ontario and Quebec.

See more images from the historic march on Ottawa.

Over the last few months, the Trudeau government has announced a number of short-term, partial programs that will give access to permanent residency for some migrants. But too many have been left behind by these programs, shut out by unfair language and work requirements and high fees. Meanwhile, the same government accepted far fewer refugees and rejected far more humanitarian applications for status by undocumented people already living in Canada.

Now, with an election around the corner, the government wants to show off its exclusionary programs and say it has fixed the immigration system.

But we went to Ottawa to demand more. To say that there is no equality without status for all. To say we will leave no one behind.

Permanent resident status is about equal rights and protections. It is not a gift or a privilege, it is the only existing mechanism for migrants to access the same rights and security as any other residents. Today, over 1.6 million people are excluded from this equality in various ways through their immigration status, with the greatest exploitation faced by those that are low-income, racialized and undocumented.

Migrants demand equal rights in lead up to election 

Hundreds of migrants converge on Ottawa to call for Full and Permanent Immigration Status

Ottawa – As Canada recovers from COVID-19, the migrants who grow food, care for loved ones and provided essential services to our communities during the pandemic are being left behind. On Sunday, they took their message to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demanding equal rights and protections that are only possible through permanent resident status for all. 

“We came here because of promises for peace and a better future, yet, what the majority of us experience is exploitation, mistreatment and racism,” said Abdoul, undocumented migrant from West Africa and member of Solidarity Across Borders who travelled to Ottawa from Montreal, and camped overnight outside the city. “We are coming to express our disappointment with Canada’s immigration policies. We are coming to call for fair treatment, but most of all we are coming to demand status for all.”

Without permanent immigration status, migrants are unable to access basic labour rights or essential services, including healthcare during COVID-19. Many are unable to speak up against abuse and exploitation because of fear of reprisals that can lead to deportation. Carrying photos of migrant farm workers that have died this year, large banners and balloons, the march of hundred of migrants, which included undocumented people, farm workers, care workers, students and refguees, snaked through Ottawa. 

Omar Walcott, a Jamaican migrant farm worker and member of migrant group Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, and father of two, traveled to Ottawa from Niagara. “We migrants feed this country and still we live and die in slavery conditions of crowded housing, mistreated by bosses, and separated from our families”, he said. “Even this year alone, 14 of our brothers on the farms have died. So we keep up the fight for equal rights and justice – not only for ourselves but for future generations. We migrants are not afraid, we know we have the power because we are united. Prime Minister Trudeau, we want status for all now!”

Prime Minister Trudeau has repeatedly promised to build a fair society post-pandemic that benefits all people in the country. But while some piece-meal and time-limited programs have been established, most migrants, 1.6 million people (1 in 23 residents), continue to be denied permanent resident status and therefore access to the same rights that protect others in Canada.

“Action on migrants’ demands for full and permanent immigration status is a litmus test of Prime Minister’s Trudeau’s sincerity,” added Sarom Rho, a migrant leader from Migrant Students United based in Toronto. “Canadians are preparing to go to elections but migrants cannot wait, even one day longer of inequality and exploitation is simply not acceptable. 

Jhoey Cruz, a Filipino migrant care worker and member of Caregivers Action Centre, was one of dozens of careworkers at the march from across Ontario. “Me and care workers like me are caught between our employers and the immigration system. We work hard everyday, and are desperately missing our families. But we refuse to be stuck anymore. Care workers and migrants are uniting to demand our rights – no more waiting for PR, no more family separation – we want status for all now!” 

In 2020, Canada saw a historic shortfall in permanent immigration due to COVID-19 related border closures. As a result, Prime Minister Trudeau’s government turned to short-term, piecemeal programs including the Temporary to Permanent Resident program, and the so-called Guardian Angels healthcare worker program to grant permanent residence to migrants in the country. Less than a 100,000 people will be able to access these “pathways”, which exclude primarily racialized and low-waged migrants. 

Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s only cross-country migrant led coalition – is calling for full and permanent immigration status for all migrants now and in the future. 

Hady, refugee, father from Mauritania and member of Solidarity Across Borders insists a comprehensive change is needed, “Equal opportunity is a right not a privilege. This is about living with dignity. It is what is owed to us. Status for all is justice for all.”

BACKGROUND

  • There are over 1.6 million migrants (residents without permanent resident status) in Canada, equivalent to 1 in 23 residents. 
  • As a result many are excluded from healthcare and social services and cannot unite with their families. Lack of permanent resident status makes it difficult, and often impossible, for migrants to speak up for their rights or access services, including those they may be eligible for, because of a well-founded fear of reprisals, termination, eviction and deportation.
  • Permanent resident status for all is about equal rights, which is necessary in a fair society. 
  • Migrant Rights Network is calling for full and permanent immiigration status for all migrants including:
    • Undocumented residents: Despite the border being closed, Canada deported more people in 2020 than any of the previous 5 years. Canada also doubled the rejections of Humanitarian and Compassionate applications in 2020, which is the only opportunity for most undocumented residents to access permanent resident status. See: https://migrantrights.ca/hc202rejections/
    • Migrant food and farm workers: At least 14 farm workers have died in 2021. COVID-19 outbreaks on farms have revealed the intense labour exploitation, inhumane housing conditions and health and safety risks that farm workers face. See more: https://twitter.com/MWACCanada/status/1399130840928505861 
    • Migrant care workers: 1 in 3 migrant care workers lost their jobs during COVID-19, and many were not able to access income support. Immigration pathways for migrant childcare workers have been closed arbitrarily for the rest of the year, while over 12,000 care workers with pending applications are stuck in the backlog, in some cases for over 5 years. See: https://migrantrights.ca/bcdrelease/. 
    • Refugees: Canada closed its borders to refugees in 2020, and significantly reduced processing of asylum applications in the country. See more: https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2021/06/20/2249890/0/en/Migrants-call-on-PM-Trudeau-to-Unite-Families-Welcome-Migrants-Refugees-on-World-Refugee-Day-Fathers-Day.html 
    • Migrant students and workers: Migrant students have seen their tuition fees increase dramatically which, accompanied by high unemployment, has caused immense stress and at least six suicides this year, and is resulting in students losing their status in the country.  
  • The July 25th action follows a week of protests in Montreal led by Solidarity Across Borders. 
  • Every migrant-led organization in Canada, as well as over 400 civil society organizations, are jointly calling for full and permanent immigration status for all migrants in the country, as well as permanent resident status for all on arrival. 

MEDIA CONTACT
Syed Hussan
Migrant Rights Network Secretariat, Toronto
416-453-3632 | hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org 

 

Hundreds of migrants make pre-election demands in Ottawa

Full and permanent immigration status for all migrants will ensure equal rights and protections.

 

Ottawa – As a federal election looms, hundreds of migrants are converging in Ottawa to demand equal rights and fair treatment from the Trudeau government. While Canada recovers from COVID-19, the migrants who grow food, care for loved ones and provided essential services to our communities during the pandemic are being left behind. Without permanent resident status, 1.6 million people (1 in 23 residents) are denied access to the same rights that protect others in Canada. Migrants are marching to the Prime Minister’s Office to challenge Trudeau to end unfair treatment and exploitation. At the start of his time in office, Trudeau promised to welcome migrants and refugees. As Canadians prepare to go to the polls, the demand for status for all from migrants is a litmus test of Trudeau’s sincerity in building a fair post-pandemic society that benefits all people in the country. 

Starting at 2pm on Sunday, July 25, 2021, hundreds of migrants from Montreal, Toronto and beyond will be marching through downtown Ottawa. They will be carrying photographs of 14 farmworkers who have died in Canada this year, and a massive Humanitarian and Compassionate application. Migrants – including undocumented people, farm workers, refugees, international students, and care workers – will call on Prime Minister Trudeau to create a comprehensive regularization program for non-status residents, and re-open and expand the Essential Workers stream of the Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident program to include everyone by removing unfair language, immigration status, and work exclusions. 

  • WHEN: 2pm, Sunday, July 25, 2021
  • WHERE: Rally will begin at Major’s Hill Park in Ottawa, and migrants will march to the Prime Minister’s Office and Parliament. 
  • WHO: Migrant spokespeople including undocumented people, farm workers, care workers, students, and refugees will be available to speak to media. 
  • VISUALS: Photos of farm workers that have died this year, a massive “Humanitarian and Compassionate” application, colorful flags and balloons in front of PMO and Parliament Hill. 

BACKGROUND

  • There are over 1.6 million migrants (residents without permanent resident status) in Canada, equivalent to 1 in 23 residents. 
  • As a result many are excluded from healthcare and social services and cannot unite with their families. Lack of permanent resident status makes it difficult, and often impossible, for migrants to speak up for their rights or access services, including those they may be eligible for, because of a well-founded fear of reprisals, termination, eviction and deportation.
  • Permanent resident status for all is about equal rights, which is necessary in a fair society. 
  • In 2020, Canada saw a historic shortfall in permanent immigration due to COVID-19 related border closures. As a result, Prime Minister Trudeau’s government has turned to short-term, piecemeal programs including the Temporary to Permanent Resident program, and the so-called Guardian Angels healthcare worker program. Less than a 100,000 people will be able to access these “pathways”, which exclude primarily racialized and low-waged migrants. The Essential Workers stream of the TR to PR program closed last week. See more: https://migrantrights.ca/prclosed/. 
  • Migrant Rights Network is calling for full and permanent immiigration status for all migrants including:
    • Undocumented residents: Despite the border being closed, Canada deported more people in 2020 than any of the previous 5 years. Canada also doubled the rejections of Humanitarian and Compassionate applications in 2020, which is the only opportunity for most undocumented residents to access permanent resident status. See: https://migrantrights.ca/hc202rejections/
    • Migrant food and farm workers: At least 14 farm workers have died in 2021. COVID-19 outbreaks on farms have revealed the intense labour exploitation, inhumane housing conditions and health and safety risks that farm workers face. See more: https://twitter.com/MWACCanada/status/1399130840928505861 
    • Migrant care workers: 1 in 3 migrant care workers lost their jobs during COVID-19, and many were not able to access income support. Immigration pathways for migrant childcare workers have been closed arbitrarily for the rest of the year, while over 12,000 care workers with pending applications are stuck in the backlog, in some cases for over 5 years. See: https://migrantrights.ca/bcdrelease/. 
    • Refugees: Canada closed its borders to refugees in 2020, and significantly reduced processing of asylum applications in the country. See more: https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2021/06/20/2249890/0/en/Migrants-call-on-PM-Trudeau-to-Unite-Families-Welcome-Migrants-Refugees-on-World-Refugee-Day-Fathers-Day.html 
    • Migrant students and workers: Migrant students have seen their tuition fees increase dramatically which, accompanied by high unemployment, has caused immense stress and at least six suicides this year, and is resulting in students losing their status in the country.  
  • The July 25th action follows a week of protests in Montreal led by Solidarity Across Borders. 
  • Every migrant-led organization in Canada, as well as over 400 civil society organizations, are jointly calling for full and permanent immigration status for all migrants in the country, as well as permanent resident status for all on arrival. 

MEDIA CONTACT
Karen Cocq
Migrant Rights Network Secretariat, Ottawa
647-970-8464 | karen@migrantworkersalliance.org 

Immigration program closes in ten weeks leaving hundreds of thousands without rights

Migrant Rights Network calls for full and permanent immigration status for all

Canada, July 16, 2021 — Just ten weeks after opening, the Essential Worker stream of the new Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence Immigration program under which select workers could apply for permanent residence, closed late last night, leaving hundreds of thousands of migrants without permanent resident status and equal rights. 

Thousands have spent the last two months trying to get their applications together, spending thousands of dollars on documents, immigration consultants or lawyers, English language tests, and medical exams, including for families overseas, only to lose everything. 

The new permanent residency program was set to close after 6 months or when the caps in each stream were reached. That it closed after just two months demonstrates how these first-come, first-serve programs are unfair. Racialized migrants in the most precarious conditions, and facing the most restrictions and exploitation are the ones who were not able to meet the arbitrary deadline. 

Hundreds of thousands more could simply not apply for PR through this program because of exclusionary requirements that migrants have been denouncing since the program’s announcement (including in our report released on May 4, 2021 on survey results of those trying to apply for the program: https://migrantrights.ca/disappointmentchaosreportpr/). 

We call on Justin Trudeau’s government to re-open this program and remove all caps and requirements, and ensure Permanent Residency immediately for all migrants, including students, refugees, workers and undocumented people now. 

We call on migrants to continue to organize and raise your voices – let us turn disappointment and anger into a unified call for equality and justice. Migrant Rights Network will be in Ottawa on July 25th at PM Trudeau’s office to demand he do the right thing. 

Media Contacts: 

  • Cross-Canada – Syed Hussan, Migrant Rights Network – Secretariat, 416-453-3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org
  • Elise Hjalmarson, RAMA Okanagan, 250-681-1456, ramaokanagan@gmail.com
  • Marcus Padilha, FCJ Refugee Centre, (416) 469-9754, marcus.padilha@fcjrefugeecentre.org
  • Jael Duarte, No One Is Illegal-Frederiction, jduarte@la-henry.ca
  • Julie Diesta, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights (CDWCR), (778) 881-8345, cdwcr.org@gmail.com
  • Stacey Gomez, No one is illegal – Halifax/Kjipuktuk, outreach@migrantjusticens.ca 
  • Marco Luciano, Migrante Alberta, 780-966-5908

 

Canada rejected double the number of humanitarian applications for immigration in 2020

Increased rejections point to secretive policy change at a time when immigration is at an all time low

Canada, July 13, 2021 – The Migrant Rights Network is sounding the alarm, releasing data today that shows that Humanitarian and Compassionate application rejections in Canada doubled from 35% in 2019 to nearly 70% in the first quarter of 2021. Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) applications are the only opportunity for permanent residence – and therefore equal rights and safety – for undocumented migrants inside Canada. The rejections increased without any announced change in policy, at the same time as immigration levels in Canada saw a historic downturn in 2020. 

Speaking at a press conference this morning, Queen Gabriel, an elder care worker from the Caribbean living in Toronto whose H&C application was rejected in October 2020, called for urgent changes. “The immigration process is slowly choking the life out of us,” she said. “Many of us have died not being able to access simple health care during COVID-19 or even sick days for fear of unreasonable reprimand. Permanent residence should not be such a trying, nerve wrecking, daunting, undertaking for anyone. Landed status for all is necessary.” 

Canada accepted 5,075 Humanitarian and Compassionate applications in 2019. In 2020, despite an increase in applications, only 3,735 applications were accepted. Immigration levels in Canada fell by almost half in 2020, due to COVID-19 related border closures. As a result, federal immigration policy has shifted the focus to accepting migrants already in the country. 

“Right now, Canada needs immigrants and with COVID-19, the simplest first thing to do is regularize and give permanent residency to all migrants already in the country, including undocumented people. Instead, we see immigration officials arbitrarily  doing the opposite,” added Syed Hussan, from the Migrant Rights Network Secretariat. “Permanent residence status is the only mechanism to ensure migrants have equal rights. By doubling rejections, Prime Minister Trudeau is doubling the potential for exploitation.”

Devine Cruz, came to Canada as a caregiver from Hong Kong with her employer, who brought her in as a tourist, saying that they would only be in Canada for a week. She was forced to stay until she became undocumented. Her application was rejected this year. Speaking today from Vancouver, Cruz said, “I felt I was being penalized for being poor because my rich employers who brought me here illegally can get in and out of Canada, while I had to hide from my community.”

Mamadou Batchily, 44 years old, father of two, had a work injury in 2018. He made a Humanitarian and Compassionate application but was denied in January 2021. He said, “I have been weakened by this painful process. I see now that Canada places no value on human life. My case shows the injustices faced by all migrants in Canada, and especially those who are injured while working in this country.”

Since the start of COVID-19, Canada has created two new programs to give access to permanent residency to migrants already in the country. But both the Health Care Workers permanent residence pathway and the Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway, largely exclude undocumented residents. 

“The Humanitarian and Compassionate claim is an application of a last resort, for women fleeing gender violence, homeless people, and other undocumented families. It is a long process that takes three to five years, costs thousands of dollars, and comes down to a single decision maker, with no guaranteed avenue to legal appeal,” added immigration consultant Macdonald Scott from Carranza LLP. “No one knows how or why the decision was made to suddenly increase refusals, and that makes it hard to challenge. This has made an already arbitrary policy much worse, and with a very serious human cost.”  

Migrants from Montreal, Toronto and other cities will be marching to the Prime Minister’s Office in Ottawa on July 25, 2021: www.MigrantRights.ca/MarchtoOttawa to call for full and permanent immigration status for all residents in the country, and for all those arriving in the future. 

BACKGROUND

Humanitarian and Compassionate statistics from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (see complete numbers)

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Jan – Mar 2021
Accepted 4,325 4115 4,340 5,075 3,735 1,265
Rejected 2495 2,845 2,405 2,760 5,000 2,915
Applied 8,045 7,390 9,135 10,600 11,105 8,970
Acceptance Rate* 63.42% 59.12% 64.34% 64.77% 42.76% 30.26%
Rejection Rate* 36.58% 40.88% 35.66% 35.23% 57.24% 69.74%
    * Acceptance rates = (Acceptance / (Accepted + Rejected)) and Rejection rates = (Rejected / (Accepted + Rejected)) as the Applied figure includes those that are withdrawn or incomplete.
  • There are over half a million undocumented residents in Canada. These are primarily migrants who arrived on temporary permits (refugee, work or study permits) whose permits were not renewed because of exclusionary immigration laws. 
  • Most undocumented migrants have no path to stability except through the Humanitarian and Compassionate application process. 
  • Most undocumented migrants work, and are essential members of our communities. 
  • Canada saw a historic shortfall in immigration in 2020 due to COVID-19, with only 184,000 people granted permanent residency. As a result, Canada has set a target for 401,000 migrants for 2021. The federal government has already prioritized permanent resident status for residents in the country.
  • Acceptance rates for Humanitarian and Compassionate applications were around 64% before 2020. That rate has drastically declined but without any public policy changes announced. 
  • Over 400 organizations have joined in to call on Prime Minister Trudeau to ensure full and permanent immigration status or all: www.StatusforAll.ca 

For more information, or to receive a recording of the press conference, please contact:
Syed Hussan, Migrant Rights Network Secretariat
416-453-3632
hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org 

July 1: Our responsibility to each other

At least 1,252 unmarked graves of Indigenous children have been discovered at just six forced assimilation schools in Canada in the last two months. 

As migrants – students, refugees, workers, and undocumented people – many of us came to Canada in search of a better life. We were told that Canada is a country of freedom and opportunity where rights are protected. We did not expect thousands of children in unmarked graves. 

Today, actions online and in-person are taking place across the country. Join and learn more. 

Canada’s policies against Indigenous people

For thousands of years, Indigenous people lived here, and had governments, institutions, and societies before colonizers arrived and created what today is known as Canada. 

Colonizers established Canada through the theft of Indigenous lands, and that theft is continuing. Today, 89% of Canada’s entire land mass is called “Crown land” – land controlled by the provincial and federal governments. But Indigenous people have claims to these lands that even Canada’s Supreme Court has upheld. Yet governments continue to try to increase their control over these territories – in the courts and by subsidizing mining and resource extraction projects.

To steal these lands, Canada tries to destroy indigenous communities and cultures, and the ‘residential school’ system was a central way of doing that. At least 150,000 indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families, prevented from speaking their languages and practicing their cultures, abused and subjected to neglect and starvation. Many never returned to their families. 

Every day, in a thousand different ways, Canadian governments and officials are working to undermine Indigenous rights and people to assert control over this land:

  • Indigenous children are 7% of the youth population, but they represent 52% of children in foster care – continuing to be forcibly separated from their families. 
  • Indigenous education and housing is chronically underfunded. Dozens of communities still today don’t even have safe drinking water. 
  • Indigenous people are policed and jailed at a much higher rate than others. 
  • Police and government have looked away and allowed the abuse and exploitation of Indigenous women, resulting in thousands missing or murdered. 

As recently as 2019, Canada’s ongoing treatment of Indigenous people was termed a “genocide” by a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

What does this mean for us as migrants?

The goal for many of us is to get citizenship. Citizenship is just a mechanism through which we access rights and reunite with our families. Getting citizenship does not mean agreeing with or supporting what Canada does.

As migrants, we can and must open our eyes to the colonialism taking place here. That begins with unlearning what we have been told about “Canada the good”, and seeing the truth. To get started, watch this conversation about Indigenous and Black liberation in Canada.

Many of us have seen the impact of colonialism in the places we come from. And we see those places continue to suffer under policies made by western governments and profit-making for the rich. The same is happening in Canada. 

As people who have also been displaced – whether by conflict, persecution, environmental catastrophes, or for economic reasons – we cannot ask for equal rights for ourselves here while accepting the continued violation of the rights of others.  

We migrants are excluded from equal rights, forced into bad jobs, face racism, and are separated from our families. These things happen to us because of Canadian laws. Indigenous communities are displaced from their lands, families torn apart, and are subjected to racism and without equal rights – because of Canadian laws. As migrants we are responsible to  Indigenous communities not the policy makers and governments who exploit us all.

Our call is for full and permanent immigration status for everyone here now, and everyone that arrives in the future. We are demanding that everyone have the same rights and opportunities – not just migrants, but all residents, and that must include Indigenous people.

Therefore our fight must always include supporting Indigenous peoples’ fight for justice. Take action today by finding an action near you and watching this short animated short-video about Indigenous people calling for Land Back. 

 

World Refugee Day 2021

Canada claims to be “generous”, but in 2020 Canada accepted just over 25,500 refugees out of the over 82.4 million forcibly displaced people in the world – or 1 in 33,000 people.

And there are tens of thousands of refugees in Canada, working and living without labour rights, healthcare or other protections because they are waiting for or have been denied permanent resident status.

It’s important to know how Canada’s refugee system works to understand how much its failing people. Canada’s refugee system has two parts: in-land (applicants inside Canada) and resettlement (refugees outside Canada).

In- Land Applications

In-land applications are migrants that arrive in the country at the border (on planes or on foot), or are in the country already on other visas and apply for refugee status. In 2020, Canada accepted just 16,209 people in this stream – 1 out of 3 that applied were rejected.

Not only are rejections high, the backlog is enormous. As of March 30th this year, nearly 70,000 people are living in limbo, without equal rights, waiting for a decision on their applications.

During COVID-19, Canada has effectively slammed the door shut on refugees who simply aren’t able to enter or apply. Only 18,500 people were able to make applications in 2020, less than a third of the previous year of 58,378. 2021 looks even worse- only 2,245 new applications were received in the first three months this year. This while global displacement continued to rise.

The backlog, long processing times and high costs mean that many people abandon their applications before they get a decision. Refugees that are rejected have to go through a difficult and expensive appeals process, during which time they are excluded from basic rights, and many are unable to do so. Those that become undocumented live without basic rights, and therefore without the ability to fully protect themselves.

Canada must open its borders to refugees. Every resident of the country must have the equal rights, and that means the same permanent resident status.

Resettlement

Canada’s resettlement program (refugees that arrive as refugees from outside the country) is divided into three parts: government-assisted, private, and a blend of the two. Between January and October 2020, the Canadian government only assisted in the resettlement of 3,035 people, while 4,139 were resettled privately or with blended support.

These are incredibly low numbers, even for Canada. Mass exclusion of people fleeing for their lives is not a given. Throughout COVID-19, the government was able to ensure free flow of workers, study permit holders and citizens when it chose to. That refugees were excluded is a political decision, not a public health necessity.

People around the world are displaced as a result of decisions taken in wealthy countries like Canada. Today, Canada has one of the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the world, which is responsible for global climate change that displaces people in large numbers. Canada continues to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia which uses them in Yemen, resulting in millions displaced. And Canada supports and enforces crippling sanctions on Venezuela which has worsened economic conditions, forcing many to flee.

And that thing about Canada being the most generous? Each year, for World Refugee Day, the UN issues a global displacement report. Top 5 host countries this year are: Turkey, Colombia, Germany, Pakistan and Uganda, Canada doesn’t even make the top 10.

Advisory: “Unite Families, Welcome Migrants & Refugees”: Migrants urge action in events across Canada on World Refugee Day & Fathers’ Day

CANADA, June 16, 2021 — Migrants, including refugees, care workers, farm workers, undocumented people and international students, are organizing rallies and celebrations in Vancouver, Toronto, Sudbury, Winnipeg and online on June 20th – World Refugee Day & Fathers’ Day – to call for full immigration status for all and family unity. COVID-19 has caused a human rights catastrophe for migrants, which has been exacerbated by government inaction. At least 13 farmworkers have died already in 2021, migrant care workers continue to face abuse, job loss and family separation, and undocumented people remain excluded from all rights and essential supports, including vaccines in many places. Over 1.6 million people in Canada are without permanent resident status and therefore don’t have equal rights nor the power to exercise those rights they do have. Many are separated from their families. Canada accepted approximately 25,000 refugees in 2020, a 50% reduction from the previous year. Existing ‘pathways’ and temporary programs continue to deny permanent status to the majority of migrants in Canada.

Details of actions

TORONTO: June 20, 2021, 1pm EST, 74 Victoria Street (Immigration and Refugee Board). Organized by Migrant Rights Network – Ontario.  Media contact: Rajean Hoilett, rajean@workersactioncentre.org, 289-923-3534

VANCOUVER: June 20, 2021, 10am PST, CBC Plaza (across from Immigration Enforcement offices). Organized by BC Migrants. Media contact: Julie Diesta, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights (CDWCR), 778-881-8345, cdwcr.org@gmail.com; Byron Cruz, Sanctuary Health Collective Vancouver, (604)3157725, sanctuaryhealthvancouver@gmail.com

SUDBURY: June 20, 2021, 1pm EST, MP Marc Serrée Constituency office. 2914 Hwy 69 N, Unit 1, Val Caron. Organized by Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre (SWEAC). Media contact: deMarie Bah Jean, education@sudburyworkerscentre.ca, 647-718-3464. 

WINNIPEG: June 20, 2021, 4pm, Drive-by rally starting at the Legislative Grounds, 450 Broadway. 

BACKGROUND

  • At least 1 in 23 people in Canada are migrants with temporary status and without full rights. 
  • Migrants include people on various study, work or humanitarian permits, or without documentation at all. 
  • Many migrants are excluded from healthcare, income support, and basic workplace protections. Many are separated from their families. 
  • COVID-19 has shown that migrants cannot fully protect themselves because they cannot afford to lose their jobs and because speaking out about unsafe work, exploitation and poor housing conditions can result in deportation. 
  • Canada has shut its doors to refugees during COVID-19. Only 18,500 people were able to apply in 2020 because of border closures, less than a third of the previous year’s total of 58,378 applications. The situation is worse in 2021, with only 2,245 people able to apply in the first three months of this year. 
  • Despite promises to release immigration detainees, Canada jailed about half of all immigration detainees in provincial jails, up from about a fifth of detainees prior to the pandemic.
  • Over 400 organizations, and tens of thousands of people have joined Migrant Rights Network’s call for full and permanent immigration status for all migrants: https://migrantrights.ca/status-for-all/. 

International Domestic Workers Day 2021

Migrant domestic workers have been coming to Canada without full immigration status – which means without full rights – since 1955. Sixty-six years of exclusion and exploitation. And for sixty six years they have been leading the fight for justice. 

Today is International Domestic Workers Day – a day to mark decades of organizing to win respect and rights for those who do the in-home labour, and care for children, sick and the elderly. 

International Domestic Workers Day marks the 10th anniversary of the Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers of the International Labour Organization (ILO Convention 189). It requires countries to ensure equal rights for domestic workers. Canada refuses to sign this convention or implement it. 

And so today we reflect on our histories: 

  • Black Caribbean women, along with many other workers, led the fight to create a path to permanent residence (PR) for migrant care workers in the 1980s. 
  • In the 1990s, workers’ struggles forced the removal of a number of exclusionary requirements, but care workers were forced to live in employer homes.
  • In 2010, migrant care workers won the Juana Tejada law, removing the requirement for a second medical exam to get PR. 
  • In 2014, care workers won an end to the live-in requirement. But a cap of 2,750 per year was put on PR applications, and unfair requirements for English and education were put in place. 
  • In 2017, care workers led the fight to remove medical inadmissibility rules, which led to them being significantly reduced, though they remain in place. 
  • In 2019, care workers won an Interim Pathway to allow many workers in Canada to get PR without the exclusionary requirements introduced in 2017. 
  • And during COVID-19, migrant care workers are organizing across the country for vaccine access, mobility and immigration and labour rights. 

Migrant women hold up Canada: Temporary foreign workers make up 10% of private household workers in Canada. Thousands of undocumented mostly racialized women are doing in-home domestic work. Thousands more migrant women are working in long-term care homes and as personal support workers. 

But immigration laws force care workers into abusive jobs. Many care workers are tied to their employers, dependent on them for healthcare and housing, and separated from their families for years. According to our last survey, 1 in 3 workers we spoke to were laid off during COVID-19 but are not allowed to work anywhere else. 

Even those who complete the impossible PR requirements are made to wait  years to hear a decision on their applications. Many of us signed petitions and delivered them on May 9th. As a result the government promised to process 6,000 out of 12,000 applications in the backlog by the end of this year. That means half have to wait another year and half, stuck with potentially abusive employers and without open work permits. 

Worse still, no new PR applications for childcare workers are being accepted this year. The program’s arbitrary cap of 2,750 applications per year was reached on April 30th, and care workers must now wait until next year to apply. 

Those who fall out of status because of these impossible requirements or are in undocumented care work are unable to assert their rights at work and are shut out of basic services like health care and income support. 

The government’s new PR program for essential workers that opened in May allows some care workers to apply. But those who have lost their status, those without work or without English language test results are excluded. 

But migrant care workers are continuing the struggle, join in! On June 20th, find an action near you or organize one in your community: https://migrantrights.ca/june20/

The Deaths Demand Justice

In recent weeks and days, many harrowing instances of mass deaths have been in the news.

In Palestine, attacks by the Israeli military resulted in hundreds killed, including 67 children. Last week, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc released preliminary findings of the unmarked and unidentified remains of 215 children at a residential school near Kamloops, British Columbia. On Sunday, a Muslim family was murdered in an Islamophobic attack in London, Ontario, killing a grandmother, two parents, their daughter, and leaving their 9 year old son in hospital and orphaned.

These deaths are connected by on-going laws and policies that dispossess and displace people from their communities, and the racist ideas used to justify them.

130 residential schools existed in Canada, created by the Canadian government and Catholic church. 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were taken from their families and placed here. The schools were sites of abuse and neglect. Indigenous children were punished for speaking their languages and practicing their culture. Thousands never made it home. 

Canada’s residential school system is part of an ongoing campaign to tear apart Indigenous communities that have lived here for generations before Canada’s existence, to enable the theft of land and install what is today “Canada”. 

These policies are not ancient history: the last residential closed in 1996. Today, while Indigenous children are 7% of the youth population, they represent 52% of children in foster care. On-going housing and drinking water crises continue on Indigenous reserves across the country; disproportionately high rates of poverty, homelessness and incarceration among Indigenous people are the horrific proof that these colonial policies continue to do their devastating work. 

The Canadian government violates treaty rights and Indigenous laws to build oil and gas pipelines and continues to fight residential school survivors in court who are demanding the compensation that is owed to them. These attacks are being resisted, a powerful movement insists on LandBack and justice. Learn more by watching this animated video on the movement. 

This is the same Canada that has exported $57 million worth of weapons to Israel, including $16 million in bomb components, since 2015 and has voted against 166 UN resolutions criticizing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians since 2000. Remember that Palestinians make up the largest group of refugees in the world, 5.6 million of the 26 million refugees supported by the United Nations, many of whom live in Gaza, that was the site of Israel’s latest attacks. 

While Canada was created from theft of land, it now imposes immigration rules to deny rights to us. Primarily racialized and working class migrants like us are excluded from protections and benefits so that our work can be devalued for the profit of the rich. 

This week also marks one year since the deaths of Bonifacio Eugenio Romero and Rogelio Muñoz Santos. Virtually nothing has been done to ensure no more migrant farm workers die preventable deaths. Already in 2021, 9 farm workers have died, 6 of them in federally regulated quarantine. That is to say, the accountability for their deaths is with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 

The call for full and permanent immigration status is a call for an end to a system of deadly racialized exclusion from rights, protections and dignity. As migrants, we must demand an end to colonial violence within Canada and throw our support behind struggles for Indigenous rights and liberation. 

We are not simply asking for rights under Canadian laws based on colonialism – we must challenge the violent and unfair nature of this whole system. We must join together and demand that Canadian laws and policies do not force more people out of their homes anywhere. 

That is why on June 20th – World Refugee Day and Father’s Day – we will take action for full and permanent immigration status for all and for just relations with Indigenous people. Actions are already being organized in Toronto (1pm EST, Immigration Headquarters, 74 Victoria Street) and Vancouver (10am PST, CBC Plaza). Join in or organize your own. 

Together, we must win.

June 20: No time to wait! Status for All!

On June 20th, Father’s Day / World Refugee Day, migrants, including refugees, workers, students, and undocumented people took actions in Toronto, Vancouver, Sudbury and Winnipeg for permanent resident status for all.

Julie Diesta, a member of the Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights, said in Global News, “The government’s ‘pathway’ programs, with their unfair language, education and work requirements, are traps that force workers to stay with exploitative employers and leave them in limbo, separated from their families, for years. We are done waiting — we need full and permanent immigration status for all migrants now.”

Hundreds marched in downtown Toronto from the Immigration and Refugee Board to City Hall with speeches, food and performances. More photos here and coverage in Toronto Star and CBC-Radio Canada.

Dozens met at CBC Plaza, across from immigration detention centre in Vancouver. See more photos here. 

Migrants and allies took action at local MP Marc Serre’s office in Val Caron. Read more about it in Sudbury Star. 

WHY WE TOOK ACTION: 

It has been a year since we launched our call for full and permanent immigration status for all, and we have pushed the federal government to create immigration pathways that have resulted in status for some. But the vast majority of working class, racialized and particularly undocumented people are shut out of permanent resident status. As a result, we are without income support, workplace rights and even access to healthcare in a pandemic. We live under threat of deportation. 

Earlier in May, the federal government created a path for 90,000 people to apply for permanent resident status.  Prime Minister Trudeau’s government now says that they have done enough. Migrants and allies must take swift action across the country to call for Status for All. The door has been opened a crack, we must push to make space for all of us. 

Report: Disappointment, Chaos & Exploitations – Canada’s New Short-Term Immigration Pathway

We are releasing a rapid-report today with a snapshot of 3,000 of our migrant members who filled out our survey over the last two week about the new short-term immigration pilot program announced on April 14th. Our report reveals that 1.18 million undocumented residents, refugees, students and migrants in Quebec are not allowed to apply. In addition, 45.4% of migrant workers and 34.5% of international graduates that filled out the survey are also excluded from the new program. An additional 48.27% of international graduates and 45.4% of migrant workers do not have the language test results required to apply for this first-come, first-served program.

This is unfair and unjust. We are calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to ensure permanent resident status for all migrant and undocumented people in the country, and ensure that all working class migrants that arrive in the future do so with permanent resident status. The current program must be expanded to include everyone without permanent status; all caps and the 6-month window must be removed; residents of Quebec must be allowed to apply; and requirements for an English language test, educational credentials, current employment, and valid immigration status must be removed. Any other inadmissibility requirements must also be removed, and the application fees waived for low-wage workers.

Read the report | Call PM Trudeau Right Now! | Read the Press Release

 

 

In addition to the exclusions in the program itself, the announcement has created a wave of chaos and confusion over migrant and undocumented communities across the country that is being exploited by bad actors.  

(1) Language testing centres and agents profiting: There are only two accepted English testing programs migrants can use in Canada, IELTS and CELPIP. Within hours of the announcement on April 14, both their websites crashed as a result of the large numbers of people trying to register for tests. It took almost a week for the websites to come back online, and in many cases, there are no open spots for months. In Calgary, for example, the next open IELTS test is August 7th. Those migrants who are constrained by their employers and unable to leave employer-provided housing, particularly farmworkers and care workers, cannot go to testing centres. Others are not allowed time off to study or to take the test. Testing centres are only available in major cities, and travel from rural communities during COVID-19 is either dangerous or simply impossible because of lockdown measures. Doing tests online is difficult for many because of lack of reliable internet access or computers. Cumulatively, this has meant that migrants are struggling to register for tests. Others are paying the high fees anyway even though they don’t meet other requirements. This is a boon for IELTS and CELPIP language centres. Many bad actors are offering fake exams and test-prep tools or promising to secure a test date  at exorbitant prices. Many migrants, particularly Spanish-speaking farmworkers, are struggling to learn the language and pass the test in the short window the program will be open. 

(2) Bad employers taking advantage: One of the requirements of the program is to be currently employed. This means that migrants on any kind of leave from their current job, paid or unpaid, must return to work to qualify. This can include anyone on parental or caregiver leave, or taking unpaid sick time to quarantine for COVID-19. But racialized unemployment in Canada is high, particularly for migrants. For example, according to our Migrant Rights Network survey in November 2020, 1 in 3 migrant care workers were laid off during COVID-19. Because of the state of unemployment, many people are willing to accept any job and under any conditions, even work for far below minimum wage to be able to apply for this program. In some cases, bad actors are promising job letters in return for high fees. Migrant workers on tied work permits are only allowed to work for the employers listed on their permits. Workers who were forced to leave bad jobs are now being faced with the impossible choice to return to those same bad employers. Migrants who are self-employed or are gig workers are quitting those jobs for others that pay less or not at all, just to fulfill program requirements. Many workers have already reported employers taking advantage of this PR program to further exploit workers.  

(3) Travelling no matter the cost: Canada has closed its borders to many migrants. Flights are also suspended from Mexico, Caribbean countries, India and Pakistan. Migrants must be in Canada to apply. As a result, many are buying expensive last minute tickets, transiting through multiple countries, with greater risk of COVID to get around flight restrictions simply to make it back in time to apply. Many recruiters, agents and unscrupulous immigration consultants are promising “special letters”, at very high prices, that migrants can show at the airport to be allowed in, most of which are fake. 

(4) Lack of information: Since the initial announcement on April 14th, the federal government has not provided any further information about the details of the application or the documents required. Hundreds of thousands have had questions that have not been answered, and it has fallen to migrant-led organizations like ours to fill the gap. Meanwhile, unscrupulous recruiters, agents, immigration consultants and lawyers are spreading misinformation and promising miracles for high fees. Those particularly being targeted are undocumented people, refugees and low-wage workers, including those without access to internet, or high levels of English and French literacy. 

(5) High fees: While details of fees have not been announced, a permanent resident application costs $1,135 per application, and $1,945.00 for a 2 parent, 2 children family. Immigration consultants on average are advertising $4,000 to do applications, with some asking for much more. Getting documents from overseas or renewing them also costs money. Migrants will also have to pay for medical tests for all members of the family, if they are invited to do so. These are substantial fees for migrants working in low-waged jobs or for minimum wage – in some cases more than what many earn in a month. Many low-wage workers simply don’t have thousands of dollars saved, and the first come, first-served means those with money will be able to apply beore low-wage workers. Some workers, specifically care workers, who have already submitted applications through the Care Worker Pilot program but have been waiting over a year or two for an answer are now being encouraged to apply through this stream, paying fees twice in the hopes of getting PR faster.  

(6) COVID-19 barriers to getting documentation: Immigration applications require extensive documentation, including police clearances, educational transcripts, valid passports, etc. With COVID-19 continuing to ravage countries in the Global South in particular, getting such documents is incredibly difficult. This particular program requires that migrants must have all documents assembled to apply with at the same time. Applicants from richer countries (Europe, USA, etc.) where government bureaucracies continue to function and embassies remain open have a significant advantage.

Disappointment, Chaos & Exploitation Hits Migrant Communities With Exclusionary, Short-Term Immigration Announcement

Migrants, including undocumented people, call for transformation of immigration system to ensure rights, dignity and permanent resident status for all

Download Exclusion, Disappointment, Chaos & Exploitations: Canada’s New Short-Term Immigration Pathway: HERE

Canada – Survey results released today reveal that 45.4% of migrant workers and 34.5% of international graduates are excluded from the new short-term immigration program scheduled to be launched this Thursday. Out of 3,000 survey responses, an additional 48.27% of international graduates and 45.4% of migrant workers do not have the language test results required to apply for this first-come, first-served program. In total, 1.18 million undocumented residents, refugees, students and migrants in Quebec are not allowed to apply. The Migrant Rights Network, Canada’s largest migrant-led coalition, is releasing an analysis of the survey results today, entitled “Exclusion, Disappointment, Chaos & Exploitation: Canada’s New Short-Term Immigration Pathway”, and calling for full and permanent immigration status for all. 

“Prime Minister Trudeau has the opportunity of a lifetime to change the course of Canada’s economy while ensuring equal rights for all,” says Syed Hussan of the Migrant Rights Network secretariat. “We don’t need small, one-off, exclusionary pilot programs, we need an overhaul of the immigration system so that every resident in the country has the same immigration status and therefore the same access to labour rights, healthcare, and other essential services. These rights are a matter of life and death.” The Migrant Rights Network is aware of at least half a dozen migrant farmworkers that have died this year, as well half a dozen International Students that have died by suicide due to financial and immigration pressures. This new program excludes migrants like these.

The temporary public policy was announced on April 14th and excludes most migrants, many of whom are in essential jobs or caring for their communities, and are denied universal healthcare, labour rights and emergency support because they do not have permanent residency. 

“During this pandemic, millions of people without status have risked their lives to serve you and keep the Canadian economy rolling. Why does the government not put in place a regularization program for everyone?,” says Samira, living without status with her mother in Montreal for eight years. “It’s revolting how all these new laws ignore us, like we didn’t exist. We are here and we will continue to struggle.”

Applications through the program are capped at 90,000 spots but there are more than 461,470 migrants who may be eligible to apply. To apply, they must be employed, be currently in Canada, have a valid English test result, and have all their documents at the time of application. This costs thousands of dollars. 

English or French language requirements exclude many, including the majority of Spanish speaking migrant farm workers who have been so hard-hit by COVID-19. Gary, a chicken catcher in Ontario who has been working in Canada for 8 years, says, “Many of us have taught ourselves English to get by while working in Canada but cannot write or read it. I am excluded from the government’s PR program because I cannot pass the English test. That is not fair – we have built lives here, and we have missed out on our lives with our families. We cannot stand up for our rights because the employers always threaten us saying they won’t renew our contracts or will deport us. This is why we need permanent residency with no requirements like English exams, to be able to protect ourselves and defend our rights. We demand status for all.”

Within hours of the program’s announcement on April 14th, the websites of the English testing centres crashed. Few spots are available now, and some migrants, particularly farmworkers and domestic workers, are unable to leave farms or employer-provided housing, to go to take a test. Others are not allowed time off to study, or to take the test. Others are not allowed time off to study or to take the test. Testing centres are only available in major cities, and travel from rural communities during COVID-19 is either dangerous or simply impossible because of lockdown measures. 

25.4% of the survey respondents in the Essential Workers stream did not meet either the 12 months of work required in the previous 36 months or did have an approved NOC Code despite working in essential jobs. This is because workers earned this work experience while between work permits and cannot count it. In addition, 13.7% of survey respondents in this stream report not having a valid work authorization – this is largely temporary foreign workers who lost jobs during COVID-19 and are not legally allowed to work elsewhere because of their employer-restricted work permits. 

“I struggled to find a new employer to sponsor me so I could get the last 3 months of work I needed to meet the 24 month work requirement under the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and be able to apply for PR. Just last week, the cap in that program was reached. Another door has been closed for me and care workers like me. And I can’t qualify for this new program without a job,” says Cherrian Snagg, a migrant care worker, was fired when she got sick during COVID, and lost her housing, healthcare, income, and legal right to work because she is on an employer-restricted permit. “Without permanent residency status, you are pushed around – by employers and by the government. This is discrimination and exploitation. I join with my fellow migrants to demand status for all now.”

13.6% of survey respondents in the International Graduate stream and 6.3% of survey respondents in the Essential Workers stream do not currently have a job, which is a requirement for the program. This has made workers scramble to take any job, at any wage to qualify for this program. Those on employer-restricted permits who were laid off or left bad employers are being forced to return to them so they can qualify. Migrants on any kind of leave from their current job, paid or unpaid, must return to work to qualify, including anyone on caregiver leave or taking unpaid sick time to quarantine for COVID-19. 

The report also details migrants facing chaos and exploitation as a result of high fees, being stuck abroad and not being able to travel, and difficulty in getting documents in time. 

In the report, the Migrant Rights Network is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “ensure permanent resident status for all migrant and undocumented people in the country, and ensure that all working class migrants that arrive in the future do so with permanent resident status. The current program must be expanded to include everyone without permanent status; all caps and the 6-month window must be removed; residents of Quebec must be allowed to apply; and requirements for an English language test, educational credentials, current employment, and valid immigration status must be removed. Any other inadmissibility requirements must also be removed, and the application fees waived for low-wage workers.” Over 450 organizations and tens of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for the same: www.StatusforAll.ca 

Migrant Rights Network members will be organizing actions on May 9th – Mothers Day – to continue the call for Status for All in Montreal (2pm, Riding Office of Justin Trudeau 1100 Crémazie East), Vancouver (11am, MP Harjit Sajjan’s constituency office, 6406 Victoria Drive). More cities will be announced. 

###

Media Contact:
Syed Hussan
416-453-3632
hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org 

 

May 9: Unite All Families! Status for All!

COVID-19 doesn’t pick or choose, but laws and policies do. As a result, it’s Indigenous, Black and Brown communities, poor people, women, the elderly, and migrants that are worse impacted. 

Everyone deserves rights, dignity and protection. But the federal government announced a new permanent residency program for essential workers that excludes most migrants. Families will remain separated, and the threat of deportations and being ripped out of communities we have built here remains hanging on all of us without permanent resident status. 

This program was created because migrants organized, and allies joined us. We must push harder. That’s why on May 9th, migrants across the country rallied to take action! 

Montreal, May 9th, More photos.

Edmonton, May 9th, More photos

Vancouver, May 9th, Video

Eligibility Requirements for New Short-Term PR Program

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Information on this website is subject to change, please come back to review often. 

On April 14, 2021, the federal government announced the creation of a new short-term program for permanent residency. To qualify for the program, you must meet all of the following criteria:

  1. You must be working at the time of application. You must be authorized to work or be eligible to restore your work authorization. You do not necessarily need to be employed in the sector through which you qualify for the program. Self-employed work in any qualifying sector does not count.
  2. You must have temporary status in Canada. Most refugee claimants with work permits do not have temporary status. Undocumented people are excluded.
  3. If you are applying through Stream A or B, you must have 12 months (1560 hours) of accumulated work experience in the previous 3 years in the qualifying sectors.
  4. If you are applying through Stream A or B, you must prove CLB Level 4 language competency. If you are applying through the educational stream, you must prove CLB Level 5.
  5. You must not be inadmissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
  6. You must be inside Canada, and cannot reside in Quebec. If you are in Quebec, you can apply but you must prove that you will not continue to live in Quebec.
  7. You must file a complete application online, and pay fees (approximately $1,133) when you apply.
  8. The streams are:
    1. STREAM A & B: 20,000 spots for temporary workers in 40 occupations in health care and 30,000 spots for temporary workers in 95 selected essential occupations including caregiving and food production and distribution. Click here for list of occupations.
    2. EDUCATIONAL STREAM: 40,000 spots for international students who have graduated with a minimum 8 month degree from a university, or a 16 month certificate or diploma from a Canadian college in the last 4 years, but no earlier than January 2017. You do not need any work experience for these two avenues. If you completed an education term shorter than the 16 month certificate, but your education led to a skilled trade you are also eligible. You must have met the conditions of your study permit throughout your studies. Click here for list of occupations and more details.
    3. French-speaking or bilingual candidates outside of Quebec are eligible through the same streams but do not have a cap on spots. See more here and here.

Applications will open on May 6 and will remain open for six months or when the caps are reached. Other final details will only be available when the program opens on May 6th. 

If you do not qualify for this program, do not lose hope. This program was only created because migrants spoke up, we must continue to raise our voice to call for full and permanent immigration status for all. Sign the petition here. 

Migrant Workers Alliance for Change has created a tool to help you see if you are eligible, click here. 

Requisitos de elegibilidad para el nuevo programa de residencia permanente

La información de este sitio web está sujeta a cambios, vuelva a revisarla con frecuencia.

El 14 de abril de 2021, el gobierno federal anunció la creación de un nuevo programa temporal para solicitar la residencia permanente. Para calificar para el programa, debe cumplir con todos los siguientes requisitos:

  1. Debe estar trabajando en el momento de la solicitud. Debe estar autorizado para trabajar, o ser elegible para restaurar su autorización de trabajo. No es necesario que esté empleado en el sector a través del cual califica para el programa. El trabajo por cuenta propia en cualquier sector calificado no cuenta.
  2. Debe tener un estatus de residente temporal en Canadá. La mayoría de los solicitantes de refugio con permisos de trabajo no tienen un estatus temporal. Las personas indocumentadas son excluidas.
  3. Si está solicitando a través de la Categoría A o B, debe tener 12 meses (1560 horas) de experiencia laboral acumulada en los últimos 3 años en los sectores calificados.
  4. Si presenta la solicitud a través de la Categoría A o B, debe demostrar su competencia lingüística al Nivel 4 de acuerdo con Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB). Si presenta la solicitud a través de la Categoría Educacional, debe demostrar el nivel 5 de CLB.
  5. No puede ser considerado inadmisible bajo la Ley de Protección de Inmigración y Refugiados (IRPA).
  6. Debe estar corrientemente en Canadá y no puede residir en Quebec. Si se encuentra en Quebec, puede presentar una solicitud, pero debe demostrar que no continuará viviendo en Quebec.
  7. Debe presentar una solicitud completa en línea y pagar las tarifas (aproximadamente $1,133CAD) cuando presente la solicitud.
  8. Las categorías del programa son:
    1. CATEGORÍA A & B: 20,000 plazas para trabajadores temporales en 40 ocupaciones en el sector de salud, y 30,000 plazas para trabajadores temporales en 95 ocupaciones esenciales, incluyendo cuidados domésticos y la producción y distribución de alimentos. Haga clic aquí para ver la lista de ocupaciones.
    2. CATEGORÍA EDUCACIONAL: 40,000 plazas para estudiantes internacionales que se hayan graduado con un título mínimo de 8 meses de una universidad, o un certificado o diploma de 16 meses de un instituto o colegio técnico canadiense en los últimos 4 años, pero no antes del enero del 2017. No necesita ninguna experiencia laboral para postular en esta categoría. Si completó un programa de educación de menos de 16 meses, pero su educación le llevó a ciertos oficios calificados, también es elegible. Debe haber cumplido con las condiciones de su permiso de estudio. Haga clic aquí para obtener una lista de ocupaciones y más detalles.
    3. Los candidatos bilingües o de habla francesa fuera de Quebec son elegibles a través de las mismas categorías, pero no tienen un límite de plazas. Vea más aquí y aquí.

Las solicitudes abren el 6 de mayo y permanecerán abiertas por seis meses o hasta cuando se llenen todas las plazas. Mayores detalles sobre el proceso de solicitud solo estarán disponibles cuando el programa se abra el 6 de mayo.

Si no califica para este programa, no pierda la esperanza. Este programa solo se creó porque los migrantes alzaron la voz. Debemos seguir alzando la voz para pedir un estatus migratorio permanente para todos y todas. Firma la petición aquí.

La Alianza de Trabajador@s Migrantes por el Cambio (Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, MWAC) ha creado una herramienta para ayudarle a ver si es elegible: haga clic aquí (en inglés). Si es trabajador@ agrícola, haga clic aquí para ver si es elegible.

Federal Budget Fails to Deliver Immigration Rights, Continues Focus on Failed Temporary Programs

Full and Permanent Immigration Status for All Residents Is Essential to Building an Equal Society Post COVID19

Canada, April 20, 2021 – The 2021 federal budget continues Canada’s trajectory of temporary migration, where the majority of new arrivals each year are on temporary study, work or refugee permits without equal rights or services. $168.3 million dollars has been allocated to paying for the management and the fallout of temporary immigration streams, and almost a billion dollars for border enforcement rather than ensuring full and permanent immigration status for all. The federal budget’s announcement of a childcare program does not ensure permanent resident status on arrival for the tens of thousands of low-waged, racialized migrant women who take care of children. There is no recovery without full equality and that requires full and permanent immigration status for all.  

The Trudeau government’s budget  announced the following on Im/migration: 

  • Budget 2021 acknowledges that migrants were responsible for 75% of Canada’s net GDP growth in 2019, but does not ensure equal rights for migrants. 
  • The Budget re-commits the federal government to recently announced time-limited and exclusionary pathways to permanent residence. 
    • This program excludes undocumeted migrants, refugees, students in programs less than 2 years long, those that are currently unemployed, those without valid work authorization, those that cannot pass language exams, and those in many essential industries. There are only 90,000 spots for hundreds of thousands of potential applicants who are scrambling  to get their applications in order, and pass language tests during the third wave.
  • Budget 2021 announces that the Government of Canada intends to propose amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to provide the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada with even more authority to determine who becomes a permanent resident. 
    • Over the last decade, incredible power has been centralized in the Minister’s hands resulting in the proliferation of so-called Pilot Programs, creating more and more temporary immigration streams and “pathways” to permanent residency that few people can access. It is time to overhaul the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to ensure permanent resident status for all migrants, including on arrival. 
  • Budget 2021 proposes to provide $656.1 million over five years, beginning in 2021-22, and $123.8 million ongoing, to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to modernize the borders.
    • These funds will likely result in increased immigration enforcement, more integration with US Border control but will not ensure oversight of CBSA. Border enforcement will not fight COVID nor heal any wounds of the pandemic – border enforcement only deepens them.
  • Budget 2021 proposes to provide $57.6 million in 2021-22 to extend the Mandatory Isolation Support for Temporary Foreign Workers Program to help employers offset costs associated with temporary foreign workers fulfilling isolation requirements upon entering Canada.
  • $54.9 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, to increase inspections
    • ESDC’s inspection program does not give migrant workers the ability to assert their rights. By law, ESDC cannot even share the fact or results of an inspection with the workers whose complaints triggered those inspections in the first place, much less ensure that they are compensated in instances of abuse. Only six employers have been found ineligible through these inspections since the start of COVID-19, despite the wave of massive COVID outbreaks, migrant worker deaths, and worker complaints that occured in the first and second waves of the pandemic.
  • $6.3 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, to support faster processing and improved service delivery of open work permits for vulnerable workers
  • Budget 2021 proposes to invest $428.9 million over five years, with $398.5 million in remaining amortization, starting in 2021-22, to develop and deliver a new digital platform for immigration process.
    • The problems with the immigration system are not just about technology. Processing backlogs and long wait times are the result of the many unjust and impossible requirements migrants must meet in order to access permanent residency.
  • $49.5 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, to Employment and Social Development Canada, to support community-based organizations in the provision of migrant worker-centric programs and services, such as on-arrival orientation services and assistance in emergency and at-risk situations, through the new Migrant Worker Support Program.
    • This funding aims to provide rights information to migrants without permanent resident status that migrant groups have called a “waste of resources”. But the problem is not that migrants don’t have information about their rights, it’s that they are either excluded from rights or cannot assert those they do have without risking termination and deportation, because of their temporary immigration status. 

 

 

 

— 

Media Contact:
Syed Hussan
416-453-3632
hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org 

 

Migrants win path to Permanent Residence! We want Status for All!

10 months ago today we began our campaign for full and permanent immigration status for all. Today, migrants won a major victory. At least 90,000 more people and their families will get permanent resident status! 

Click here to see if you are eligible.

Migrants bravely spoke up about injustice and forced the federal government to acknowledge that permanent resident status is necessary to be able to access or assert basic rights. Today’s announcement proves that the federal government can change immigration rules. Full and permanent immigration status for all in the country and permanent resident status on arrival for all in the future is possible and we will not stop until we win it. Nothing less is acceptable. Your support has been crucial in this victory and we ask you to recommit to this fight. 

Today’s announcement creates a partial and short-term opening to PR for some but does not change the fundamentally temporary nature of the immigration system. Each year hundreds of thousands of people come with temporary permits. The new program only includes migrants with select work experience and denies status to anyone who is unemployed, even in an economic downturn.

All undocumented migrants – over 500,000 people – are excluded from this new program, despite the essential work many are doing in our communities. It is the temporary immigration system that has pushed our communities out of status, and it is the same immigration system that continues to keep us out. 

The new program includes English language requirements which will exclude many groups of workers and entire communities. Many migrants who otherwise could meet the language requirements will be scrambling to get testing and accreditation done during this short window because of COVID-19 related shutdowns. 

It is crucial that in this moment we assert that all of us are essential. All migrants, no matter what kind of work we do, waged or unwaged, must be included. Permanent resident status is not a gift or a prize to be earned – it is the only way to ensure equality of rights and access to basic services. Anything less permits and produces inequality. 

If you are a migrant who fulfills the criteria below you may be able to apply for permanent resident status. But remember, we won this because of collective action, and we cannot stop until we win STATUS FOR ALL. 

Here’s what migrants are saying

“For us undocumented migrant workers, we know that our work is truly essential. So it is disappointing to see that in this announcement we are excluded. When the government does not address the temporary migrant workers program’s fundamental issue, these changes, although welcomed, indeed fall short of the aspirations of ALL migrants and advocates. It simply reinforces the existing neoliberal agenda within the Canadian immigration system.” 

– Marisol B. Migrante Canada

“Undocumented people like me work on the frontlines in long-term care homes, caring for the sick and the elderly, and in many other essential jobs. Why are we being excluded? Without permanent resident status, we are shut out of healthcare, even the COVID19 vaccine, we can’t defend ourselves against bad bosses, and we live in constant fear of detention and deportation”. 

– Lily, Caregivers Action Centre

“For the first time, some seasonal agricultural workers may have a path to permanent resident status, but the requirement for passing a high level English test excludes the majority of us. This is discrimination. They call us essential, but they continue to exclude us. We demand status for all.”

– Gabriel Flores, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change 

“As essential workers we do permanent work and therefore we should be granted FULL and PERMANENT IMMIGRATION STATUS so we can bring our family the soonest in Canada and be reunited, especially with our children who needed our guidance as their parents. We give so much of our life to improve Canada’s economy by serving our Canadian employers with the best of our service even though we missed our family back home. We shouldn’t wait any longer – full and permanent immigration status for all migrants now!” 

– Judy, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights

“The immigration program announcement excludes migrant student workers like me who do not meet these narrow and arbitrary requirements. We have seen over and over that the government can make changes but is choosing not to make the necessary changes that we all deserve. All migrant and undocumented people deserve full and permanent immigration status! “

– Sashanna, Migrant Students United

 

 

Migrants win path to permanent residence for thousands, but too many are excluded. We need full and permanent immigration status for all.

CANADA, April 14, 2021 — Migrant Rights Network is calling on the federal government to ensure that all migrant and undocumented people in Canada are granted permanent resident status without exception, and that all working class migrants are able to arrive in the future with permanent resident status. Today’s announcement opens up a short-term window for thousands of migrants who are able to meet restrictive criteria, but keeps the fundamentals of the temporary immigration system intact where hundreds of thousands are exploited.

“Migrants bravely spoke up about injustice and forced the federal government to acknowledge that permanent resident status is necessary to be able to access or assert basic rights,” says Syed Hussan, executive director of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change based in Ontario. “Today’s announcement is a start, but without fundamental change through granting full and permanent immigration status for all, it will simply not be enough.”

Over 650,000 temporary work and study permits were issued in 2020, and there are over 1.6 million migrant and undocumented people in Canada. Temporary status means not having equal access to rights and services. Some temporary work programs tie workers to employers, creating a massive power imbalance that makes it impossible for workers to assert basic workplace rights – the abuse faced by farm workers and care workers in COVID-19 provides well documented proof. Study and work permit holders are often unable to access basic healthcare or income supports in times of emergency, and face labour exploitation because of limits on where and how much they can work.

“Undocumented people like me work on the frontlines in long-term care homes, caring for the sick and the elderly, and in many other essential jobs, why are we being excluded?” asked Lily, a member of Caregivers Action Centre. “Without permanent resident status, we are shut out of healthcare, even the COVID19 vaccine, we can’t defend ourselves against bad bosses, and we live in constant fear of detention and deportation”.

Marisol B. from Migrante Canada agreed. “For us undocumented migrant workers, we know that our work is truly essential. So it is disappointing to see that in this announcement we are excluded. When the government does not address the temporary migrant workers program’s fundamental issue, these changes, although welcomed, indeed fall short of the aspirations of ALL migrant workers and advocates. It simply reinforces the existing neoliberal agenda within the Canadian immigration system.”

The only path for permanent resident status for undocumented people is the Humanitarian and Compassionate application, but in 2020, the acceptance rate for these applications dropped to 37% from 65% in 2019. Canada also deported more people in 2020 than in any year since 2015 despite the federal government assurances that it was unsafe and inhumane to deport people during a global pandemic.

“For the first time, some seasonal agricultural workers may have a path to permanent resident status, but the requirement for passing a high level English test excludes the majority of us. This is discrimination. They call us essential, but they continue to exclude us. We demand status for all,” said Gabriel Flores, a member of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change and a Mexican seasonal agricultural worker who was unjustly fired in 2020 for speaking out about the conditions that caused a massive COVID-19 outbreak that took the life of his co-worker Juan Lopez Chaparro.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

  • National: Karen Cocq, Migrant Rights Network, 647-970-8464
  • Alberta: Marco Luciano, 780-966-5908
  • Atlantic: Stacey Gomez, 902-9994458 & Fallon Mawhinney, 9029165510
  • British Columbia: Byron Cruz, 604-315-7725
  • Quebec: Hady, 514-358-8836

Migrant and Undocumented People Expect Full & Permanent Immigration Status for All

Minister Mendicino will make an announcement regarding new “pathways for immigration” on April 14, 2021 at 1:30pm EST. Migrant Rights Network will be available for comment immediately after. 

Canada, April 13, 2021 — The Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s largest migrant led coalition with membership in 9 provinces – calls on Immigration Minister Mendicino to announce immediate permanent resident status for all 1.6 million people in the country currently without it. The Migrant Rights Network also calls on the federal government to ensure that all low-waged migrants that arrive in the future do so with permanent resident status. 

“Any multi-tier system of immigration where some have permanent residency – and therefore rights to decent work, healthcare, family unification and freedom from reprisals – while others are temporary or without status engenders exploitation. The public has seen this exposed in extreme and deadly ways during COVID-19,” says Syed Hussan from the Migrant Rights Network Secretariat. “All of us are essential, nothing short of full and permanent immigration status for all is an acceptable response to the current crisis.” 

BACKGROUND

(1) Status for All is not the same as a ‘Pathway to Immigration’. ‘Pathways’ are multi-step processes in which migrants must remain temporary for years. Temporary status means not having equal access to rights and services. Some temporary work programs tie workers to employers, creating a massive power imbalance that makes it impossible for workers to assert basic workplace rights – the abuse faced by farm workers and care workers in COVID-19 has been well documented. Study and work permit holders are often unable to access basic healthcare, income supports in times of emergency and also face labour exploitation because of limits on where and how much they can work. We do not need more temporariness. We need permanent resident status for all. 

(2) ‘Pathways’ already exist for some temporary residents (care workers, students, refugees, farmworkers, etc.), and they have proven to be nothing but minefields of abuse. ‘Pathway’ programs include educational, language and length of work requirements that are impossible to meet. These requirements breed abuse by forcing workers to accept bad working conditions in the hopes of possibly qualifying for permanent resident status one day. The recently announced ‘Guardian Angels’ program for example, excluded most occupations in healthcare, and were restricted to refugee claimants who had received a work permit. 

(3) Migrants who cannot meet the restrictive requirements of pathway programs often lose their status and are often forced to stay in Canada, excluded from almost all rights and protections. 

(4) Over 450 labour, civil society and environmental organizations and tens of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for full and permanent immigration status for all: www.StatusforAll.ca. 

(5) Migrant Rights Network demands the government meet with migrant organizations to create a Status for All program that includes at least the following:

  • A moratorium on all detentions and deportations is put in place immediately to ensure undocumented people applying for status are protected. During this time, all undocumented and migrant residents in Canada should get immediate and open work authorization and full access to all basic entitlements; 
  • A regularization process must be created where all migrants in the country get permanent residence status or citizenship, without any exclusions by work history, previous immigration status, health status, previous access to social assistance, criminality, and without any other language or education requirements.
  • All low-waged workers arriving in Canada in the future should arrive with Permanent Resident status if they so choose.  

Media Contact:
National – Karen Cocq, Migrant Rights Network, 647-970-8464
Alberta – Vanessa Ortiz, 403-612-7396
Atlantic – Stacey Gomez, 902-9994458
British Columbia – Byron Cruz, 604-315-7725

55 years. Enough is enough.

Today, March 31st, is the 55th anniversary of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). Today marks over half a century of injustice, indignities and exploitation of Black and Latinx people by Canada’s agri-food industry.

This brutality has always been met with organized opposition. The first recorded wildcat strike organized by migrant farm workers was in 1967, less than a year after the program was created. 

Today hundreds of farmworker members of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change are holding simultaneous meetings at 80+ farms to light candles of resistance and make plans to fight for Full and Permanent Immigration Status for All. 

You can support this massive show of worker power by sharing a photo of your own flame of resistance posting online and tagging us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook with #StatusforAll. Speak out today and pledge to support our upcoming four days of action in 2021. 

SAWP followed the creation of the Caribbean Domestic Workers scheme in 1955. These two programs laid the foundation for temporariness in the immigration system. Subsequent governments have only grown these programs.

Now, over 850,000 temporary study and work permits are issued in Canada each year. Most people on these programs are low-waged and racialized. We live and work here but are excluded from labour rights, healthcare, access to education and other social supports. We are separated from our families. Most of us can never get permanent residency and are forced to stay in Canada without any immigration status, and even fewer rights. 

Enough is enough. Today on the 55th anniversary of the SAWP program, we demand an end to temporariness. We demand an equal society and that means permanent immigration status for everyone. 

In 2021, we are taking actions for Status for All and we need you. Join us: 

  • May 9th (Mothers’ Day)
  • June 20th (Fathers Day)
  • July 18-25 (Non-Status March from Montreal to Ottawa) 
  • September 18th (Parliament returns)

As Hady Anne for Solidarity Across Borders in Montreal said this weekend announcing the March to Ottawa: “We are not here to talk about what is possible… We are here to talk about what human dignity and justice require, what we must do to stop the destruction of the world. From 18 July to 25 July, we will take the road to Ottawa to demand Status for All. Mr. Trudeau, we are tired of waiting. We’re coming.” 

Are you with us? Go to your social media today and light your flame of resistance. 

PS: Following the murders in Atlanta of 8 people including Asian women sex workers, our member Butterfly: Asian Migrant Sex Worker project has launched #8CallsforJustice. Please sign on as an organization or individual: https://www.butterflysw.org/8callsforjustice 

A year of closed borders

One year ago today, at 12:01am on March 18, 2020, Canada closed its borders. Today, they remain closed for many including refugees, migrant workers, families and international students. 

On March 16, 2020, as the COVID crisis was first hitting, we at the Migrant Rights Network called for healthcare, worker rights, income support, access to social services, and immigration status for migrant and undocumented people. 

12 months later, we look back and we look ahead. With you, we vow to keep organizing and fighting for full and permanent immigration status for all. 

(1) HEALTHCARE FOR ALL: As COVID-19 raged through 2020, migrants won policies in many provinces to ensure access to healthcare and COVID testing. But in many places these policies are not being implemented and migrants continue to be turned away or charged high fees for life-saving care. Today, we are calling on all provinces and the federal government to put in place concrete measures to ensure safe and dignified access without fear to COVID19 vaccinations.

(2) WORKER PROTECTIONS & INCOME SUPPORTS: As a result of our work, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was extended to migrants, a valid Social Insurance Number was made mandatory part way through 2020 to qualify for the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB). Now with tax season approaching, many migrants are scared of a clawback they cannot afford. We demand a CERB/CRB amnesty. Without income support, migrant people either faced starvation and eviction, or were forced to work in dangerous and sometimes deadly conditions. Farmworkers, care workers, delivery workers, cleaners and other low-wage workers are called ‘essential’ even as we are excluded from essential rights and protections. But we take care of us: Migrants fundraised, set up mutual aid networks and stepped in when governments failed us. Migrants stood up against bad bosses, organized strikes and raised our voices. We will continue to organize for justice and equality.

(3) STATUS FOR ALL: Fundamentally, a fair society with equal rights for all requires that everyone have the same immigration status. This is why migrants organized over 30 rallies, protests and marches calling for Full & Permanent Immigration Status for All. In early 2020, the federal government announced a moratorium on deportations because of the pandemic. But the callous practice of deportation continues: by the end of 2020, Canada had deported more people in 2020 than in the previous 5 years. Just this week, a man who contracted COVID while in immigrartion detention was deported despite showing symptoms. Throughout, migrants organized in detention centers, and in Quebec, many secured their own release. Migrant student workers denounced government policies that punished them for the pandemic by letting their permits run out. They won new work permits, a one-time stopgap to the deportation of 52,000 people. But immigration rules continue to exclude low-waged working class people, particularly undocumented workers and those on employer controlled indentureship permits.

(4) SOCIAL SUPPORTS: While some federal, provincial and municipal supports went towards emergency food boxes, it was primarily donations from people like you that allowed migrant groups to feed communities without work. Poor and working class migrants were only able to ward off evictions, get healthcare, childcare or social supports when we united with our neighbors and co-workers to offer real solidarity in the face of deadly policies.

A year into this pandemic, let us re-commit to building a different future together. Talk to your neighbours, friends and co-workers. Raise your voice. Echo and amplify the demands of migrant and undocumented people. Let us build a just world for all of us. 

Send an email: Support immigration prisoners in COVID19 outbreak

Campaign by Solidarity Across Borders.

Immigration detention is imprisonment without trial because the federal government insists that these migrants will otherwise not show up for their deportation. Dozens are being imprisoned in Quebec even though the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has paused its deportations in Quebec because of the risks of expelling people during a global pandemic.

Please fill out your information above to send a letter and share on social media.

Share this call to action widely! Use the hashtag set #FreeThemAll #StatusForAll along with #HungerStrikeLaval to show your support for the struggle on social media! We encourage you to tag Bill Blair, Marco Mendicino, Justin Trudeau, and other government officials.

Migrant Rights and Health Experts call for Safe and Dignified Access without Fear to COVID19 Vaccines for Migrant and Undocumented Residents

Canada, February 24, 2021 — The Migrant Rights Network along with leading doctors, health policy experts, and labour leaders, is calling for immediate action to ensure that all migrant and undocumented residents of Canada are able to be vaccinated. A letter signed by 270 organizations outlines specific measures that must be implemented in order to make government assurances about universal vaccine access a reality. For the COVID vaccine to be accessible to migrants in a safe and non-coercive manner, the following must be implemented:  

  1. Vaccination must be provided free of charge;
  2. Vaccination must not require a health card or health coverage;
  3. Names, addresses or other identifying information should not be required for vaccination because migrant and undocumented people are fearful of sharing this information; 
  4. No ID information should be shared with federal immigration enforcement;
  5. Vaccine must be accessible (in rural communities, to those who don’t speak English or French, don’t have access to a computer, telephone, etc);
  6. COVID-19 vaccination should not be coercive or mandatory. To protect against this, anti-reprisal protections and permanent resident status must be ensured for migrants that speak up about workplace issues; 
  7. Vaccine providers must be trained so that they don’t turn away people who don’t have health coverage or are fearful of sharing their ID;
  8. Anti-racist public education is necessary to address vaccine hesitancy. Migrants have well-founded reasons to distrust medical systems because of histories of violence and coercion;
  9. Universal healthcare for all; and 
  10. Full and permanent immigration status for all. 

QUOTES

“I am on the frontlines everyday just like everyone else who lives and works in the home but while they are now better protected from the virus, I am not. Undocumented workers are already denied access to healthcare, housing, social services and legal rights. Now we are being denied the COVID vaccine. But undocumented workers make up part of Canadian society and this needs to be acknowledged by the government. The vaccine should be a basic human right for all who live here. All migrants deserve permanent status so that we can have equal rights and protections and be reunited with our families.” – Lily, an undocumented worker at a Long-Term Care facility in Toronto, who was denied the COVID vaccine, member of Caregivers Action Centre

“Migrant and undocumented people are at the forefront of the COVID crisis and deserve safe and dignified access to the COVID vaccine. Hundreds have told us they are afraid that if they get the vaccine their information will be handed over to immigration enforcement, or that employers will use the vaccine to coerce them. We call on the federal government to give full and permanent immigrations status to all migrant and undocumented people immediately, so that migrants can access the protection they need. We also call on the provinces to ensure universal health care for all not just in policy, but in practice.” – Byron Cruz, Sanctuary Health & Migrant Rights Network 

“Early in the pandemic, many provinces made available medical care that was previously unfunded for those without, or with the wrong residency, immigration or citizenship status. However, many of these announcements were made without proper implementation plans. As a result, previously excluded groups continued to be refused care at the point of access. As we approach the end of this pandemic, we cannot make the same mistake with vaccines.”- Dr Danyaal Raza, Board Chair, Canadian Doctors for Medicare

“Everyone living in Canada is covered by the 5 principles of the Canada Health Act. This means everyone has universality and accessibility to health care when needed. This right must include migrants’ access to the COVID vaccine and requires measures to ensure this right is guaranteed in practice, not just in policy.” – Pauline Worsfold, RN, Chair, Canadian Health Coalition & Secretary-Treasurer, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions 

“My mother is very ill and I am her primary caregiver, so I have to limit my outings to avoid putting her at risk since we do not have any health care. The curfew in Quebec means I am afraid to go out in case I get stopped by the police and asked for ID. My mother is in the most at-risk category for COVID but we don’t even know if she will get the vaccine because we have no status. This is why we are asking for a status for all. No one should be left behind.” – Samira, undocumented migrant and member of Solidarity Across Borders, Montreal. 

Background

  • 1 in 23 people in Canada – over 1.6 million – don’t have permanent resident status. Many are in essential jobs including healthcare, cleaning, construction, delivery and agriculture. 
  • Many migrants in Canada don’t have a health card either because they are undocumented or because their work or study permits, to which health coverage is tied, have expired due to government processing delays. Those without health cards are being denied vaccination. 
  • Undocumented people are afraid that their personal information will be shared with federal immigration enforcement if they go to get vaccinated. 
  • Some employers have threatened migrants with job loss and deportation if they aren’t vaccinated. This is so employers don’t lose profits as a result of outbreaks or workers falling ill. 
  • Racialized and migrant communities have faced generations of exploitation and abuse at the hands of medical systems and scientific research. No specific training for service providers or public education and outreach to racialized migrants has been developed to ensure safe and dignified access to vaccination. 
  • The only way to ensure equal rights is to ensure everyone has the same immigration status. Migrants continue to raise the call for full and permanent immigration status for all: https://migrantrights.ca/status-for-all/ 

Media Contact: Karen Cocq, 647-970-8464, karen@migrantworkersalliance.org.
Please email us for recording of press conference that took place at 11am EST, February 24, 2021.

 

27,000 new immigrant invitations

27,000 migrants were invited to apply for permanent residency through the Express Entry system earlier this month. That’s a 440% increase from the previous round. Some of our members and friends can hope to qualify for PR now. Clearly, our calls for full and permanent immigration status are being heard.

But this is not a simple good news story. 

Canada’s Express Entry system assigns points for age, language, education, work experience and more. While the points required for this latest invitation are the lowest ever, migrants in these large numbers were invited to apply for permanent residency in the ‘Canadian Experience Class’ (CEC). To qualify for CEC, applicants must, among other requirements, have 12 months of high waged work in Canada in managerial or technical jobs. Migrants in low waged work are not allowed to apply.

Farm workers, care workers, those working in food processing, retail, delivery, warehouse, cleaning, construction, and workers in all those other jobs Canadians have come to call ‘essential’, are deemed “low-skilled” by the immigration system. 

Few avenues exist for them to get rights and permanent residence under current rules. The ‘pathways to status’ for low-waged farm workers and care workers require high language and education scores that effectively shut them out. 

Meanwhile, the government has increased detentions and deportations. 2020 saw the highest number of deportations since 2015. Undocumented migrants are supposed to be able to apply to stay through a ‘Humanitarian and Compassionate’ application. But those applications are being denied at record high rates right now. 

The truth is this: Canadian immigration policy has always discriminated based on race, class and disability. Poor and working class racialized migrants continue to be denied stability, security and equality because the immigration system keeps them temporary or undocumented. 

Clearly the government can easily grant people PR, but chooses to cherry-pick and discriminate instead. The federal government is scrambling to meet its immigration targets by granting status to some, while deporting and denying others. This is a divide and conquer strategy that pits “deserving” migrants against “undeserving” migrants. But permanent status is not a gift for the deserving – it is about equality. It is a means to access healthcare, education, labour protections, family reunification and other basic rights. And all of us deserve the same rights.

Full and permanent immigration status for ALL. We are all essential. Add your voice to ours, sign now!

Vaccines for All!

Take action now to ensure dignified and free access to vaccines for all without fear

Dance Dance for Status for All!

Online Dance Party for Status for All!

~Performances~
~DJs~
~Dress up / Mask Up / Or Keep your Videos Off~
~Invite your friends~
~Dance in your living room~

Join us in joy, in celebration, with love for our liberation. Let’s move together to ensure full and permanent immigration status for all.

+++++
WHEN: Saturday, January 30, 2021
12pm Van, 1pm Edmonton, 2pm Winnipeg, 3pm Toronto, 4pm Halifax.
WHERE: Wherever YOU are!
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Register now: https://us02web.zoom.us/…/tZYudOuspzoqE9MMdYd2U8xGGS4LL…
Your information will be kept private, and never shared with anyone.

Our Day, 2020 (International Migrants Day)

Today is International Migrants Day, 2020. 

For us migrants, 2020 has been a human rights catastrophe. We’ve been on the front line of the COVID crisis, doing the lowest paid and most dangerous jobs growing and delivering food, cleaning buildings, and taking care of children and the elderly. At the same time, many of us have been excluded from even basic healthcare and income support in a pandemic. We have grieved as our families around the world have suffered the impacts of the coronavirus. Impacts that worsen as countries like Canada hoard the vaccine, while those in the Global South go without. 

2020 is also the year of our courage. In the face of hunger and sickness, together with you, we raised our voices and our fists. This is the year that: 

Take Action by Joining Our Call for Status for All!

The Migrant Rights Network is Canada’s first and only cross-country alliance of racialized migrant-led organizations. In addition to our collective actions focused on federal changes, our nearly 50 member organizations in 10 provinces fought for access to healthcare, social assistance, and worker rights at provincial and municipal levels winning necessary changes. We raised hundreds of thousands dollars to distribute food and essential supplies to migrants struggling in times of COVID-19. 

We launched two years ago today. In our founding statement we wrote: “Immigration policies separate us. Government policies polarize and divide us. We are given different rights on the basis of the places of our birth, the colour of our skin, the accents we have, and the bodies we inhabit. We are denied labour protections, decent healthcare, the ability to change jobs, and to be with our families. We reject these categories of migrant, irregular, refugee, undocumented, citizen. We assert our humanity.”

We assert our collective humanity by rejecting the systems of temporary and undocumented migration through which 1 in 23 people in Canada are without basic rights because they don’t have permanent resident status. Status for All has been a call of many of our organizations for decades, but it is only in 2020 that we have consolidated ourselves into a single campaign with the support of over 400 organizations, and 22,000 people. We are not simply calling for immigration reform. Full and permanent immigration status for all is a call for fundamental transformation of our economic and social systems away from profit and exploitation and towards social liberation and care. It is a rejection of war, capitalist exploitation and climate policies that force migrants to leave our homes in the first place. 

Despite the myriad crises of 2020, we have succeeded not just in winning changes to laws and taking care of our communities, but many of our organizations have succeeded in deepening democratic leadership and mass participation of migrants in our work. Together, we are organizing our section of the working class. We are doing so in alliance with Indigenous, labour, climate and other movements. 

As we end 2020, we urge you to stay organized. Join actions and meetings at work and in your community to build organizations capable of meeting the coming moment. We cannot and will not return to the old normal. Let us make 2021 a year where we build the world we deserve to live in.

Together, we will win!

July 4 – Montreal

July 4 – Toronto

July 4 – Richmond

August 23 – Windsor

August 23 – Vancouver

August 23 – Toronto

August 23 – Sudbury

August 23 – Sherbrooke

August 23 – Regina

August 23 – Niagara

August 23 – Montreal

August 23 – Halifax

September 20 – Toronto

September 20 – St Johns

September 20 – Sudbury

September 20 – Vancouver

September 20 – St Catharines

September 20 – Montreal

September 20 – Halifax

September 20 – Hamilton

September 20 – Kelowna

September 20 – Vancouver

November 1 – Montreal

November 1 – Vancouver

November 1 – Toronto

November 1 – Sherbrooke

November 1 – Niagara

Second Wave, Same Crisis

We are eight months into a pandemic and yet it feels like we are back at the beginning. 

Yet again, there are COVID-19 outbreaks affecting migrant workers on farms. Yet again, migrant and undocumented people are losing jobs as regions shut down. And still no action to save lives and livelihoods. 

Any day now, the federal government will release its ‘fiscal update’, a sort of mini-budget which will outline the government’s plan to ensure a just recovery. We already know their priorities: all but the Green Party this week voted against an NDP motion to create a 1% tax on individual wealth over $20 million. 

It is crucial that decision makers hear from you that there can be no just recovery without full and permanent immigration status for all. Click here to call PM Trudeau’s office to tell them you expect migrant justice to be on the agenda.

But we must also share this same message with our neighbours and friends. A recent poll showed that 40% of respondents in Canada want to reduce permanent immigration numbers. We need to explain to our friends and families that migrants are an essential part of the fabric of communities, and reducing immigration means reducing rights for our friends and neighbours [click here to share on facebook, and twitter. Scroll below to download and share on instagram].

Tens of thousands have lost their jobs as the second wave of COVID-19 ravages migrant and racialized communities. Some that have fallen sick from COVID-19 report not being allowed to return to work even when they have recovered. 

Instead of supporting these essential members of our communities and taxing COVID-19 profiteers, federal laws deny migrants without a valid Social Insurance Number, particularly undocumented people, access to the Canada Recovery Benefit. 

Undocumented people and those awaiting their immigration permit renewals don’t have healthcare in most provinces and must pay up front. This includes students, workers and refugees numbering in the tens of thousands. Even COVID-19 testing and treatment is exorbitantly expensive.

Migrant farmworkers are again falling sick in new COVID-19 outbreaks, just as the season is ending, preventing workers from returning home. Sick workers are missing flights. Those stuck in Canada are without work, wages or income support, abandoned in unheated housing as winter sets in. 

Migrant care workers are either trapped in employers’ homes working longer hours without pay, or being laid off again in this second wave. Instead of supporting them, the federal government just shut down the home care worker path to permanent residency for 2020. 

Migrant students continue to pay high tuition fees but don’t have access to essential supports and services. Those that have graduated and are working in essential but low-waged jobs are not allowed to apply for permanent residency. Their permits are expiring but the federal government still hasn’t made them renewable, meaning thousands face deportation before year-end. 

Instead of supporting migrants and ensuring permanent immigration status for all, the federal government is devoting resources to detaining and deporting people during a global pandemic. This week, friends and supporters of long-term care home worker Mamadou Konaté rallied to stop his deportation. Ebrahim Toure was detained and released a second time and is facing deportation to Gambia just days after his baby is due, after immigration enforcement used false documents to get him a passport. His crime? Pirating DVDs.

If there is one thing this pandemic has revealed is that there can be no return to the way things were. And that means that the immigration system – and the racism and exploitation on which it is based and which it perpetuates – must be completely overhauled.  

Right now, PM Trudeau is working on a plan to recover from COVID-19. He needs to hear from you that this plan must include dollars behind full and permanent immigration status for all. Status for all is the only way to ensure equal access to rights and protections. Make the call. We don’t have a minute to lose. 

Download and share these images on Instagram. 

Advisory: Day of the Dead Marked With Mourning & Calls for Full & Permanent Immigration Status for All

October 30, 2020 – Migrants, refugees, undocumented people, workers and students are taking action on Day of the Dead – November 1st and 2nd to honour the lives of migrants that have died during COVID-19, and to call for full and permanent immigration status for all as the second wave of COVID-19 ramps up. Actions including die-ins, altars for the dead, and rallies will take place in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Niagara, Sherbrooke, Sudbury & Halifax and come just days after a stunning report that exposed migrant care worker exploitation during COVID-19. Day of the Dead is a very important celebration to honor and celebrate the departed in Mexico and Guatemala, dating back to Indigenous traditions centuries old.

Cross-Canada Media Contact: info@migrantrights.ca

NOVEMBER 1 Details & Contact Information

  • MONTRÉAL, 5pm, Radio-Canada, 1400, Boul. René-Lévesque est. Contact: Solidarity Across Borders, 514-222-0205. 
  • NIAGARA, 7:30pm, Facebook Live. Contact: Kit Andres, 905-324-2840
  • SHERBROOKE, 2pm, 175 Rue Queen. Contact: Nastaran Daniali: (819) 416-2864.
  • SUDBURY, 2pm, Bell Park – Miner’s Monument. Contact: Scott Florence, 705-470-3323
  • TORONTO, 5pm, Dufferin Grove Park. Contact: Syed Hussan, 416-453-3632
  • VANCOUVER, 1pm, Grandview Park. Contact: Byron Cruz, 604-315-7725; Julie Diesta – 604 874 0649

NOVEMBER 2 Details & Contact Information

  • HALIFAX, 6:30pm, 2221 Maitland St. Contact: No one is illegal – Halifax/K’jipuktuk – noii.hfx@gmail.com 

Background

  • At least 1 in 23 people in Canada (over 1.6 million) are non permanent residents. 
  • Thousands of migrants have gotten COVID-19, many have died because they are excluded from universal healthcare, access to emergency income supports, and decent work. Many are separated from their families. 
  • Migrants are unable to fully protect themselves during COVID-19 because of lack of emergency support, and because speaking out about unsafe work and housing conditions can result in deportation, homelessness, or not being able to return.  
  • Over 350 organizations have released a letter calling for full and permanent immigration status for all: https://migrantrights.ca/status-for-all/

RELEASE: Migrant care workers expose exploitation ‘Behind Closed Doors’ during COVID-19 in new report

Toronto, October 28, 2020 — Migrant care worker organizations are releasing a report today documenting the experiences of hundreds of racialized migrant domestic workers during COVID-19. The report, “Behind Closed Doors: Exposing Migrant Care Worker Exploitation During COVID-19”, features shocking stories of abuse including working every day without a break, thousands of dollars in stolen wages, workers being trapped in employers’ homes for months, and being laid off and evicted. The report documents how these crises threaten workers’ ability to unite with their families and access permanent residency, and calls for full and permanent immigration status for all migrants as the only solution. 

“I came to Canada for my future and my family’s future, but my employer took advantage of me and underpaid me because of my tied work permit” said Karen Savitra, a migrant care worker from the Philippines who has been in Canada since 2016 and is a member of the Caregivers’ Action Centre. She worked 12 hours a day, 5 days a week during COVID-19, but was only paid $1,440 per month until she was fired because her employer moved out of town to escape the pandemic. “We should be given permanent residency upon arrival, along with our families, so that there is no complication for anything. They allowed us to come to Canada, we worked here, now we want fairness.”

The report is based on over 200 surveys that were filled out by migrant care workers from across the country. Nearly 1 in 2 respondents that kept working during COVID-19 reported longer hours of work. Over 40% of respondents also reported not being paid for any extra hours of work, averaging approximately $226 in unpaid wages per week, or $6,552 in unpaid wages per worker over the last six months.

“I am worried about being without status. It’s very hard. It’s very scary,” said Harpeet Kaur, a migrant care worker from India and member of the Caregivers’ Action Centre, speaking at the report launch today. Her work permit is expiring in November, and according to the terms of her work permit, she is not allowed to work for any other employer. “Without full immigration status, migrants like me don’t have the power to protect ourselves even in COVID-19. It’s not fair.”

One in 3 survey respondents reported being forbidden by their employers to leave the house, take public transit, buy groceries, send remittances to families abroad or visit doctors during COVID-19. Workers were barred from meeting with friends or partners.

In one case, a worker reported her bank account being frozen but not being able to visit the bank to resolve the issue because her employer would not let her leave the house. As a result, the worker was unable to send remittances to her family for 3 months.

More than 1 in 3 survey respondents lost their jobs during COVID-19, and were forced to move out and try to find new work. One in 3 respondents that lost work reported on-going problems in accessing the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or Employment Insurance (EI). Nearly half of all respondents reported concerns about employers processing their Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs). Without an LMIA, there is no work permit and workers cannot complete the 24 months of work necessary to apply for permanent residency. 

“I’m so worried because I need a job to support my family,” says Vancouver-based Judy Cabato, a migrant care worker from the Philippines. Judy, a member of the Vancouver Committee for Domestic Worker and Caregiver Rights, was laid off in April. She has completed the requirements to apply for permanent residency but application processing is delayed due to COVID-19. Her work permit, and therefore her health card and Social Insurance Number, also expired. As a result, she cannot access emergency income support or healthcare. “ I’m here in Canada to work. I want to work. My family needs me to work. I am appealing to the government – grant us, all migrants, without exception, Full and Permanent Immigration Status For All, and Now!”

Over 10,000 people and 350 organizations have joined with the Migrant Rights Network to call for full and permanent immigration status for all. Actions are taking place across Canada on November 1 and 2, 2020 including in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax, Sudbury, Niagara and Sherbrooke: www.MigrantRights.ca/Nov1. Media is invited. 

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE REPORT & WORKER QUOTES

Please read the full report including recommendations here:
www.MigrantRights.ca/BehindClosedDoors 

Lack of permanent resident status makes it impossible for workers to assert their rights

  • “I work non-stop as a live-in caregiver under elderly care program. Since pandemic I am working 24/7 for months without the chance of having my off day during the weekend. I have no choice since my work permit is tied to my employer until I am able to complete my 24 months experience and my contract that I signed with them.” 
  • “Treatment for care workers here in Canada isn’t fair. The employer’s taking advantage of workers without permanent paper.”

Workers are being forced to work long hours without pay

  • “I’m working more, longer hours! Since I am staying in the house even though I am on my day off I still have to work and no overtime pay.” 
  • “I’m working more, longer hours!, my employer is very rich and big house they love to party and i works long hours then they didn’t pay me for my over time”

Employers have trapped migrant workers in homes

  • “I really want to go back to my apartment and it’s only a walking distance from my employer’s home but they won’t let me”
  • “I can’t even go out because my employer is scared that I might bring them the virus.” 
  • I’m just concerned about the 12-13 hours work with just 8hrs and late pay. Need to work on Saturdays and Sundays in order not to be starved. They’re not forcing me to stay just inside the house, however, they’re not allowing me to be in public transportation. Whenever i want to go outside and have some walk, I am obliged to inform them, and be back immediately. Therefore, it is simply a strategy not to leave the house during the weekend. I’m so sad for no freedom at all.”
  • “Due to the virus, I have no freedom, I hope that I can apply for PR in advance.”

Many workers who were laid off cannot access income support because of expired SINs caused by permit processing delays

  • “They stopped my EI because my SIN expired. I can’t find a job because my SIN and Working Permit are expired. What will I do?”

Many workers are concerned about being unable to complete program requirements due to COVID-19:

24 months of work necessary to apply for Permanent Residence

  • “I’ve been in Canada for almost 2 years now but i have only completed 7 months of on-permit experience in the 2 years i was here. 24 months is a really long requirement for getting PR. They should at least launch a program too for us soon so we are able to apply PR. Working while there is COVID is risky too with us nannies, not only for health care workers. We keep the children safe and we can’t go anywhere since we are very cautious of riding public transit. They should open another path since there’s lots of application backlogs and pandemic is still going on. Or better create another program for us to easily get our PR now. The new pathway takes lots of requirements and long processing time.”

High English language requirements

  • “I’m 4 years with my employer but can’t apply to Permanent Residence because I failed the English test. My employer released me even though she did need a live in caregiver.”
  • “I’m stressed with my bosses divorce fight and they put me in the middle all the time. I can’t focus on doing my paperwork and can’t pass the English test. I am a single mum with 4 kids. I am working hard to provide for my kids, and now I’m worried that I can’t reunite with them because of the English test and the education evaluation.”

Lack of sick leave and healthcare are exacerbating increased mental and physical health concerns

  • “I am still working during the coronavirus crisis, I am really concerned that I can not get PR if I get sick.”
  • “I’m worried because I don’t have status since I already applied for my PR and open work permit. My SIN and my OHIP both need to be renewed but I can’t.”
  • “I am feeling so depressed about my family if I will get PR or not. Working without family here alone it’s too difficult”.

Family separation is a primary concern for migrant care workers

  • “I’m always thinking about my family back home. This pandemic caused me so much stress thinking  how to bring my family here in Canada. It’s not easy to be alone.”
  • “I applied for my PR in September 2019 and still no response. Just a few weeks ago I received an email to confirm that I couldn’t sponsor my only son because he is 23 years old now. I am really so sad about it because I have only one son. COVID delayed everything.“
  • “I want to reunite with my family as soon as possible. My kid was only 4 years old when I left home. I do hope Canada will make it easy for us to reunite with family easily.”

Media Contact
Syed Hussan, 416-453-3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org 

 

Behind Closed Doors: Exposing Migrant Care Worker Exploitation During COVID-19

Racialized migrant care workers from across Canada are speaking out about the exploitation they have faced during COVID-19, and calling on the federal government to ensure full and permanent immigration status for all.

TAKE ACTION TO SUPPORT MIGRANT CARE WORKERS!
Sign the petition for Status for All | Join an action on November 1st or 2nd near you

Watch the video and then scroll below to read the report

Behind Closed Doors: Exposing Migrant Care Worker Exploitation During COVID-19

The shocking new report, which compiles hundreds of surveys filled out by migrant care workers during COVID-19, tells a story of entrapment, long hours, and thousands of dollars in stolen wages. It shows the enormous power employers have to abuse and exploit, and the ways in which migrant women are refusing to be silent.

Read the press release with key highlights of the report here.

Authored by Caregivers Action Centre, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Worker and Caregiver Rights, Caregiver Connection Education and Support Organization and Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, the report is endorsed by the Alberta Careworkers Association, PINAY Quebec, Migrante Canada, Migrante Alberta, and Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers (ADDPD/ARHW).

Click here to download the report

Day of the Dead Celebrations for Status for All!

On November 1st and 2nd, communities across the country took action online and on the streets to honor migrants that have lost their lives to COVID-19 and unjust immigration laws and call for full and permanent immigration status for all. We are in the second wave of the virus, but support and services for essential migrants are missing. Migrant workers, students, refugees, undocumented people, sex workers and others are being turned away from healthcare, emergency income supports, decent work, and other basic services at a time when we need it the most. Fees for education and other services are incredibly high. We are fighting FULL & PERMANENT IMMIGRATION STATUS FOR ALL, join us!

Add your name! Sign the petition

In Montreal, over a 100 people organized through Solidarity Across Borders braved the rain and cold and did a die-in outside CBC / Radio Canada offices. Watch live stream here.

In Niagara, organizers and workers from the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change held a vigil at the site where Zenaida, one of our farmworker leaders, died last year, watch the live stream here. Then, organizers and workers created an altar at the offices of local Liberal MP, Chris Bittle’s office.

In Sherbrooke Collectif ENSEMBLE avec les personnes MIGRANTES CONTRE le RACISME rallied outside of Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau’s office. Organizers and individuals were invited to sign the petition and join the campaign.

In Toronto member organizations of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change led by LatinX members created an altar for workers that have lost their lives and called for Status for All. See photos here, and CBC Toronto’s report on the action here.

Over 100 people gathered in Vancouver coordinated by Sanctuary Health and Committee for Domestic Worker and Caregiver Rights to call for Status for All! See more photos here.

In Sudbury, the Sudbury Workers Education and Action Centre organized a community gathering and meeting. Read more about it in the Sudbury Star here and in Halifax, the Migrant Worker Rights Working Group organized a film screening of El Contrato. Read an op-ed from the working group here.
At the same time, dozens of national organizations across the country issued social media statements in support of #StatusforAll. Search for #StatusforAll on all platforms to see all the groups speaking up!

 

Migrants Rally Across Canada In Lead Up to Throne Speech

CANADA – Migrants, refugees, undocumented people, workers and students are taking action on September 18-20 in 10 cities to call for full and permanent immigration status for all. These actions come just days before the throne speech where Prime Minister Trudeau is expected to announce a new mandate for COVID-19 recovery.  The cross-country day of action is coordinated by the Migrant Rights Network, Canada’s migrant justice coalition. On September 14, a coalition of over 300 organizations which include over 8 million people released a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau calling for full and permanent immigration status. This comes after months of protest, led by undocumented migrants and other migrants with precarious status, demanding a fully inclusive regularization program. Read the statement here: www.statusforall.ca

Actions & Media Contacts
Cross-Country Contact: Syed Hussan, Migrant Rights Network – 416-453-3632, hussan@mgrantworkersalliance.org

September 18, 2020

  • KELOWNA: Contact: Radical Action with Migrants in Agriculture, 250-215-3415
  • VANCOUVER: Contact: CDWCR, 778-881-8345 and Sanctuary Health, 604-315-7725

September 20, 2020

  • TORONTO: September 20, 2pm, Dundas Square. Contact: Syed Hussan, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, 416-453-3632 
  • MONTREAL: September 20, 2pm, Bureau Premier Ministre Legault, 2001 ave McGill College. Contact: Solidarity Across Borders, 514-222-0205
  • HAMILTON: September 20, 2pm, 1579 Main St. W.., march to MP Filomena Tassi’s office 1686 Main St. West. Contact: Jennifer Hompoth, 416-960-3098.
  • ST CATHARINES: September 20, 2pm, MP Chris Bittle’s office, 61 Geneva Street. Contact: Kit Andres, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, 905-324-2840 
  • SUDBURY: 3 PM, Marc Serré office, 2914 Hwy 69 N, Unit 1, Val Caron
  • Online actions are also taking place in Fredericton, Kitchener and St. John’s. More actions are being updated see https://migrantrights.ca/sep20/ for the latest. 

Background

  • At least 1 in 23 people in Canada (over 1.6 million) are non permanent residents. 
  • Migrants are on various study, work or humanitarian permits, or without documentation at all. 
  • Many migrants are excluded from universal healthcare, access to emergency income supports, and decent work. Many are separated from their families. 
  • Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, refugees, students and undocumented people have lost their lives and livelihoods in COVID-19. 
  • Migrants are unable to fully protect themselves during COVID-19 because of lack of emergency support, and because speaking out about unsafe work and housing conditions can result in deportation, homelessness, or not being able to return.  
  • The federal government announced a “pathway to permanent residency for some asylum claimants working in the health-care sector during the COVID-19 pandemic” on August 14th. However, COVID-19 does not differentiate between people, and neither should the government response. 
  • Over 300 organızatıons ıssued a joint letter to Prıme Mınıster Trudeau callıng for full and permanent resıdent status for all thıs week: www.StatusforAll.ca

Hundreds of groups with over 8 million members call for equal rights and permanent immigration status for migrants amidst COVID-19 recovery

Press conference, 9am, September 14, 2020. Contact for video.
Syed Hussan, 416-453-3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org

Toronto, September 14, 2020 — This morning, as the federal Liberal cabinet meets to set their priorities for the Throne Speech, over 280 organizations that include 8 million people are calling for a fair society with equal rights for migrants. Faith, labour, climate and Indigenous leaders are sending a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau stating, “We call for a single-tier immigration system, where everyone in the country has the same rights. All migrants, refugees and undocumented people in the country must be regularized and given full immigration status now without exception. All migrants arriving in the future must do so with full and permanent immigration status.” The full letter and list of signatories will be released during the press conference. 

The full statement and signatories is at www.StatusforAll.ca (www.StatutpourTous.ca for French). 

Migrants in Canada are hit hard by the COVID-19, with many dying and thousands unable to access the emergency care and support that others in Canada have relied on. At least 1,300 farm workers have contracted COVID-19 just in Ontario. The pandemic has revealed the extent to which Canada relies on migrants to grow our food, care for our families, deliver our packages, and support our schools. And yet, while migrants form the backbone of this country, they are relegated to an underclass with substandard rights and precarious status, compounding their hardship. Trudeau has promised “to build back better.”  This must include equal rights and full immigration status for migrants.  

“For far too long, migrant workers have been denied equal rights in Canada. They have been subjected to recruiter corruption, employer exploitation, poverty wages, treacherous work, harassment, intimidation, discrimination, and threats of deportation. Today, the Labour movement, not only here in Ontario, but across the country, reaffirms this call for full and permanent immigration status for all”, said Patty Coates, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour. The OFL is Canada’s largest provincial labour federation, representing over one million Ontario workers belonging to 54 affiliated unions. Provincial labour federations representing unions in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Northern Territories, Nova Scotia, PEI, Saskatchewan, and Yukon are also signatories to the statement.

The letter initiated by Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s only national migrant-led coalition –  highlights how, “Migrants, refugees, and undocumented people want to take care of their families and be active members of their communities. But federal immigration rules tip the scales against them.”

“Canada is the 10th largest contributor to global climate change, which is forcing millions of people from their communities as they flee environmental destruction, conflict driven by increasing resource scarcity, and massive land grabs that give way to huge development projects – including Canadian-owned mining and extractive activities. Migrants who make their way to Canada deserve to live with dignity, respect, and status. The Canadian government can and must make choices now to allow the care and solidarity that are shaping our experience of the present to transform our future,” says Catherine Abreu, Executive Director, Climate Action Network, Canada’s largest climate coalition representing over 100 organizations. 

Major environmental organizations including 350.org, The Leap, Council of Canadians, Environmental Defence Canada, Blue Green Canada and Wilderness Committee have also added their voice to the open letter that reads, “Full immigration status for all is an essential step towards eliminating inequalities in the workplace and necessary for a transition to a just and sustainable economy of care.”

“Extraordinary times call for bold action. In taking this step, Canada will not only sustain our population and expand our economy, we will strengthen families, honour essential workers and build cohesive community with our neighbours. Status for all is racial, labour, and social justice—wrapped into one. It just makes good sense,” added Jennifer Henry, Executive Director of KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives. KAIROS is Canada’s faith based coalition of 10 churches and religious organizations. The United Church of Canada, Islamic Social Services Association, Loretto Sisters Canada and Office of the National Indigenous Anglican Archbishop are also signatories to the letter. 

Over the last 6 months, Migrant Rights Network members have organized over 30 protests for full and permanent immigration status for all. Today’s open letter, signed by organizations representing all sectors of society from across the country, shows that migrants are not alone. The next day of action is on September 20: www.MigrantRights.ca/Sep20. 

The letter outlines how, “COVID-19 has exposed deep inequalities in our society. The fault lines are gendered and racialized: the worst impacts are being felt by women and in Indigenous, Black and Brown communities.”

Lindsey Bacigal, Director of Communications for Indigenous Climate Action, a national Indigenous led climate organization, agrees and added, “Migrants and Indigenous Peoples share similar experiences of injustice in so-called Canada. Full and permanent status for all is an important step in rectifying this, while also working towards creating a just and equitable future where our communities can do more than just survive, but we can thrive. Anything less allows for systems of oppression – and those that uphold them – to continue to benefit from the injustices our communities face.”

Mark Hancock, National President, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) added, “Thousands of migrant workers and undocumented people, mainly racialized workers, are doing essential work that supports us all. They’re being exploited because of their immigration status, and that has to stop. CUPE stands with migrant workers in their fight against discrimination, low wages, and dangerous conditions, and calls on the Canadian government to end this unfair and unequal treatment, and ensure all migrants, refugees and undocumented people have the right to live and work in Canada.” CUPE is Canada’s largest union and is a signatory to the letter, along with Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union. United Steelworkers, National Union of Public and General Employees and SEIU Local 2 are among many national and provincial labour signatories.

Other signatories of note include Oxfam, Canadian Civil Liberties Association, ACORN, Leadnow, Canadian Federation of Students, SumofUs and the federal body of immigration and settlement agencies, Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance. 

###

www.MigrantRights.ca 

 

Sep 20: Day of Action for Status for All!

From September 18-20, 2020, just days before politicians return to Parliament, a single message echoed from St. John’s to Vancouver and Montreal to Sudbury; from migrant workers, refugees, undocumented people, international students and allies: we demand full and permanent immigration status for all now.

Add your name! Just 24 hours till Parliament returns!

Vancouver – CDWCR and Sanctuary Health dropped banners over major highways and intersections.
Kelowna – RAMA dropped banners over major highways and intersections.
40+ people marched to MP Filomena Tassi’s office in Hamilton.
Hundreds of people marched in Montreal, insisting that no one should be left behind (read on La Presse)
Migrant students in St John’s did an online action for #Status for All. International students spoke out on CBC.
Banner drop in Halifax 
Posters covered MP Chris Biddle’s office in St Catharines (read more in The Standard)
Migrants gathered at MP offices in Sudbury to call for Status for All (read more in Sudbury Star)
In Toronto, rallies at the four corners of Yonge & Dundas brought migrants together for a single-tier immigration system (read more at CBC).

This Wednesday, the Trudeau government will announce its priorities and its plan for the new session of Parliament. Opposition parties will have to decide where they stand and who they are willing to fight for. We have no time to lose. We need you to help us get louder! Take action by calling on PM Trudeau to ensure Status for All.

We have seen how the economic and social crisis that came to a head with COVID-19 has forced millions into deeper poverty and economic exploitation, while leaving the richest few unscathed. There can be no recovery without undoing the economic, political, and social systems that produced these inequalities. And that means a full overhaul of an immigration system that has tipped the scales against racialized migrants for so long. A fair society, a just society, means full immigration status now. 

But no matter what happens this week, we will keep organizing for justice. Each of us has a role to play. We must bring more people into the movement because it is only together that we will win.

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ADVISORY: Migrants Rally Across Canada Calling for Expansion of Regularization Program to All on August 23

Migrants, refugees, undocumented people, workers and students are taking to the streets on August 23rd to call for full and permanent immigration status for all. Parliament may be prorogued but migrants are still in crisis. Actions in ten cities and five provinces are calling for the expansion of the newly announced pathway to permanent residency for some refugees in healthcare to include everyone in the country without permanent resident status. COVID-19 has worsened existing inequalities and with fears of a second wave on the horizon, swift action is needed to ensure migrants are not put in further jeopardy. The cross-country day of action is coordinated by the Migrant Rights Network, Canada’s migrant justice coalition. The Migrant Rights Network is calling on all political parties to ensure a plan for regularization is announced in the upcoming speech from the throne. 

August 23, 2020 Actions & Media Contacts

  • NATIONAL CONTACT: Karen Cocq, Migrant Rights Network – 647-970-8464 [EN/FR]
  • TORONTO: 2:15pm. Immigration and Refugee Board and CBSA Offices (74 Victoria Street). Contact: Sarom Rho, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 647-858-2854 
  • MONTREAL: Contact: Solidarity Across Borders – 514-809-0773 
    • Montréal-Nord: 2pm, Henri Bourassa metro (in front of the IGA)
    • Parc Ex: 2pm, Parc metro
    • Côte-des-neiges: 2pm, Plamondon metro (Van Horne exit)
    • Downtown: 2pm, Berri UQAM (Émilie Gamelin exit)
  • NIAGARA: 1pm, Niagara Detention Centre (1355 Uppers Lane). Contact: Kit Andres, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 905-324-2840. 
  • VANCOUVER: 3pm, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (877 Expo Blvd). Contact: Nayeli Jimenez – 778-874-4977.
  • REGINA: 1pm, MP Michael Kram Office (Quance St 2723 E). Contact: Gurjinder Singh Lehal – pres@ursu.ca or 431-997-9949
  • SHERBROOKE: 2pm, Bureau d’Élisabeth Brière, députée fédérale de Sherbrooke (1650 Rue King Ouest). Contact: Fritzna Blaise Malebranche: (819) 342-9693; Nastaran Daniali: (819) 416-2864 Ensemble avec les personnes migrantes contre le racisme.
  • WINDSOR: 3pm, Immigration and Refugee and CBSA Offices (1250 Walker Rd).  
  • OTTAWA: 2pm, Immigration and Refugee Board (344 Slater Street). Contact: Erin Leigh, Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW) – 613-858-5136
  • HALIFAX: Multiple locations. Contact: No one is illegal – Halifax/K’jipuktuk – noii.hfx@gmail.com
  • OKANAGAN: Multiple locations. Contact: RAMA – RamaOkanagan@gmail.com 

More actions are being updated, see www.MigrantRights.ca/August23 for the latest. 

BACKGROUND

  • At least 1 in 23 people in Canada (over 1.6 million) are non permanent residents. 
  • Migrants are on various study, work or humanitarian permits, or without documentation at all. 
  • Many migrants are excluded from universal healthcare, access to emergency income supports, and decent work. Many are separated from their families. 
  • Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, refugees, students and undocumented people have lost their lives and livelihoods in COVID-19. 
  • Migrants are unable to fully protect themselves during COVID-19 because of lack of emergency support, and because speaking out about unsafe work and housing conditions can result in deportation, homelessness, or not being able to return.  
  • The federal government announced a “pathway to permanent residency for some asylum claimants working in the health-care sector during the COVID-19 pandemic” on August 14th. However, COVID-19 does not differentiate between people, neither should the government response. 
  • Nearly 12,000 people have signed a petition calling for permanent immigration status for all: https://migrantrights.ca/covid19/, 
  • Migrant Rights Network’s proposal for Status for All is here: https://migrantrights.ca/statusforall/ 

 

August 23 Day of Action for Status for All in 11 Cities

Pickets, rallies and actions took place in BC, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec for Status for All on August 23!

In Halifax, posters welcoming migrants were put up in different areas (CTV). Four simultaneous celebratory marches took place in Montreal through migrant neighbourhoods (La Presse). In Niagara, activists gathered at the local detention centre (St Catharine Standard). In Regina, picketers at the local MPs office called for status for migrants students in particular (Regina Post). Dozens joined a rally in Sherbrooke (La Tribune). In Sudbury, refugees and asylum seekers took action (CTV). Hundreds gathered in Toronto to set up a human clock at downtown immigration offices (Canadian Press). Over 60 people joined a rally in Windsor calling for rights and status (Windsor Star). Actions also took place in Vancouver, Ottawa, and Okanagan.

HALIFAX

MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE

PHOTOS, VIDEOS, LIVESTREAM

MONTREAL

MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE

NIAGARA

MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE

PHOTOS, VIDEOS, LIVESTREAM

OTTAWA

PHOTOS, VIDEOS, LIVESTREAM

REGINA

MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE

SHERBROOKE

MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE (in french)

PHOTOS, VIDEOS, LIVESTREAM

SUDBURY

MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE

TORONTO

MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE

PHOTOS, VIDEOS, LIVESTREAM

VANCOUVER

PHOTOS, VIDEOS, LIVESTREAM

WINDSOR

MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE

 

Federal farmworker announcement falls short. Full and permanent immigration status needed

CANADA, July 31, 2020 — Migrant Food and Farmworker organizations in British Columbia, PEI, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec are responding to today’s announcement by the federal government of another $59 million dollars, mostly directed to the agri-food industry and government, by reiterating our call for full and permanent immigration status for all. Without full and permanent immigration status, all other measures will fail to protect workers’ lives and livelihoods from COVID-19, poor housing, and employer exploitation. 

“We know that inspections can only enforce existing laws, but the existing laws are bad. Migrant farm workers are excluded from basic labour laws like minimum wage or time off, universal healthcare is difficult to access, and there are no real anti-reprisal protections,” says Kit Andres, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change Niagara. “More inspections won’t save lives; giving migrants the power to protect themselves and have equality through permanent immigration status will.”

Just yesterday, migrant farmworker Gabriel Flores who worked at Scotlynn farm in Ontario, called on Minister Mendicino for permanent resident status for all, after being fired for asking for healthcare and speaking to the press. In his letter, he wrote, “We need permanent resident status now, so workers can have the power to protect ourselves. Our health, our well-being, our families, and our lives depend on it.” 

In another recent case, migrant workers at Balamore Farms in Nova Scotia, reported that supervisors chose which workers would speak to inspectors and instructed them to say “that they are treating us good and paying us ok and if they dont they are going to go back to Jamaica and they won’t be able to go to another farm either”. See more here: https://twitter.com/MWACCanada/status/1289219693862158338

The federal government has also announced consultations to develop a proposal for mandatory housing requirements. However, without permanent immigration status, migrant workers will not be able to assert their rights or complain when these requirements are not met.

“Migrant workers on farms across the country are falling sick and need immediate and real change. We don’t need more consultations, we know the answers: the federal government could mandate physical distancing at all housing and workplaces which would stop the spread of COVID-19, and ensure permanent resident status now so workers can actually protect themselves,” says Byron Cruz, of Sanctuary Health in Vancouver. 

MEDIA CONTACTS:

  • National Coordination: Syed Hussan, 416-453-3632
  • Atlantic: 
      • Ann Wheatley, 902-388-8183, Cooper Institute
      • Stacey Gomez, 902-999-4458, No One is Illegal – Halifax/K’jipuktuk 
  • British Columbia
      • Byron Cruz, 604-315-7725, Sanctuary Health
  • Ontario: Kit Andres, 905-324-2840, Migrant Workers Alliance 
  • Quebec: Viviana Medina, 438 881 9174, Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrants

Statement by Migrant Rights Network – Food and Farmworkers Working Group

July 4 Cross-Country Day of Action for Status for All!

Demand full immigration status for all: undocumented migrants, temporary foreign workers, careworkers, international students, refugees. Young or old, working or not, criminalized or not. End the systemic racism! Equal people means equal migration status!

ACTION IN MANY CITIES

Online Teach-In: Canada Day What? Fighting Colonialism & Anti-Black Racism

Join us as we discuss the fight for Indigenous self-determination and Black Lives and intersections with the struggle for migrant justice and full immigration status for all on “Canada Day”, July 1, 2020.

SPEAKERS:
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger is a Dënesųłiné woman (ts’ékui), member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and mother of two, coming from a family of Indigenous rights advocates fighting for the recognition, sovereignty and autonomy of their Indigenous lands and territory in what is now known as Treaty 8, Canada. She is the Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action

El Jones is a spoken word poet, an educator, journalist, and a community activist living in African Nova Scotia. She was the fifth Poet Laureate of Halifax. She is a co-founder of the Black Power Hour, a live radio show with incarcerated people to the many nameless and unrecognized women whose work makes it possible for her to be here today.

Migrants Ask Prime Minister Trudeau to Regularize Essential and Excluded Workers and Families

CANADA, June 14, 2020 — Over 40 migrant, refugee and undocumented led groups and allies are launching a call for full immigration status for all today. Thousands are expected to join digital rallies and caravans as COVID-19 continues to threaten migrant and undocumented lives and livelihoods. Following the deaths of two farmworkers in Ontario, Prime Minister Trudeau promised to “do better”. Already, the federal cabinet is considering regularizing some asylum seekers working in healthcare in Quebec. The Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s largest migrant justice coalition – is calling for regularization and full immigration status for all non-permanent residents in the country to give migrants the ability to protect and care for themselves and their families during the pandemic. Migrants in the future must also come with full rights. Full Immigration Status for All is necessary for a full and just recovery from COVID-19.

“We hear more farm workers have COVID-19. Our health and safety is at risk. Our housing and work conditions make it so that if one person falls sick, everyone will fall sick. But we don’t have safe ways to complain without the threats of being fired, deported, and banned from coming back. There have already been two deaths, Bonifacio and Rogelio. More deaths will keep happening, so we won’t stop fighting. We come to Canada for a better life, not to die. No more deaths, No more family separation! Permanent resident status now!” – Clarke, Jamaican migrant farmworker, Niagara, Migrant Workers Alliance. 

“They call us caregivers, but this is not true. We are care workers. We raise your family. We prepare your children for the future and help the elderly live with dignity. We work too many hours, yet we are the lowest paid. Sometimes we work extra hours and we are not paid at all. But we are separated from our families.” – Winnie Waithira, migrant careworker, Toronto, Caregivers Action Centre.

“Me and my husband work in cleaning and construction. We know our work is essential to this economy. We are joining our fellow migrants – care workers, farm workers, all of us without status – because we are all valuable, we all want a better future, and we all deserve status.” – Laura Lopez, Undocumented construction worker, Vancouver, Sanctuary Health. 

“We’re tired of crying in silence and counting our failures while the system holds us down. We’re tired of hiding and living in the shadows. We’re tired of hiding from the police. We’re tired of seeing families divided because of a simple lack of status. We’re tired of not being able to take care of ourselves when we get sick. We’re tired of the guilty silence of certain media and of Justin Trudeau and his government, on the injustices forced upon people without status. We are tired of being tired. People without status and asylum seekers didn’t wait for COVID-19 to become essential workers. We were essential yesterday, we’re essential today.” – Mamadou, Undocumented young man, Montreal, Solidarity Across Borders. 

“If I have status, I have power to fight for my rights. If I have status, I have power to support myself. If I have status, My complaint will not be delayed. We are not alone. Our voices need to be heard. Our rights need to be respected. Sex work is work. This is my choice. It doesn’t matter where I work. Immigration law should not punish us!” – Mika, undocumented massage parlour worker who has been in Canada sixteen years, Toronto, Butterfly. 

“Let us unite and fight for our right to Status! Let our voices thunder across Canada and be heard in the halls of parliament. Let us stand strong and invincible! For we migrant workers are at the backbone of this country! We deserve decent work and equal rights! We need status for all!” – Marisol Bobadilla, former temporary foreign worker, Toronto, Migrante Canada. 

“We, the invisible, grow the fruit and vegetables you eat and even the flowers on your table, but we lack the choice to leave bad jobs and resist the injustices inflicted upon us by abusive employers who treat us like slaves. I think that Canada owes us something and that this is the opportunity for it to pay its debt by giving us Permanent residence.” – Luis, Migrant Farmworker who has been coming to Canada for over 20 years, Niagara, Migrant Workers Alliance.

“As international students, we pay three to four times in tuition fees. We are excluded from most of the student scholarships and government grants. We work in essential services while being paid below minimum wage. But when it comes to services and support, we are excluded. We won’t have a just and humane community, unless all of us have the rights that we deserve, unless we all have full and immigration status. ” – Rahil Adeli, International Student, Vancouver, Migrant Students United. 

“We are not here to steal anyone’s job. We are working like any other worker. Pay taxes everyone else pays into. But why are we second class workers? Workers without any rights. The work that we do are not temporary jobs. They are permanent jobs. Putting food on Canadian tables are not temporary jobs. Cleaning Canadian workplaces and homes are not temporary jobs. Taking care of Canadian children and elderly are not temporary jobs. We believe it is just to ask for health care, to ask for a living wage like everybody else. It is just to ask for permanent status for all of us,” Edelyn Royo, Migrant Worker, Edmonton, Migrante Alberta.

BACKGROUND

    • At least 1 in 23 people in Canada are migrants, without citizenship rights. 
    • Migrants are on various study, work or humanitarian permits, or without documentation at all. 
    • Many migrants are excluded from universal healthcare, access to federal income support, and decent work. Many are separated from their families. 
    • Migrants are unable to fully protect themselves during COVID-19 because of lack of income, or because speaking out about unsafe work and housing conditions can result in deportation. 
    • Read more on migrant priorities during COVID-19 at https://migrantrights.ca/covid19/, and more on Status for All at https://migrantrights.ca/statusforall/ 
    • On June 14, 2020 (all times EST):
      • 11:45am: Migrant Students Online Rally

 

  • 12:00pm: Massive Digital Rally for Status for All
  • 4:00pm: Digital Rally in Spanish for Status for All
  • 5:00pm: Digital Rally in Mandarin for Status for All
  • 5:00pm: Car Caravan for Status for All, Vancouver, BC

 

 

Media Contact: Syed Hussan, 416 453 3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org

Livestream broadcast: www.migrantrights.ca 

 

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Thousands to join Massive Digital Rally for Full Immigration Status for All

CANADA, June 11, 2020 — As COVID-19 continues to threaten migrant and undocumented lives and livelihoods, thousands are expected to rally online and in the streets for full immigration status for all migrants. Following the deaths of two farmworkers in Ontario, Prime Minister Trudeau promised to “do better”. Already, the federal cabinet is considering regularizing some asylum seekers working in healthcare in Quebec. The Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s largest migrant justice coalition – is calling for regularization and full immigration status for all non-permanent residents in the country to give migrants the ability to protect and care for themselves and their families during the pandemic. Full Immigration Status for All is necessary for a full and just recovery from COVID-19.

  • WHAT: Massive Digital Rally and Caravan for Full Immigration Status for All
  • WHEN: 12pm EST / 9am PST, June 14, 2020. Other actions throughout the day. 
  • WHERE: Broadcast at www.MigrantRights.ca/June2020  
  • WHO: Migrant and undocumented leaders from across Canada, including domestic careworkers, farmworkers, immigration detainees, refugees, migrant students and undocumented people.

BACKGROUND

  • At least 1 in 23 people in Canada are migrants, without citizenship rights. 
  • Migrants are on various study, work or humanitarian permits, or without documentation at all. 
  • Many migrants are excluded from universal healthcare, access to federal income support, and decent work. Many are separated from their families. 
  • Migrants are unable to fully protect themselves during COVID-19 because of lack of income, or because speaking out about unsafe work and housing conditions can result in deportation. 
  • Read more on migrant priorities during COVID-19 at https://migrantrights.ca/covid19/, and more on Status for All at https://migrantrights.ca/statusforall/ 
  • On June 14, 2020 (all times EST):
    • 11:45am: Migrant Students Online Rally
    • 12:00pm: Massive Digital Rally for Status for All
    • 4:00pm: Digital Rally in Spanish for Status for All
    • 5:00pm: Digital Rally in Mandarin for Status for All
    • 5:00pm: Car Caravan for Status for All, Vancouver, BC 

Media Contact: Syed Hussan, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org, 416-453-3632. Pre-interviews available.

 

 

 

Income Supports for Migrants in Canada

HAVE YOU LOST WORK OR INCOME BECAUSE OF COVID-19? YOU CAN GET INCOME SUPPORT!

You can get money from the Federal government’s emergency fund (CERB) if you have:

  • A valid or expired Social Insurance Number (SIN)

OR

  • An Individual Tax Number (ITN)

Even if your Social Insurance Number has expired and you do not have valid immigration status in Canada, you can still apply for CERB if you meet the rest of the criteria.

This is a taxable benefit. That means the government expects you to declare it on your tax return in 2021. It also means that CERB is not considered “social assistance” and will not impact your immigration applications, such as a Humanitarian and Compassionate, Sponsorship, or other Permanent Residency application. We do not know if your name or address will be shared with immigration (CBSA).

You do not need to have filed taxes in the past and you will not be asked to submit any documents at this time. However, you may be asked to provide proof that you were eligible for CERB at a later date or when you file your taxes in 2021.

If you qualify, you will receive $2,000 for four weeks. If you continue to qualify, you can re-apply three more times (for a maximum of 16 weeks). This benefit has been available since March 15th. If you met the criteria to receive CERB at any time since then, you can still apply now for these past weeks.

This information is accurate as of June 1. Things are changing constantly. Check back here regularly for updates. For media inquiries, please contact info@migrantrights.ca.

How to apply:

You can apply online or by phone.

ONLINE

(if you already have “MyAccount” or “MyServiceCanada”)

Go to: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application.html

You will be asked if you were self-employed or an employee. If you click “employee” then you will be asked if you were full time or part time. These questions will not disqualify you, they simply direct you to either the EI or CRA pathway for applying. You will then be asked to sign into your MyAccount / MyService Canada.

Once you have signed in, you will see the list of requirements to qualify. Click “I confirm that I meet the requirements set out above…”. You will not need to provide any documents at this time. The minimum $5000 income in the past 12 months or in 2019 can be from within or outside Canada.

If you are having trouble applying online, you can try to apply by phone. If your Social Insurance Number has expired, you may be more successful by phone.

BY PHONE

If you have filed taxes in the past, call 1-800-959-2019

  • You will be asked for your SIN, Temporary Tax Number or Individual Tax Number.

If you have never filed taxes, call 1-800-959-8281

  • You will be asked for your SIN, Temporary Tax Number or Individual Tax Number.

Whether you apply online or by phone, you will not need to submit documents at this time to prove you meet the requirements. The phone service is only available in English or French. If you need help to apply in another language, contact us using the form at the bottom of this page.

Frequently Asked Questions about accessing CERB:

  1. What are the criteria to qualify for CERB?
    • You earned a minimum of $5,000 (before taxes) in the last 12 months or in 2019, inside or outside Canada. This can be employment or self-employment income.
    • You have lost work or income due to COVID-19, and you have earned less than $1,000 in employment or self-employment income for at least 14 days in a row.
  2. If I receive CERB, will I be denied permanent resident status or will it impact my Humanitarian & Compassionate (H&C) application later?
    • CERB is taxable income, which means it is not considered social assistance. You can receive CERB and it will not reduce your chances of getting permanent resident status in the future or impact your H&C application.
    • Your immigration applications may be impacted if you misrepresent the facts to other branches of government, including when applying for CERB.
  3. What if I get CERB and the government later decides I was not eligible – will it impact my immigration status?
    • When you claim CERB on your taxes in 2021, if the government decides you were not eligible to receive CERB, you will be asked to repay the money. It is not a crime. The government has said there are no other consequences. It should not impact your immigration status or future applications.
  4. How do I receive the money?
    • If you have “MyAccount” set up with CRA, you can choose to receive money by direct deposit. Otherwise, you can receive the money by cheque mailed to the address you provide.
  5. What if I don’t have a bank account?
    • If you do not have a bank account, you can have a cheque mailed to you. You can then try to sign the cheque over to someone else (“endorse”) to cash at a bank. Or you can cash your cheque at a payday loan or cash store. These businesses might keep a large part of your money as a fee for this service. Not everyone may be able to cash a cheque, consider your options before you apply.
  6. Will my address be shared with immigration enforcement?
    • We do not know if the address you provided will be shared with immigration enforcement. You have to make the best decision for you about your own safety. It is important to use an address where you can receive the cheque.
  7. Will my name be shared with immigration enforcement?
    • We do not know if your personal information will be shared with immigration enforcement. You have to make the best decision for you about your own safety. Contact us if you need help.
  8. Where do I find my Social Insurance Number?
    • If you ever had a work permit, study permit, or applied for refugee status in Canada, you would have received a Social Insurance Number (SIN). This is a nine digit number that started with a ‘9’. Even if your SIN has been expired for many years, you can use it to apply for CERB if you meet all other criteria.
  9. How will I pay my taxes in 2021 and will it impact my immigration status?
    • The government expects you to claim CERB on your tax return in 2021.
    • If you have not filed taxes recently or ever, you may want to get help filing your tax return in 2021.

If you are having problems applying for CERB, or need support with your taxes for next year, fill out your information below and we will be in touch with more information.

With or without immigration status, we are all essential workers. We are sustaining this economy, our communities and our families. We deserve income support. But this is just a first step – we also need healthcare, workplace rights, guaranteed protection from immigration enforcement, and permanent resident status. Sign this petition by migrants and for migrants. If you are a migrant or undocumented person who wants to join with others for your rights, contact us: info@migrantrights.ca. 

GET IN TOUCH! If you are a non-permanent resident in Canada, or are stuck outside the country, and are losing income because of COVID-19, fill out this form.  

This form is managed by Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. We want to know your experiences applying. We can answer questions and connect you to local groups if you need support.  All information is confidential. We are a migrant rights organization and will not share information with the government or employers!

New Agri-Food Immigration Pilot Program Does Not Meet Migrant Needs During Pandemic

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Canada, May 15, 2020 – Migrant food and farm worker groups from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec are jointly raising the alarm about the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot Program to be launched by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) just now. This program gives unfair and excessive power to employers and excludes workers in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP), which represents the majority of food and farm workers in the country. Most other migrant workers will also be excluded because of harsh qualification criteria. Quebec workers are also excluded. The Migrant Rights Network is calling for permanent resident status for all, without exclusion or employer control to support essential migrant workers. 

“At a time when JBS and Cargill are re-opening without making any changes to ensure worker safety, tying migrant workers’ ability to stay in the country permanently to the goodwill of employers gives employers a dangerous amount of power. Workers will be forced to choose between their health, or even their lives, or a chance at stability and family unity,” says Marco Luciano, Director, Migrante Alberta.

The Agri-Food Immigration program requires applicants to have a “job offer” letter from the employer. This requirement means workers will be reluctant to exercise their right to refuse unsafe work if their future ability to apply for permanent residence hangs in the balance.

JBS Meats has had over 600 cases of COVID-19, and one death, but continues to operate. J.J, a current worker at JBS who is afraid to use his name says, “We are concerned about going back to work. JBS keeps on calling us to go back. We are not sure if the workplace is safe. Our status is Temporary Foreign Worker. We are afraid that we will be terminated and sent back home if we take a leave of absence because of our safety. Or that they might not process our papers – our visa and work permit will expire in October.”

“For 54 years, migrant farm workers have demanded permanent residence status on arrival so that they could access the same rights and protections as other immigrants and citizens. While this new program is a direct result of decades of food and farmworkers courageously speaking out, it sets up impossible requirements that would shut most out”, says Robyn Bunn, from RAMA in Kelowna, BC. “This program is just smoke and mirrors – the government wants to look like it’s taking appropriate action during a pandemic, while in reality almost everyone is excluded.”

The Agri-Food Pilot Program excludes migrants in the SAWP even though these workers make up over 65% of Canada’s migrant agricultural workforce and are essential to the food supply. Many SAWP workers work in Canada eight out of 12 months each year, in many cases for over 20 years at a time but with no path to Permanent Residency. 

“We do hard work in Canada – we work outside in the cold and in the heat – and we can’t apply for anything. Why are we being left out of these opportunities? All migrants deserve landed status on arrival,” says James, father of 3 from Jamaica, a migrant farm worker who has been working in Niagara since 2007.

“The federal government is willing to open borders, charter planes, and give employers $50 million to offset costs of quarantine. Many provinces have created programs to ease the farm labour shortage. Yet migrant farm workers –  essential workers that keep the food system running – are being excluded from permanent residency? It makes no sense,” says Kit Andres, Migrant Workers Alliance – Niagara. “COVID-19 has shown that migrant labour is essential to the Canadian economy.” 

Exclusions also extend to fisheries. “The fisheries industry in the Atlantic Region relies heavily on thousands of migrant workers from around the world. These are essential workers and they should be able to lay permanent roots, access basic rights and protections and reunite with their families – excluding them from this immigration program is a slap in the face to essential workers ensuring we are fed during this pandemic,” says Ann Wheatley, Cooper Institute, Charlottetown. 

The current Agri-Food Immigration Pilot Program excludes most low-waged migrants, who are people of colour, many of them Black men, working in Canada’s farms and factories, showing one more time the structural racism migrants workers have been subjected to for over half a century.

Facts: The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot Program & Migrant Workers

  • Of the 98,495 work permits issued for temporary foreign workers in 2019, 56,850 were agricultural workers. The Agri-Food Pilot Program is restricted to only 2,750 applications per year, about 4.8% of the migrant agricultural workforce.
  • The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot requires migrant workers to pass an English language test at Level 4. No support is provided for migrant workers to study for these tests, which are expensive and inaccessible in rural communities where workers are based. Many workers from the Caribbean, who only speak English, are failing the test. Many migrant workers are able to work and live in Canada, but do not speak English. 
  • The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot requires migrant workers to show Canadian accreditation for high school education. No support is provided for migrant workers to get this accreditation, which is expensive and done by private businesses, and is inaccessible in rural communities. Migrant workers are barred from studying while on a work permit, so cannot gain the accreditation here.
  • The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot requires that workers are engaged in full-time work over the previous 12 months. As a result, all SAWP workers are excluded. Workers in fisheries are also excluded. 
  • The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot requires workers to be working for 12 months immediately before applying – but many workers have lost jobs or seen their hours reduced due to COVID-19. 
  • Migrant workers account for 12 per cent of Canada’s agricultural workforce, according to the Conference Board of Canada.
  • Migrant workers face immense violations of their rights. A recent Toronto Star investigation documented 5,386 workplace related complaints by farmworkers from Mexico in a 9 year period. 

Media Contacts

  • Coordination: Syed Hussan, 416-453-3632, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
  • Alberta: Marco Luciano, 780-966-5908, Migrante Alberta
  • Atlantic: Ann Wheatley, 902-388-8183, Cooper Institute
  • British Columbia
    • Robyn Bunn, 250-215-1033, RAMA, Kelowna
    • Alexandra Henao, 778-789-5076, Fuerza Migrante, Vancouver
    • Byron Cruz, 604-315-7725, Sanctuary Health
  • Ontario: Kit Andres, 905-324-2840, Migrant Workers Alliance – Niagara
  • Quebec: Viviana Medina, 438 881 9174, Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrants

Migrants are the Food Chain – We Sustain the World

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This public health pandemic has shown us which people are essential to sustaining life. We now know who ensures we are fed and taken care of: migrant and undocumented workers.

And it is these same workers that are being left out of rights and protections. The largest COVID-19 outbreak in North America is taking place right now at the Cargill meat processing facility in Alberta, with another massive outbreak at JBS meat processing nearby. Many of those infected are current or former migrant workers. These plants must be closed until workers are protected. 

J.J. is a current migrant worker at JBS, which has remained open despite 566 workers testing positive for COVID-19. He has this message to share with you: “We are concerned about going back to work. JBS keeps on calling us to go back. We are not sure if the workplace is safe. Our status is Temporary Foreign Worker. We are afraid that we will be terminated and sent back home if we take a leave of absence because of our safety. Or that they might not process our papers – our visa and work permit will expire in October.”

Food processing is one part of the food chain. From food production, to processing, to retail, cleaning and delivery – each link in this chain is held up by migrants. Canada is the world’s sixth largest exporter of agri-food – migrant and undocumented workers here feed the rest of the planet. And while the federal government has given at least $477 million in aid to agri-food businesses just in the last 5 weeks – without requiring them to pass on a single cent of this money to workers – migrants are being denied healthcare, income support, basic worker protections and permanent resident status. 

These are their stories. Read them, and share them with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or forward this website to a friend. Remember: Migrant and undocumented workers are essential. We are the food chain. We sustain the world. 

MIGRANTS GROW OUR FOOD

“If a worker is working in an environment which is risky and refuses to work, the employer wants to send him back to his country or suspend him. They treat us like slaves here, it’s like we have no rights. The boss is more concerned about the products than the workers.“

Andrae, migrant greenhouse worker from Jamaica, member of Migrant Workers Alliance – Niagara. 

MIGRANT PACKAGE OUR FOOD 

“I hope they close [the plant] to be able to clean it. I’m afraid of going to work. They changed our shift schedule. They combined two shifts into one – now there are lots of us in the locker room. Social distancing cannot be practiced at the work stations.” 

  • J.G, a migrant worker at JBS, member of Migrante Alberta.

MIGRANTS WORK IN GROCERY STORES

“I’ve been working at the grocery store for more than 5 years, it’s never been like what it is like today. Everyone is scared and worried, but we just keep working. I heard the government said we would get a raise, but then I learned it doesn’t include grocery store workers and I just don’t get it. Are we not frontline workers too?” 

  • Mr. Chen, migrant grocery store worker, member of Chinese Canadian National Council – Toronto 

MIGRANTS CLEAN GROCERY STORES

“I have been working for 1 year in a downtown grocery store, 7 days a week, no day off. The company pays me $13/hour (but the minimum wage is $14), they didn’t pay me holidays, or pay on sick days. The company said if I’m sick, I have to stop working. They don’t provide plastic gloves or masks and I’m using a lot of chemicals to disinfect everything. I don’t have choice because I need money to survive.”

Rocio Ramirez, undocumented worker, member of Workers Action Centre 

MIGRANTS DELIVER OUR FOOD

“I have been working full time as a delivery driver for 7 years. Right now, restaurants won’t let us use the washroom so we can’t wash our hands. As bare minimum in the crisis, the company should give masks, gloves and hand sanitizer – to protect us and customers too. But they aren’t. Everybody wants to get food delivered, but we have to keep working for $4.50/order.“

John, migrant food courier

 

Full Immigration Status for All – for a Just Recovery from COVID-19

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We demand Status for All and Landed Status Now – this is essential for a just recovery from COVID-19.

  • This means, everyone in the country without permanent resident status must be regularized and given permanent resident status immediately. This includes all low-waged residents including migrant workers, study permit holders, refugee claimants, people who were ordered deported as failed refugees, people who lost their status because of exclusions for criminality, people who overstayed their visas, and who entered Canada without a permit. 
  • All people who come to Canada in the future must have permanent resident status on arrival. Migrants in low-waged occupations currently coming into Canada through the Temporary Foreign Workers Program, Caregiver Program, Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program and other programs with work authorization permits, as well as refugees and individuals on study permits, should be able to come to Canada as permanent residents if they so choose, and be able to bring their families with them. 

Status for All & Landed Status Now is pragmatic, possible and necessary. Here is why:

(1) Status for All is what migrants want.

Since at least 1968, migrant worker rights groups organizing with domestic workers, caregivers, seasonal agricultural workers, and temporary foreign workers (back then known as the Non-Immigrant Employment Authorization Program) have unified around a single demand: full immigration status on landing for migrant workers. Since at least 2001, groups of undocumented residents already living and working in Canada have been calling for status for all in an ongoing campaign. Today, Migrant Rights Network members are unified around this demand. COVID-19 has shown us that it is migrants and undocumented workers that are essential to sustaining societies and communities, and that denial of permanent resident status excludes us from basic rights and protections even during a pandemic. 

(2) Status for All ensures rights for everyone.

Canadian immigration policy divides us into two categories: those who arrive with permanent immigration status, and those who don’t. Those who don’t are largely racialized and low-waged. We are all a part of the community; we are workers, students, refugees and families. Sometimes we are disabled, or face risk if we leave Canada. Many of us aren’t able to maintain our temporary status, and as a result, hundred of thousands of us have become undocumented. Without  full immigration status, we are denied healthcare, decent work, and emergency supports. We are separated from our families for many years. Full Immigration Status for All is our campaign to call for equal rights for ourselves. 

Many low-waged migrants are tied to a single employer. Others are not allowed to work, or are restricted to certain industries or hours of work. Migrants in sex work are criminalized. These policies allow bad bosses to pay migrants less, make us work harder and in more dangerous jobs. Migrants are either directly excluded from labour protections, or labour laws are not responsive to our specific vulnerability to abuse under threat of deportation. Full access to healthcare, education, pensions, employment insurance and other social entitlements is denied to those without permanent resident status. 

These inequalities, which are built into the system, have been fully exposed during the COVID-19 crisis – some of the people most vulnerable to COVID-19 and most often denied government support are migrant and undocumented people. 

Full Immigration Status for All is a comprehensive and effective solution to ending the differential treatment of migrants, ensuring we all get basic social entitlements. Status for All will protect wages and working conditions for all workers. Status for All ensures equal access to healthcare, services and social protections for everyone, and therefore ensures better public health for all residents.

Making Status for All a reality.

There is a long history of regularization programs around the world, including in Canada. Canada has created programs to grant undocumented or migrant people permanent residency multiple times in recent decades. In fact, there is currently a regularization program underway for undocumented construction workers in the GTA.

As we respond to COVID-19, we propose the following steps towards Full Immigration Status for All: 

  • First, the federal government should meet with migrant organizations like ours in order to develop an effective and appropriate plan; 
  • Second, a moratorium on detentions and deportations should be instituted to ensure undocumented people applying for status are protected; 
  • Third, a regularization process should be created where all migrants in the country get permanent residence status or citizenship, without any exclusions by work history, previous immigration status, health status, previous access to social assistance, criminality, or any other language, education or personal history reasons
    • During this time, all undocumented and migrant residents in Canada should get immediate and open work authorization and full access to basic entitlements;
  • Fourth, all low-waged workers arriving in Canada in the future should arrive with Permanent Resident status if they so choose.  

A regularization program is extremely urgent. Our communities cannot wait. We simultaneously demand comprehensive social entitlements, rights and protections that permanent residency guarantees including:

  • Healthcare for all; 
  • Family unity;
  • Full labour rights and protections for all, including open work authorization without any employer, hours of work or industry restrictions (such as essential sectors or ban on working in businesses related to sex-trade); 
  • Equal access without restriction, differential fees or fear to Employment Insurance, pensions, social assistance, workers’ compensation, emergency income supports, settlement services and all other social services, and  workers’ compensation, and education at all levels. 
  • End to racism, xenophobia and discrimination. 

We also call for changes to the existing immigration programs in the interim and a removal of all educational, language, age employer job letter, medical or other admissibility requirements that restrict access to permanent residency. 

Status for All is not the same as ‘Pathway to Permanent Residence’. A ‘pathway’ already exists for some temporary residents (care workers, students, refugees, etc), and these are not pathways but minefields of abuse. ‘Pathways’ are multi-step processes in which migrants must remain temporary for years while jumping through hoops to try to meet limited and restrictive criteria, and only then they may have the chance to access permanent residency. Migrant care workers and farmworkers have a pathway – but it includes educational and language requirements that are impossible to meet. These programs retain all the problems inherent in temporary immigration status. They divide migrants between those considered deserving and not deserving. They discriminate against poor migrants. We do not need more temporariness. We need permanent resident Status for All. 

Status for All envisions Just Recovery for All. 

Many people around the world are forced to leave their homes because of war and conflict, climate change, economic uncertainty, or mega-industrial projects that displace communities. Therefore, our campaign for Status for All includes a call to end wars, climate change, economic injustices and all other policies and practices that force people to migrate. We strongly support the right of people to stay in their own communities, and the right of people to return home without fear. Status for All is based in respect for Indigenous self-determination here and around the world. Status for All calls for decent work, universal access to services for all people, regardless of immigration status.  

Today, many high-wage workers and rich people have the option of coming to Canada permanently and quickly. Status for All will give low-waged, racialized, workers – many of them women, all of them essential – access to stability and dignity.

 

Un statut d’immigration complet pour tous et toutes – pour une juste relance après la COVID-19

Nous exigeons le statut de résidence permanente pour tous et toutes maintenant – c’est essentiel pour une juste relance après la COVID-19.
Cela signifie que toute personne au pays qui se trouve sans statut de résidence permanente doit être régularisée et recevoir immédiatement le statut de résidence permanente. Cela comprend l’ensemble des résident.e.s à bas salaire, y compris les travailleur.euse.s migrant.e.s, les titulaires de permis d’études, les demandeur.euse.s d’asile, les personnes réfugiées à qui on a refusé l’asile et qui ont reçu un ordre de déportation, les personnes qui ont perdu leur statut en raison de mesures d’exclusion pour leurs antécédents criminels, les personnes qui ont dépassé la durée de leur visa et qui sont entrées au Canada sans permis.
Toutes les personnes qui viendront au Canada à l’avenir doivent recevoir le statut de résidence permanente dès leur arrivée. Les personnes migrantes occupant des emplois à bas salaire qui entrent actuellement au Canada dans le cadre du Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires, du Programme des aides familiaux résidants, du Programme des travailleurs agricoles saisonniers et d’autres programmes avec permis de travail, ainsi que les personnes réfugiées et les personnes titulaires d’un permis d’études, devraient pouvoir venir au Canada en tant que résidentes permanentes si elles le souhaitent et être en mesure d’amener leur famille avec elles.

Un statut de résidence permanente pour tous et toutes maintenant est pragmatique, possible et nécessaire. Voici pourquoi:

(1) Le statut pour tous et toutes est ce que les personnes migrantes veulent.

Depuis au moins 1968, les groupes de défense des droits des travailleur.euse.s migrant.e.s qui s’organisent avec les travailleur.euse.s domestiques, les soignant.e.s, les travailleur.euse.s agricoles saisonniers et les travailleur.euse.s étrangers temporaires (à l’époque connu.e.s sous le nom de (Programme d’autorisation d’emploi des non-immigrants) et se réunissent autour d’une seule revendication : le statut d’immigration complet pour les travailleur.euse.s migrant.e.s dès l’arrivée au pays. Depuis au moins 2001, des groupes de résident.e.s sans papiers vivant et travaillant déjà au Canada réclament un statut pour tous et toutes dans le cadre d’une campagne toujours en cours. Aujourd’hui, les membres du Réseau des droits des migrant.e.s sont uni.e.s autour de cette revendication. La COVID-19 nous a montré que ce sont les travailleur.euse.s migrant.e.s et sans papiers qui sont essentiel.le.s pour soutenir les sociétés et les communautés, et que le refus du statut de résidence permanente nous exclut des droits et protections fondamentaux même pendant une pandémie.

(2) Le statut pour tous et toutes garantit des droits pour tous et toutes.

La politique d’immigration canadienne nous divise en deux catégories: ceux et celles qui arrivent avec un statut d’immigration permanente et ceux et celles qui arrivent sans. Les personnes qui n’ont pas ce statut sont en grande partie racisées et peu rémunérées. Nous faisons tous et toutes partie de la communauté; nous sommes des travailleur.euse.s, des étudiant.e.s, des réfugié.e.s et des familles. Parfois, nous sommes handicapé.e.s ou courons des risques si nous quittons le Canada. Bon nombre d’entre nous ne sont pas en mesure de maintenir notre statut temporaire et, par conséquent, des centaines de milliers d’entre nous sont devenu.e.s sans papiers. Sans statut d’immigration complet, on nous refuse l’accès aux soins de santé, à un travail décent et aux aides d’urgence. Nous sommes séparé.e.s de nos familles depuis de nombreuses années. Le statut d’immigration complet pour tous et toutes constitue notre campagne pour réclamer pour nous-mêmes l’égalité des droits.

Bon nombre de personnes migrantes à bas salaires sont liées à un seul employeur. D’autres ne sont pas autorisées à travailler ou sont limitées à certaines industries ou à certains horaires de travail. Les personnes migrantes travaillant dans l’industrie du sexe sont criminalisées. Ces politiques permettent aux mauvais patrons de moins payer les personnes migrantes, nous obligent à travailler plus dur et nous contraint à des emplois plus dangereux. Les personnes migrantes sont soit directement exclues des protections du travail, soit les lois du travail ne répondent pas à notre vulnérabilité spécifique vis-à-vis des abus sous la menace de l’expulsion. Le plein accès aux soins de santé, à l’éducation, aux pensions de retraite, à l’assurance-emploi et à d’autres droits sociaux est refusé aux personnes sans statut de résidence permanente.

Ces inégalités, qui sont intégrées au système, ont été pleinement exposées pendant la crise de la COVID-19 – certaines des personnes les plus vulnérables à la COVID-19 et le plus souvent privées du soutien du gouvernement sont les personnes migrantes et les sans-papiers.

Le statut d’immigration complet pour tous et toutes est une solution globale et efficace pour mettre fin au traitement différencié des personnes migrantes, garantissant que nous obtenions tous et toutes les droits sociaux de base. Le statut pour tous et toutes protégera les salaires et les conditions de travail de l’ensemble des travailleur.euse.s. Le statut pour tous et toutes garantit l’égalité d’accès aux soins de santé, aux services et aux protections sociales pour tout le monde, et garantit ainsi une meilleure santé publique pour l’ensemble des résident.e.s.

Faire du statut pour tous et toutes une réalité.

Il existe une longue histoire de programmes de régularisation dans le monde, y compris au Canada. Le Canada a créé des programmes pour accorder la résidence permanente aux sans-papiers ou aux migrants à plusieurs reprises au cours des dernières décennies. En fait, un programme de régularisation est actuellement en cours pour les travailleur.euse.s de la construction sans papiers dans la région du Grand Toronto.

En réponse à la COVID-19, nous proposons les étapes suivantes vers un statut d’immigration complet pour tous et toutes :

Premièrement, le gouvernement fédéral doit rencontrer les organisations de personnes migrantes comme la nôtre afin d’élaborer un plan efficace et approprié;
Deuxièmement, un moratoire sur les détentions et les expulsions devrait être imposé pour garantir la protection des personnes sans papiers demandant le statut;
Troisièmement, un processus de régularisation devrait être créé dans le cadre duquel l’ensemble des personnes migrantes du pays obtiennent le statut de résidence permanente ou la citoyenneté, sans aucune exclusion en raison d’antécédents professionnels, du statut d’immigration antérieur, de l’état de santé, de l’accès antérieur à l’aide sociale, d’antécédents criminels, de la langue, de la scolarité ou d’histoires personnelles.
Durant cette période, l’ensemble des résident.e.s sans papiers et migrant.e.s au Canada devraient obtenir une autorisation de travail immédiate et ouverte et un accès complet aux droits de base;
Quatrièmement, l’ensemble des travailleur.euse.s à bas salaire arrivant à l’avenir au Canada devraient avoir le statut de résidence permanente s’ils et elles le souhaitent.

Nous demandons également des changements aux programmes d’immigration existants concernant l’intervalle et la suppression de toutes les conditions d’admissibilité en matière de scolarité, de langue, d’âge, de lettre de référence de l’employeur, de médecine ou autres qui restreignent l’accès à la résidence permanente.

Le statut pour tous et toutes n’est pas la même chose que le «chemin vers la résidence permanente». Un «chemin» existe déjà pour certain.e.s résident.e.s temporaires (travailleur.euse.s soignant.e.s, étudiant.e.s, réfugié.e.s, etc.), et ce ne sont pas des chemins mais des terrains minés d’abus. Les «chemins» sont des processus en plusieurs étapes au cours desquelles les personnes migrantes doivent rester temporaires pendant des années tout en sautillant entre les obstacles pour arriver à répondre à des critères limitatifs et restrictifs, et ce n’est qu’alors qu’elles peuvent avoir la possibilité d’accéder à la résidence permanente. Les travailleur.euse.s migrant.e.s et les travailleur.euse.s agricoles ont un chemin, mais celui-ci comprend des exigences en matière de scolarité et de langue impossibles à satisfaire. Ces programmes conservent tous les problèmes inhérents au statut d’immigration temporaire. Ils divisent les personnes migrantes entre celles qui sont considérées comme méritantes et non méritantes. Ils discriminent les personnes migrantes pauvres. Nous n’avons pas besoin d’un statut qui demeure encore temporaire. Nous avons besoin du statut de résidence permanente pour tous et toutes.

Le statut pour tous et toutes permet d’envisager une juste relance pour tous et toutes.

Bon nombre de personnes à travers le monde sont forcées de quitter leur pays en raison des guerres et des conflits, des changements climatiques, de l’incertitude économique ou de méga-projets industriels qui déplacent des communautés. Par conséquent, notre campagne pour le statut pour tous et toutes comprend un appel à mettre fin aux guerres, aux changements climatiques, aux injustices économiques et à toute autre politique et pratique qui oblige les gens à migrer. Nous soutenons fermement le droit des personnes de rester dans leur propre communauté et le droit des personnes de rentrer sans crainte chez elles. Un statut pour tous et toutes est basé sur le respect de l’autodétermination autochtone ici et dans le monde. Un statut pour tous et toutes exige un travail décent, un accès universel aux services pour tous et toutes, quel que soit le statut d’immigration.

À l’heure actuelle, bon nombre de riches et de travailleur.euse.s à salaire élevé ont la possibilité de s’établir au Canada de manière permanente et rapide. Le statut pour tous et toutes donnera aux travailleur.euse.s à bas salaire et racisé.e.s – dont plusieurs sont des femmes, toutes essentielles – accès à la stabilité et à la dignité.

56 Elected Representatives Write to Federal Government for Migrant & Undocumented Workers

[le français suit]

Add your voice to this call, sign our petition!

Joint statement: We call on the federal government of Canada to immediately ensure that income supports are available to migrant and undocumented workers without valid Social Insurance Numbers. Migrant and undocumented workers are essential workers taking care of our communities – they deserve essential emergency income supports as well as all other social programs and rights to take care of themselves and their families during this crisis.”

50 elected provincial and municipal representatives from each of Canada’s provinces are issuing a statement today calling on the federal government to extend income supports to all migrant and undocumented workers, including those outside the country, in support of a proposal by Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s migrant coalition:

  1. Ensure residents without Social Insurance Numbers have access to Canada Emergency Response Benefit through the provision of accessible Individual Tax Numbers where information is not shared with immigration authorities.
  2. Extend access to CERB for those whose SIN has expired.
  3. Ensure that Seasonal TFWP and SAWP workers have access to income supports for delays in contracts, both inside and outside the country.
  4. Ensure that migrant workers who are forced to leave jobs or those that aren’t starting contracts right now are not deemed to have “quit voluntarily” and receive income supports.
  5. Extend income supports to migrant and undocumented residents who did not earn at least $5,000 in the previous 12 months.
  6. MRN is also calling for healthcare, worker protections, permanent resident status and community support for all: www.MigrantRights.ca/COVID19.

In an unprecedented non-partisan effort, 30 MPPs, MLAs and MNAs and 20 Councilors and Mayors are joining together to call for “emergency income supports as well as all other social programs and rights” for all essential workers regardless of immigration status. Media release here.

Signatories include: (Elected representatives wishing to sign on, please email info@migrantrights.ca)

  1. Adrien Sala, MLA Manitoba St. James, MB
  2. Amanda Lathlin, MLA Manitoba The Pas-Kameesak, MB
  3. Amy Lubik, Port Moody City Councillor, BC
  4. Andrew Stevens, Regina City Councillor, SK
  5. Bhutila Karpoche, MPP Parkdale HighPark, ON
  6. Catherine Mckenney, Ottawa City Councillor, ON
  7. Christina Gray, MLA Edmonton Millwoods, AB
  8. Christine Boyle, Vancouver City Councillor, BC
  9. Claudia Chender, MLA Dartmouth South, NS
  10. Danielle Adams, MLA Manitoba Thompson, MB
  11. Diljeet Brar, MLA Manitoba Burrows, MB
  12. Doly Begum, MPP, Scarborough Southwest, ON
  13. Faisal Hassan, MPP York South Weston, ON
  14. Gary Burrill, MLA Halifax Chebucto, NS
  15. Giuliana Fumagalli, Mayor, Villeray-Parc-Extension-St-Michel, QC
  16. Greg Miller, St. Catharines City Councillor, ON
  17. Hope Jamieson, St. John’s City Councillor, NFLD
  18. Ian Arthur, MPP Kingston and the Islands, ON
  19. Janis Irwin, MLA Edmonton Highlands Norwood, AB
  20. Jasvir Deol, MLA Edmonton Meadows, AB
  21. Jean Swanson, Vancouver City Councillor, BC
  22. Jeremy Loveday, City Councillor, Victoria, BC
  23. Jessica Bell, MPP University—Rosedale, Ontario, ON
  24. Jill Andrews , MPP Toronto -St Pauls, ON
  25. Joel Harden, MPP Ottawa Centre, ON
  26. Karla Bernard, MLA, Charlottetown-Victoria Park, PEI
  27. Karrie Porter, St. Catharines City Councillor, ON
  28. Kevin Arseneau, MLA Kent-Nord, NB
  29. Keenan Aylwin, Barrie Ward 2 Councillor, ON
  30. Kristyn Wong-Tam, Toronto City Councillor Toronto Centre, ON
  31. Laura Mae Lindo, MPP Kitchener Centre, ON
  32. Leah Main, RDCK Director and Silverton Councillor, BC
  33. Lisa Naylor, MLA Manitoba Wolseley, MB
  34. Lisa Roberts, MLA Halifax Needham , NS
  35. Malaya Marcelino, MLA Manitoba Notre Dame, MB
  36. Maggie Burton, City Councillor, St. John’s, NFLD
  37. Marit Stiles, MPP Davenport, ON
  38. Megan Mitton, MLA Memramcook-Tantramar, NB
  39. Mintu Sandhu, MLA Manitoba The Maples, MB
  40. Nadine Nakagawa, City Councillor, New Westminister, BC
  41. Paula Fletcher, City Councillor, Toronto Danforth, ON
  42. Percy Hatfield, MPP Windsor Tecumseh, ON
  43. Pete Fry, Vancouver City Councillor, BC
  44. Peter Bevan-Baker, MLA, Leader of Official Opposition, PEI
  45. Peter Tabuns, MPP Toronto Danforth, ON
  46. Rima Berns-McGown, MPP Beaches Centre, ON
  47. Rod Loyola, MLA Edmonton Ellerslie, AB
  48. Ruba Ghazal, MNA, Mercier, Montreal, representing the Quebec Solidaire parliamentary caucus, QC
  49. Sarah Fowler , Tahsis Village Council, BC
  50. Sarah Potts , City Councillor, Victoria, BC
  51. Sharmarke Dubow, Victoria City Councillor, BC
  52. Shawn Menard, Ottawa City Councillor, ON
  53. Trish Altass, MLA for Tyne Valley-Sherbrooke, PEI, PEI
  54. Uzoma Asagwara, MLA Union Station, MB
  55. Warren McCall, Regina Elphinstone Centre MLA, SK
  56. Zac de Vries, City Councillor, Saanich District, BC

Add your voice to this call, sign our petition!

 

56 élu.e.s s’adressent au gouvernement fédéral pour les travailleur.e.s migrant.e.s et sans papiers

Ajoutez votre voix à cet appel, signez notre pétition!

 

Appel collectif : «Nous demandons au Gouvernement fédéral du Canada de veiller immédiatement à ce que le soutien au revenu soit accessible aux travailleur.euse.s migrant.e.s et sans papiers ne disposant pas d’un numéro d’assurance sociale valide. Les travailleur.euse.s migrant.e.s et sans papiers sont des travailleur.euse.s essentiel.le.s qui prennent soin des communautés — ils et elles méritent un revenu d’urgence de base, l’accès à tous les autres programmes sociaux de même que le droit de prendre soin d’eux-mêmes et de leurs familles durant cette crise. »

 

50 élu.e.s provinciaux et municipaux de toutes les provinces du Canada publient aujourd’hui une déclaration demandant au gouvernement fédéral d’étendre le soutien au revenu à l’ensemble des travailleur.euse.s migrant.e.s et sans-papiers, y compris celles et ceux à l’extérieur du pays, en appui à une proposition du Réseau des Droits de Migrants :

  1. Veiller à ce que les résident.e.s sans numéro d’assurance sociale aient accès à la Prestation canadienne d’urgence en fournissant des numéros fiscaux individuels accessibles lorsque l’information n’est pas partagée avec les autorités de l’immigration.
  2. Étendre l’accès au PCU à celles et ceux dont le NAS est expiré.
  3. Veiller à ce que les travailleur.euse.s saisonnier.ère.s du Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires (PTET) et du Programme des travailleurs agricoles saisonniers (PTAS) aient accès au soutien au revenu en cas de retard dans les contrats, à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur du pays.
  4. Veiller à ce que les travailleur.euse.s migrant.e.s qui sont contraint.e.s de quitter leur emploi ou celles et ceux qui ne commencent pas de contrat en ce moment ne soient pas considéré.e.s comme ayant «quitté volontairement» et à ce qu’ils et elles bénéficiant d’un soutien au revenu.
  5. Étendre le soutien au revenu aux résident.e.s migrant.e.s et sans-papiers qui ont pas gagné moins de 5 000 $ au cours des 12 mois dernier mois.
  6. Le MRN demande également des soins de santé, la protection des travailleur.euse.s, le statut de résidence permanente et un soutien communautaire pour tous et toutes : www.MigrantRights.ca/COVID19-fr.

Dans un effort non partisan sans précédent, 30 député.e.s provinciaux et 20 conseiller.ère.s et maires se regroupent pour appeler à un accès au «soutien au revenu d’urgence ainsi qu’à tous les autres droits et programmes sociaux» pour l’ensemble des travailleur.euse.s essentiel.le.s, quel que soit leur statut d’immigration.

Pour les élu.e.s qui souhaitent ajouter leur signature, veuillez envoyer un courriel à info@migrantrights.ca.

50 Elected Representatives from All Provinces Call on Federal Government to Support Essential Migrant & Undocumented Workers

Ottawa, May 4, 2020 —  50 elected provincial and municipal representatives from each of Canada’s provinces are issuing a statement today calling on the federal government to extend income supports to all migrant and undocumented workers, including those outside the country, in support of a proposal by Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s migrant coalition. In an unprecedented non-partisan effort, 30 MPPs, MLAs and MNAs and 20 Councilors and Mayors are joining together to call for “emergency income supports as well as all other social programs and rights ” for all essential workers regardless of immigration status. See full list of signatories and the statement at www.MigrantRights.ca/RepsLetter.  

“We’re stronger, healthier and safer as a community when we stand together to demand and ensure no one is left behind. This moment calls on us to go all in for all of us,” said Victoria Councillor Sharmarke Dubow, one of the statement signatories. “In a public health crisis, unless we protect everyone, we cannot protect anyone. To leave over a million people without income support makes it impossible to flatten the curve for anyone.”

There are over 1.8 million non-permanent residents in Canada. In addition thousands migrant workers remain outside the country unable to enter because of border closures or health concerns. Many migrants are excluded from emergency income supports because they don’t have a valid Social Insurance Numbers (SIN), or are outside the country despite paying rent or having contracts in Canada. Other migrants are excluded because they did not earn the required amount for CERB. The Canada Emergency Student Benefit explicitly excludes study permit holders. Migrant Rights Network is calling for emergency supports to be extended to people with an invalid SIN, and the issuing of Individual Tax Numbers to workers with no SIN. Migrant Rights Network is also calling for healthcare, worker protections, community supports and permanent resident status for all. 

“My family is expecting a baby any day now, but we do not have the money to pay for healthcare or rent,” says Cesar Paredes, an undocumented father-to-be and construction worker in Toronto who lost his job due to COVID-19. “We live here, we do essential work, we deserve to be treated as human beings and given a chance to make it through the pandemic.”

Cesar is one of thousands of members of organizations that make up the Migrant Rights Network. Karen Cocq, Campaigns Coordinator for Migrant Rights Network adds, “Migrants, our organizations, and now elected representatives from many of the same ridings as the COVID-19 Cabinet Committee are all raising their voices calling for income supports, healthcare, and permanent resident status for migrant and undocumented people. As the conversation turns to reopening the economy, many hundreds of thousands of people are still in abject crisis, facing irreversible changes to their lives because they can’t make rent, or keep up with car or tuition payments – extending emergency supports and permanent resident status to them is a matter of utmost priority.”

“I represent a riding where many migrant workers are engaged in building our economy, I could not, in good conscience, leave them unrepresented, says Kevin Arseneau, MLA for Kent-North in New Brunswick where the provincial government has closed the border to migrant workers. “Migrant and undocumented workers are essential in New Brunswick: they grow our food, take care of children, sick and the elderly, clean homes and hospitals, prepare and deliver food and work in construction. They deserve the same income support as everyone else.“

“Migrant workers are essential workers who keep our economy running and put food on our table. This pandemic has shown us the value of essential workers and that there’s nothing more important than taking care of one another.” added Bhutila Karpoche, MPP Parkdale – High Park in Ontario. 

According to the last census, 42.9% of non-permanent residents are low-income (as compared to 12.5% of non-immigrants, and 17.9% of immigrants). Families left with no income during COVID-19 because of their immigration status are choosing between accessing emergency healthcare, including during births, or paying rent. Laid off migrant farmworkers are homeless, and without food. Racialized, low-waged and migrant workers are forced to move in with abusive employers as their workplaces are closed down or they lose their housing. 

MEDIA CONTACTS

  • National Coordination, interviews with workers, elected reps signatories: Karen Cocq, Migrant Rights Network, 647-970-8464
  • British Columbia: Byron Cruz, 604-315-7725, Sanctuary Health
  • Ontario: Deena Ladd, 416-836-2379, Workers Action Centre
  • Alberta: Marco Luciano, 780-966-5908, Migrante Alberta
  • Manitoba & Saskatchewan: Diwa Marcelino, 204-218-7100, Migrante Manitoba
  • Atlantic Region: Ann Wheatley, 902-388-8183, Cooper Institute
  • Quebec: Joey Calugay, 514-947-3662, Immigrant Workers Centre 

Migrant Rights Network is Canada’s migrant coalition made up of over 50 organizations in eight provinces. See full membership list and MRN’s call for just crisis response here: www.MigrantRights.ca/COVID19. 

Release: Essential Undocumented & Migrant Workers Fear For Their Future, Call for Income Supports

CANADA, April 16, 2020 – In a rare and historic moment, essential undocumented and migrant workers from across Canada and Mexico spoke out today calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to fill the gaps that exclude them from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s only migrant led national body – released a letter outlining solutions to ensure income for 1.8 million migrants in the country. 

Laura Lopez, a mother of two from Vancouver and a member of Sanctuary Health, is one of over half a million people in Canada who are undocumented. She’s calling for CERB to be accessible to people without Social Insurance Numbers. 

“My biggest fear is that we are going to end up on the street, us and our two kids,” she said. “People like us, working in construction or cleaning, we are essential workers. Help in this crisis must be universal.” 

Laura’s story is echoed across the country. Lisa Cheun, a member of Butterfly, is a refugee claimant without a work permit in Toronto who worked at a massage parlour until businesses were shut down this month. 

“I paid more than $4000 in income taxes just in March. But I cannot get the government funding support because I have not obtained my work permit this year. But I have lost my job and have no income. What can I do now?” 

The Social Insurance Numbers of temporary residents expire alongside their work and study permits. A valid SIN is necessary to access the CERB program. 

Alina Przybyl is a Polish student at Toronto’s George Brown College in the Assaulted Women and Children’s Counselling program and a member of Migrant Students United. She applied for a renewal of her study permit three months ago, and is still waiting for it. SIN renewal will take another three months. 

“In a time of a global crisis, when we keep hearing that ‘we are in this together’, but many of us are still facing barriers. We are all affected and we should all be supported, regardless of our immigration status,” added the former restaurant worker, who recently lost her jobs both on and off campus because of COVID-19. 

In order to flatten the curve, everyone needs to follow public health directives. But without income, undocumented and migrant workers are some of the most at risk for losing housing, access to food and healthcare. 

The problem extends beyond Canada’s borders. Tens of thousands of essential migrant agricultural workers are unable or afraid to travel. Lost incomes are throwing families into crisis the world over.

“I have been coming to Canada to work for 17 years. But, because of COVID19, I have not been able to travel to Canada to work. I think it is only fair and that I have a right to receive government support because, like any Canadian worker, I have a Social Insurance Number,” says Gustavo Antonio, a migrant farm worker member of RAMA who works in the Okanagan Valley and is still waiting to travel. 

“In a public health emergency, we cannot protect anyone if we do not protect everyone. Over half a million workers are in a state of abject despair. Immediate comprehensive government action is necessary,” added Syed Hussan, Executive Director, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. “Most migrant and undocumented people are essential workers that are caring for all of us, and keeping the economy moving right now. They cannot be allowed to go hungry and die because they don’t have an active Social Insurance Number. We have a solution and are calling on the government to meet with us to ensure migrants get the support they need and status now.” 

Nearly 5,000 people and many national organizations have signed on to Migrant Rights Network’s calls: www.MigrantRights.ca/COVID19. 

###

 

Contact: Syed Hussan, 416 453 3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org 

Video of today’s press conference available. 

BACKGROUND

Migrant Rights Network is calling on the Federal Government to meet with migrant-led organizations to create mechanisms to:

  1. Ensure residents without Social Insurance Numbers have access to Canada Emergency Response Benefit through the provision of accessible Individual Tax Numbers where information is not shared with immigration authorities. 
  2. Extend access to CERB for those whose SIN has expired. 
  3. Ensure that Seasonal TFWP and SAWP workers have access to income supports for delays in contracts, both inside and outside the country. 
  4. Ensure that migrant workers who are forced to leave jobs or those that aren’t starting contracts right now are not deemed to have “quit voluntarily” and receive income supports. 
  5. Extend income supports to migrant and undocumented residents who did not earn at least $5,000 in the previous 12 months. 

Migrant Rights Network is Canada’s Migrant Coalition, and includes Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network), Caregivers’ Action Centre, Centre des travailleuses et travailleurs immigrants, Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto, Collaborative Network to End Exploitation, Cooper Institute and the Prince Edward Island Action Team for Migrant Workers’ Rights, Durham Region Migrant Solidarity Network, FCJ Refugee House, Fuerza Migrante Vancouver, GABRIELA Ontario, IAVGO Community Legal Clinic, Income Security Advocacy Centre, Migrant Students United, Migrant Worker Solidarity Network – Manitoba, Migrant Workers Alliance – Niagara, Ontario, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, Migrante (Alberta, BC, Canada, Manitoba, Ontario), No One Is Illegal (Toronto, Halifax, London, Vancouver), Migrant Resource Centre Canada, OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, OHIP For All, PCLS Community Legal Clinic, Radical Action with Migrants in Agriculture (RAMA), Okanagan region, BC, Sanctuary Health, Solidarity Across Borders, South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario, UFCW Canada, UNIFOR, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights, Workers Action Centre and Workers United

 

Press Conference: Essential Undocumented & Migrant Workers Call for Emergency Income Supports During COVID-19

CANADA, April 16, 2020 – Undocumented and migrant workers from across Canada and Mexico are calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to fill the gaps that exclude them from Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). Essential agricultural and domestic workers, cleaners, construction workers, small business owners, students, and parents are calling for CERB to be made available to those without valid Social Insurance Numbers. At least 1 in 22 people in Canada (over 1.8 million people) are migrants. 

  • WHAT: Online Press Conference for Income Supports for All Essential Workers
  • WHEN: TODAY: 1pm EST, 10am PST, 2pm AST, Thursday, April 16, 2020
  • WHERE: Registration required: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fnHz8altRbKs9dYQIcQFTA 
  • WHO: Laura Lopez (Undocumented mother of 2, Vancouver – Member: Sanctuary Health); Cesar F (Undocumented construction worker, expectant father, Toronto); Alina Przybyl (Migrant student with an expired SIN, Toronto – Member: Migrant Students United ); Gustavo Antonio (Migrant farmworker stranded in Mexico – Member: RAMA); Liliana Trejo (Undocumented temp agency worker, single mother, Montreal – Member: Immigrant Workers Centre); Lisa Cheung (Undocumented massage parlour worker, Toronto – Member: Butterfly); Danilo Dee (Former Temporary Foreign Worker, father of 2, Edmonton – Member: Migrante Alberta); Julie Diesta (Member – Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights); Syed Hussan (Executive Director, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change). 

Media Contact: Syed Hussan, 416 453 3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org 

BACKGROUND

  • In order to flatten the curve, everyone needs to follow public health directives. But without income, undocumented and migrant workers are some of the most at risk for losing housing, access to food and healthcare. 
  • Over half a million people in Canada are undocumented, without Social Insurance Numbers (SIN). Many have lost income during COVID-19 and are suffering. 
  • There are 1.3 million study and work permit holders, and refugee claimants in Canada. Their SIN begins with ‘9’ and expires along with their immigration permits. To renew a SIN, immigration permits must be renewed. COVID-19 has created enormous delays in permit processing, and hundreds of thousands of workers are being left without valid permits and SINs. 
  • Migrants and undocumented people are over-represented in essential industries. They work in agriculture, cleaning, in long term care facilities, grocery stores, restaurants, warehouses, domestic work and as truck drivers and delivery workers. 
  • Migrant and undocumented workers pay retail tax on purchases, and property taxes through rent. Most pay income tax, EI and CPP. 
  • 42.9% of non-permanent residents are low-income (as compared to 12.5% of non-immigrants, and 17.9% of immigrants). They are therefore extremely vulnerable to economic crises – a single missed paycheque causes irreversible harm to health, safety, and future life possibilities.
  • Like other low-wage workers, migrant and undocumented workers spend the majority of their income on rent, basic necessities, food and transportation. As such, they play a critical role in sustaining and growing local economies. When income disappears for the poorest, the effects are amplified across the entire economy. 
  • The Migrant Rights Network continues to call for healthcare for all, enhanced worker protections, open work permits and permanent resident status for all, an end to detentions and deportations, expanded community supports for migrants, and justice for Indigenous and racialized people around the world. See our full petition: www.MigrantRights.ca/COVID19. These demands have been endorsed by Canadian Labour Congress, Canadian Federation of Students, 350 Canada and more. 

 

###

 

Migrant Rights Network is Canada’s Migrant Coalition, and includes Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network), Caregivers’ Action Centre, Centre des travailleuses et travailleurs immigrants, Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto, Collaborative Network to End Exploitation, Cooper Institute and the Prince Edward Island Action Team for Migrant Workers’ Rights, Durham Region Migrant Solidarity Network, FCJ Refugee House, Fuerza Migrante Vancouver, GABRIELA Ontario, IAVGO Community Legal Clinic, Income Security Advocacy Centre, Migrant Students United, Migrant Worker Solidarity Network – Manitoba, Migrant Workers Alliance – Niagara, Ontario, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, Migrante (Alberta, BC, Canada, Manitoba, Ontario), No One Is Illegal (Toronto, Halifax, London, Vancouver), Migrant Resource Centre Canada, OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, OHIP For All, PCLS Community Legal Clinic, Radical Action with Migrants in Agriculture (RAMA), Okanagan region, BC, Sanctuary Health, Solidarity Across Borders, South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario, UFCW Canada, UNIFOR, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights, Workers Action Centre and Workers United

 

Income support for migrants in Canada

english español francais


HAVE YOU LOST WORK OR INCOME BECAUSE OF COVID-19? YOU CAN GET INCOME SUPPORT!

All non-permanent residents with a valid Social Insurance Number can get money through the Federal government’s emergency fund (CERB). You do not need to have filed taxes in previous years and you will not be asked to submit any documents at this time. This is a taxable benefit which the government expects you to declare on your tax return in 2021.

This information is accurate as of April 23. Things are changing constantly. Check back here regularly for updates. 

How to apply:

ONLINE 

(if you already have “MyAccount” or “MyServiceCanada”)

  1. Go to: www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/benefits/apply-for-cerb-with-cra.html
  2. You will be asked if you were self-employed or an employee. If you click “employee” then you will be asked if you were full time or part time. These questions will not disqualify you, they simply direct you to either the EI or CRA pathway for applying. You will then be asked to sign into your MyAccount / MyService Canada.
  3. Once you have signed in, you will see the list of requirements to qualify. Click “I confirm that I meet the requirements set out above…”. You will not need to provide any documents at this time. The minimum $5000 income in the past 12 months or in 2019 can be from within or outside Canada.
  4. If you were an employee, you will then be asked questions about your past employment, but you will not be asked for any documents at this time.

BY PHONE 

If you have filed taxes in the past:

  1. Call 1-800-959-2019
  2. You will be asked for your SIN, Temporary Tax Number or Individual Tax Number.

If you have never filed taxes:

  1. Call 1-800-959-8281
  2. You will be asked for your SIN, Temporary Tax Number or Individual Tax Number.

Whether you apply online or by phone, you will not need to submit documents to prove you meet the requirements. The minimum $5000 income in the past 12 months or in 2019 can be from within or outside Canada

Are you having problems applying? We can help. Fill out the form below to tell us what happened and we will contact you soon. All information is confidential. 

All of us deserve support during this time of crisis, regardless of immigration status. We are fighting to ensure no one gets left behind! Join us: http://migrantrights.ca/covid19/

This form is created by Migrant Workers Alliance for Change to connect with migrants (non-permanent residents) in Canada, or who are stuck abroad, and who are facing loss of income during COVID-19. We want to know what your experience was applying for income support. Fill out this form if you believe you are not eligible, have been excluded, or if you are having problems and we will get in touch with you! All information is confidential. We are a migrant rights organization and will not share information with government or employers!

___________________________________________________________________________________


Apoyo económico para migrantes en Canadá

¿PERDISTE TU TRABAJO O TUS INGRESOS POR COVID 19? ¡PUEDES OBTENER AYUDA ECONÓMICA!

Todos los residentes no permanentes con un Número de Seguro Social (Social Insurance Number, o SIN) válido pueden obtener dinero a través del fondo de emergencia del gobierno federal (CERB). No es necesario que hayas presentado impuestos en años anteriores y no tendrás que presentar ningún documento en este momento. Este es un beneficio sobre el cual se debe pagar impuestos cuando haces tus taxes en 2021.

Esta información corresponde a lo mencionado el 23 de abril. Las cosas cambian constantemente. Revisa este sitio web regularmente para tener información actualizada.

Como Aplicar:

EN LINEA

(Si ya tienes un “MyAccount” o “MyServiceCanada”) 

  1. Visite: www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/benefits/apply-for-cerb-with-cra.html 
  1. Te preguntarán si eres empleado o si trabajas por cuenta propia. Si seleccionas “empleado” te preguntarán si era trabajo a tiempo parcial o tiempo completo. Estas preguntas no te descalificaran, simplemente te dirigen a la vía de EI o CRA para presentar la solicitud. Luego te pedirán que ingreses en tu cuenta MyAccount / MyServiceCanada.
  2. Una vez que hayas iniciado la sesión, verás la lista de requisitos para calificar. Haz clic en “Confirmo que cumplo con los requisitos establecidos anteriormente…”. No tendrás que entregar ningún documento en este momento. El ingreso mínimo de $5000 puede ser desde dentro o fuera del país.
  1. Si fuiste empleado, te harán varias preguntas sobre tu empleo anterior, pero no te pedirán ningún documento en este momento. 

POR TELÉFONO

Si has presentado impuestos en el pasado: 

  1. Llama 1-800-959-2019
  2. Te pedirán tu SIN, número de impuesto temporal o número de impuesto individual (ITN). 

Si nunca has presentado impuestos:

  1. Llama al 1-800-959-8281
  2. Te pedirán tu SIN, número de impuesto temporal o número de impuesto individual (ITN).

No tendrás que entregar documentos en este momento para probar que reúnes los requisitos para recibir ayuda económica. El ingreso mínimo de $5000 puede ser desde dentro o fuera del país.

¿Tienes problemas para aplicar?  Podemos ayudarte. Completa este formulario para contarnos qué sucedió y nos comunicaremos contigo en la brevedad posible. Toda la información es confidencial.

Todos merecemos apoyo durante este tiempo de crisis, no importa nuestra estatus migratorio. ¡Estamos luchando para asegurar que nadie se quede atrás! Únete a nosotros: http://migrantrights.ca/covid19/

 

Soutien financier aux migrants au Canada 

Vous avez perdu votre travail ou source de revenus à cause du COVID-19? Vous pouvez bénéficier d’un soutien financier! 

Tous les résidents non-permanents avec un Numéro d’Assurance Sociale valide peuvent obtenir de l’argent grâce à la Prestation Canadienne d’Urgence. Vous n’avez pas besoin d’avoir remis vos déclaration de revenus des années précédentes et on ne vous demandera pas de fournir de documents en ce moment. Cette prestation est un revenu imposable que le gouvernement espère que vous déclarez en 2021.

Cette information est à jour le 23 avril. Les changements sont constants. Vérifier cette page régulièrement pour voir les mises à jour.

Comment obtenir le soutien financier :

EN LIGNE

(Si vous avez déjà “Mon dossier” ou “Mon dossier Service Canada”)

1. Aller sur : https://www.canada.ca/fr/services/prestations/ae/pcusc-application.html
2. Il vous sera demandé si vous êtes travailleur autonome ou salarié. Si vous cliquez “salarié”, alors il vous sera demandé si vous étiez à temps plein ou à temps partiel. Ces questions ne vous disqualifient pas, elles ne font que vous diriger vers la demande d’assurance-emploi ou vers l’Agence de revenu du Canada.
3. Une fois que vous vous êtes identifié, la liste des exigences pour recevoir l’aide s’affichera. Cliquez sur “Je confirme que je remplis les exigences citées ci-dessus…”. Vous n’aurez pas besoin de fournir de documents en ce moment. Le revenu minimal de 5000$ peut venir de l’intérieur ou de l’extérieur du Canada.
4. Si vous étiez un salarié, des questions vous seront posées sur votre ancien emploi, mais on ne vous demandera pas de documents en ce moment.

AU TÉLÉPHONE

Si vous avez déjà fait vos déclaration de revenu :

1. Appelez le 1-800-959-2019
2. On vous demandera votre NAS, Numéro D’Impôt Provisoire ou Numéro d’identification-impôt (NII).

Si vous n’avez jamais fait de déclaration de revenus:

1. Appelez le 1-800-959-8281
2. On vous demandera votre NAS, Numéro d’Impôt Provisoire ou Numéro d’identification-impôt (NII).

Que vous fassiez la demande de soutien financier par téléphone ou en ligne, on ne vous demandera pas de documents en ce moment pour prouver que vous remplissez les exigences pour obtenir l’argent. Le minimum de 5000$ peut provenir de l’intérieur ou de l’extérieur du Canada.

Vous avez des problèmes pour faire votre demande? Nous pouvons vous aider. Remplissez le formulaire ci-dessous et dites-nous ce qu’il s’est passé et nous vous contacterons sous peu. Toute information reste confidentielle.

Nous méritons tous du soutien durant cette période de crise, peu importe notre statut d’immigration. Nous luttons pour que personne ne soit laissé de côté! Rejoignez-nous: http://migrantrights.ca/covid19/

63 Migrant Workers Affected by COVID-19 Due to Government & Employer Negligence!

Cross-Country Migrants Alliance Calls for Monitoring and Enforcement of Employers to Ensure Workers Can Protect their Health, Receive Income and Make Complaints During Quarantine. 

CANADA, April 1, 2020 – The Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s migrant alliance – calls on the federal government to immediately require employers of migrant workers to provide adequate health and safety protections and income to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. Already, 75 workers – 63 of them migrant farmworkers – in Kelowna, BC, have been affected as a direct result of substandard housing and working conditions. Tens of thousands of workers are expected to arrive in Canada in the coming days. The federal government has created ‘guidelines’ for employers which have not been made public, and no monitoring and enforcement mechanism has been created. The Migrant Rights Network has sent a detailed letter to the federal government outlining necessary changes and requesting consultation in order to create regulations that ensure worker rights and safety, as part of our broader demands for migrant justice during COVID-19. 

“Unsafe housing and lack of labour and immigration rights has put migrant farm workers at immense risk,” says Byron Cruz from Sanctuary Health in Vancouver. “Already workers in Kelowna have become infected because of lack of enforceable quarantine requirements. We are worried about the lack of plans from the relevant health authorities to provide adequate access to healthcare for migrant workers. Currently, Sanctuary Health is supporting workers who are in quarantine on several farms. Workers have been abandoned by employers and are relying on the support of community groups for food. We demand an immediate audit of the measures taken by farms, and that workers have input on establishing appropriate quarantine requirements that uphold migrant dignity.” 

“In order to avert a human rights crisis, we need swift action to ensure employers are providing adequate quarantine measures – this includes a monitoring and enforcement unit, real penalties for violating standards, and a mechanism for workers to safely file complaints,” added Syed Hussan, Executive Director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. “This crisis has made it urgently clear that employer and government negligence to ensure decent housing and working conditions must end. We need national housing standards for migrant workers, and permanent resident status for all migrants, refugees and undocumented people now. We cannot risk having tiered access to health and income supports for people on the basis of immigration status. In a public health crisis, we cannot protect anyone if we do not protect everyone.” 

Download our full letter here. 

Ensuring Migrant Worker Safety During Quarantine Includes: 

  • Enforceable requirements on employers, and a monitoring and enforcement unit to ensure these requirements are met before workers arrive. 
  • Employers must be required to enable self-isolation and quarantining, provide healthcare information in a worker’s language of choice, and connect workers to local public health services. Employers must ensure adequate housing, hygiene products and meals for workers during their quarantine period without deductions. Workers must be paid during quarantine, and income supports provided for workers who haven’t arrived or arrived late. 
  • These requirements must apply from the moment workers depart their home countries, throughout their travel to Canada, and through travel from airports to workplaces. If workers are housed in hotels, these requirements must extend to travel from hotels to workplaces. 
  • A 24-hour accessible telephone hotline and web interface must be established for workers to confidentially and anonymously make complaints about employer non-compliance in their own languages, or by third parties such as migrant worker support organizations. 
  • The enforcement division must do swift, unannounced inspections on employers where complaints have been made, in coordination with local public health officials.
  • All health assessments and follow-up support must be done by public health officials. 
  • Healthcare must be guaranteed in all provinces, without the need for a health card, through emergency changes to the Interim Federal Health program or expanded provincial health transfers. 
  • These requirements must be made available to workers and worker rights organizations in advance of workers travelling to Canada and at the port of entry, with information on how workers can assert their rights and make anonymous complaints, available in appropriate languages. 

Migrant Rights Network – Food & Farm Worker Working Group Organizers are available for comment: 

  • National Coordination, Syed Hussan, 416-453-3632, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. 
  • Sanctuary Health, Vancouver, Byron Cruz, 604-315-7725
  • Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrant-e-s, Montreal, Français seulment, Viviana Medina, 438-881-9174
  • RAMA, Central Okanagan, Amy Cohen, 250-309-5698 or  Robyn Bunn, 250-215-1033
  • Migrant Workers Alliance – Niagara, Kit Andres, 905-324-2840

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Migrant Rights Network Members: Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network), Caregivers’ Action Centre, Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto, Centre des travailleuses et travailleurs immigrants, Collaborative Network to End Exploitation, Cooper Institute/PEI Action Team, Fuerza Migrante Vancouver, Migrant Students United, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change*, Migrante Alberta, Migrante BC, Migrante Canada, Migrante Manitoba, Migrante Ontario, Migrant Workers Alliance – Niagara, No One Is Illegal – Halifax, No One Is Illegal – London, No One Is Illegal – Vancouver, OHIP For All, Radical Action with Migrants in Agriculture, Sanctuary Health, Solidarity Across Borders, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Worker and Caregiver Rights, Workers Action Centre. *Migrant Workers Alliance for Change includes Asian Community Aids Services, Durham Region Migrant Solidarity Network, FCJ Refugee House, GABRIELA Ontario, IAVGO Community Legal Clinic, Income Security Advocacy Centre, No One Is Illegal – Toronto, Northumberland Community Legal Centre, OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, PCLS Community Legal Clinic, SALCO Community Legal Clinic, UFCW, UNIFOR and Workers United, as well as a number of organizations listed as separate members. 

Make the Call: Income Supports for All Migrants!

We are in a critical moment! 

On Wednesday, the Federal government approved an emergency fund for workers impacted by the COVID19 crisis. It’s called the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and it replaces the programs announced by the government last week. CERB will give $2000/month to workers who have lost their jobs or income because of COVID19. It will be available in early April and money should start arriving within two weeks of applying.

Now the Prime Minister and other Federal Ministers (Cabinet) will be finalizing the details of how people can access  the program. 

These details are crucial. What you do now can help ensure hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, undocumented people and workers earning cash receive the financial support they so desperately need. 

Name, you need to call Cabinet Ministers and tell them to ensure everyone receives comprehensive income support immediately regardless of immigration status.

Use the form above and we will connect you! Your call WILL make a difference.  

Already our actions are working. On Monday, hundreds of us called Trudeau and  Members of Parliament. Migrant workers across the country – and many from abroad – made the calls too. As a result, the law passed on Wednesday promises income supports for residents, not just ‘Canadians’. The government has said that some migrant workers and students can apply for this fund!

This is a major step forward, but it’s not enough. The government has said it will be asking for Social Insurance Numbers when workers apply for support. This will exclude undocumented people, workers in transition from one kind of permit to another, and workers recently arriving who have not received their SIN yet. The fund will be administered through the Canada Revenue Agency, and this will discourage many people from applying.

We need Cabinet to make rules that ensure everyone, regardless of Social Insurance Number, immigration status, or whether they feel comfortable using the CRA system, can get the supports they need. Yesterday, a majority of migrant groups in Canada sent a letter to Cabinet. Read it here.

Now it’s your turn. Call now! Decisions about how this fund will be administered are being made right now,  so we have no time to lose! Let let your friends, and us, know by tagging @MigrantRightsCA on facebook, twitter or instagram.

Call Now: Income Supports for All!

 


[le français suit // el español sigue]

Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24th, Canada’s parliament will vote on income supports for workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decisions they make will literally mean life or death for tens of thousands of people who are facing financial ruin. 

This is why today, right this instant, Prime Minister Trudeau, and your Member of Parliament need to hear from you. Pick up the phone, and make two calls right now. Your call will make a difference. Tell them:

ENSURE EVERYONE RECEIVES FULL INCOME SUPPORT IMMEDIATELY REGARDLESS OF IMMIGRATION OR PREVIOUS WORK STATUS

  • Use the tool above to make calls! 

The government announced last week it would provide income supports, and the actual legislation will be debated tomorrow. The details – exactly who qualifies, for how much, and for how long – will be decided then. Now is the time to ensure that no one is left behind. But you have to act immediately. 

When you call, remind both the Prime Minister and your MP that: 

  • It is agricultural, food, domestic, warehouse, delivery, cleaning, gig and app workers, bus and taxi drivers, health care and other workers who are ensuring that we get our basic needs. It is critical that all of them get income supports. Many of these workers are migrants, and the programs announced could shut them out.
  • Programs announced by the government will not ensure that we get money before rent day, and the amounts promised are very little. We need decent pay for everyone in the country, including migrants arriving and being placed in quarantine, and we need it immediately.
  • Many people do not qualify for Employment Insurance or Canada Revenue Agency managed programs including homeless and undocumented people, migrant workers, unemployed, temporary and precarious workers, disabled people, cash work and more. Right now, we need income supports for all.
  • Remind them everyone needs full access to healthcare and community supports, including housing. And that a real crisis response must mean an end to detentions and deportations, and permanent status for all. Learn more www.MigrantRights.ca/Covid19

We especially urge migrants, undocumented, poor, racialized and working people to make calls. Politicians need to hear from those most affected. But every voice is needed. 

Let your friends, and us, know you called by tagging @MigrantRightsCA on facebook, twitter or instagram. 

Appelez maintenant : l’allocation de revenu pour tout le monde!

Demain, le 24 mars, le Parlement canadien votera sur les mesures d’allocation de revenu pour les travailleurs et travailleuses pendant la pandémie de COVID-19. Les décisions que prendront les élu.e.s seront littéralement une question de vie ou de mort pour les milliers de personnes au bord du gouffre financier.  

C’est pourquoi le premier ministre Trudeau et votre député.e doivent aujourd’hui même vous entendre à ce sujet. Nous vous invitons à faire deux appels, immédiatement. Votre appel fera une différence. Dites-leur :

ASSUREZ-VOUS QUE TOUT LE MONDE REÇOIVE IMMÉDIATEMENT UNE ALLOCATION DE REVENU COMPLÈTE, SANS ÉGARD AU STATUT D’IMMIGRATION OU STATUT DE TRAVAIL ANTÉRIEUR

Appelez le premier ministre Justin Trudeau : (613) 992-4211

Appelez votre député.e : https://www.noscommunes.ca/members/fr

Le gouvernement a annoncé la semaine dernière qu’il offrirait des mesures de soutien au revenu, et la législation qui y correspond sera débattue demain. Les détails – qui y aura droit, le montant et la durée des prestations – seront décidés à ce moment. Il est maintenant temps de veiller à ce que personne ne soit oublié. Vous devez agir immédiatement.

Lorsque vous appelez, rappelez au premier ministre et à votre député.e que :

  • Ce sont les travailleurs et travailleuses agricoles, de l’alimentation, de l’entreposage, de la livraison et de l’entretien ménager, les travailleurs et travailleuses à contrat, qui travaillent à partir d’applications, qui conduisent des autobus et des taxis, qui œuvrent dans les soins de santé et bien d’autres encore qui s’assurent de combler nos besoins de base. Il est essentiel que toutes ces personnes reçoivent un soutien au revenu. Bon nombre d’entre elles sont des personnes migrantes, et les programmes annoncés pourraient les exclure.
  • Les programmes annoncés par le gouvernement ne nous permettront pas d’avoir de l’argent à temps pour payer le loyer, et les montants promis sont très peu élevés. Nous avons besoin d’un salaire décent pour l’ensemble des habitant.e.s du pays, y compris les personnes migrantes qui arrivent au pays et sont placées en quarantaine, et nous en avons besoin immédiatement.
  • De nombreuses personnes ne sont pas admissibles à l’assurance-emploi ou aux programmes gérés par l’Agence du revenu du Canada, comme les personnes itinérantes, sans papiers et sans emploi, les travailleurs et travailleuses migrants, temporaires et en situation de précarité, les personnes en situation de handicap, les personnes payées en argent comptant et bien d’autres. En ce moment, nous avons besoin d’un soutien au revenu pour tout le monde.
  • Rappelez-leur que tout le monde a besoin d’un plein accès aux soins de santé et au soutien communautaire, y compris au logement. Une véritable réponse à la crise doit inclure de mettre un terme aux détentions et aux expulsions, et d’accorder un statut permanent à tous et toutes. Pour en savoir plus :  www.MigrantRights.ca/Covid19

Nous incitons particulièrement les personnes migrantes, sans papiers, pauvres, racisées et en emploi à faire des appels. Les politiciens et politiciennes doivent entendre les personnes les plus touchées par la situation actuelle. Chaque voix compte.

Faites-nous savoir et faites savoir à vos ami.e.s que vous avez appelé en taguant @MigrantRightsCA sur facebook, twitter or instagram.

Llama ahora: ¡Apoyo económico para todos!

Mañana, martes 24 de marzo, el Parlamento de Canadá votará sobre programas de apoyo económico para trabajadores y otros afectados por la pandemia COVID-19. Las decisiones que toman significarán literalmente vida o muerte para decenas de miles de personas que enfrentan una ruina financiera.

Es por eso que hoy, en este instante, el Primer Ministro Trudeau y tu Miembro de Parlamento necesitan saber de tí. Haz dos llamadas ahora. Tu llamada hará la diferencia. Díles:

QUE TODOS DEBEN RECIBIR APOYO ECONÓMICO INMEDIATAMENTE, SIN IMPORTAR EL ESTATUS MIGRATORIO O HISTORIAL DE TRABAJO

Llama al Primer Ministro Justin Trudeau: 613-992-4211

Llama a tu miembro de Parlamento: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en

El gobierno anunció la semana pasada apoyos económicos, y la legislación se debatirá mañana. Los detalles – exactamente quién califica, la cantidad de apoyo y por cuánto tiempo – se decidirán entonces. Ahora es el momento de garantizar que nadie se quede atrás. Pero tienes que actuar de inmediato.

Cuando llames, recuérdales tanto al Primer Ministro como a tu MP que:

  • Son los trabajadores agrícolas, de industrias alimenticias, domésticas, de almacén, de repartida, de limpieza, de aplicaciones digitales, conductores de autobuses y taxis, de atención médica y otros trabajadores que nos dejan cubrir nuestras necesidades básicas. Es crítico que todos ellos reciban apoyo económico. Muchos de estos trabajadores son migrantes, y los programas anunciados podrían excluirlos.
  • Los programas anunciados por el gobierno no asegurarán que recibamos dinero antes del 1o de abril cuando se cobra el alquiler, y las cantidades prometidas son muy pequeñas. Necesitamos un sueldo decente para todos en el país, incluidos los migrantes que están por llegar y serán puestos en cuarentena, y lo necesitamos de inmediato.
  • Muchas personas no califican para el Seguro de Empleo (EI) o los programas administrados por la Agencia Tributaria de Canadá (Canada Revenue Agency): personas sin hogar e indocumentados, trabajadores migrantes, desempleados, trabajadores temporales y precarios, personas discapacitadas, gente que se les paga en efectivo y más. En este momento, necesitamos apoyo económico para todos.
  • Recuérdales que todos necesitan acceso completo a servicios de salud y servicios sociales, incluida la vivienda. Y que una respuesta real a la crisis debe significar el fin de las detenciones y deportaciones, y un estatus permanente para todos. Obtenga más información www.MigrantRights.ca/Covid19

Instamos especialmente a los migrantes, indocumentados, pobres, racializados y trabajadores a hacer llamadas. Los políticos necesitan oír de los más afectados. Pero se necesita cada voz.

Avisales a tus amigos y a nosotros que llamaste mencionando a @MigrantRightsCA en Facebook, Twitter o Instagram.

Migrants & Covid19 Response

Crises do not affect us all equally – migrant, poor, and racialized communities will be the first excluded from response measures and the worst affected by the economic downturn. Unless we act!

Women lead the way – International Women’ Day 2020

Nearly 10,000 migrant women are working in Canada today, taking care of Canadian families. Migrant women raise children and tend to the sick and elderly.

Migrant women like Winnie Waithira. Winnie has worked in Ontario since September 2014. She worked 60 hour weeks without a break, and sometimes without pay. She still managed to complete all the requirements to apply for permanent residency and reunite with her family. Despite all this, she has been denied permanent residency.

Winnie hasn’t stayed silent. Along with racialized women migrant workers across Canada, she’s part of Landed Status Now – a migrant care worker campaign for immigration and labour rights. They have already won victories, and ensured rights and status for workers facing deportation. But the work isn’t done.

Right now, many Care Workers are fighting unfair language and educational barriers that make it impossible for them to get Permanent Residency. They are calling on the Immigration Minister to change the rules. Add your voice to theirs!

Sign the petition for Landed Status Now!

Migrant care workers in Canada were the first group of migrant workers to get a path to permanent resident status in 1981 as a direct result of Caribbean domestic women’s organizing. Today, again, it is migrant care workers at the forefront of the migrant justice struggle.

Women migrant workers are not just in care work, but also work in farms, factories, retail fisheries, and sex work; they are students, refugees and sometimes undocumented. They all face economic gender-based exploitation. Census data shows that migrant women workers earn just 31 cents for every dollar that a male permanent resident or citizen earns. The situation is not that much better for citizens: racialized women who are citizens in Canada earn 59 cents for every dollar earned by non-racialized men.

Gender inequality is the hidden engine of the economy. For workers to work, they must be fed and clothed; children must be raised; homes cleaned and elders cared for. This mostly unwaged work falls to women. It is this unwaged work that subsidizes the wealthy. It is how the rich get richer – today 2,153 billionaires have more wealth than 4.6 billion people!

The richest few in Canada get richer from on-going colonialism. Central to this plunder is the oil and gas industry that brings with them “man-camps” which increase violence against Indigenous women. This is one of the reasons the Wet’suwet’en in British Columbia are opposing the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline. Thousands of Indigenous women and girls have been murdered or disappeared in Canada – this is a genocide. This is why today on International Women’s Day, we are in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en and call for an end to violence against Indigenous women.

Those at the top push divisions. Today, on International Working Women’s Day we must unite with working women, sex workers, trans women, homeless women, racialized women, and women in the Global South.

Just as care workers lead the migrant justice movement, women also lead environmental struggles, worker rights fights, movements against war and displacement, and more. Today, and every day, we unite under women’s leadership, we fight, we win.

March 8, 2020

2020: We have a plan. Join us.

Nearly 50 people, representing 34 organizations and migrant justice networks from 13 cities, came together in Toronto last weekend to assess our struggles and determine steps to win migrant and racial justice in the year ahead. 

These are our decisions, and we need your support. In 2020, together we will: 

  • Organize migrants and racialized people. We are only as powerful as the numbers of people with us. In 2020, we are expanding our membership at every level. If you are part of a migrant or racial justice organization – we want to hear from you right now! Email info@migrantrights.ca
  • Take to the streets on June 14th! We are calling for actions for racial and migrant justice across the country on June 14th. Save the date! 
  • Fight for migrant & racial justice. We will be escalating our fight for migrant rights under this minority federal government. Campaigns and actions by care workers, farm workers, refugees, undocumented people, migrant students, and others will be launched throughout the year. 
  • Work with Indigenous, Climate & Labour Movements. We only win together. Our members across Canada will connect and collaborate with Indigenous, Climate and Labour movements. We will organize a migrant justice presence at actions such as Labour Day and Earth Day. 
  • Carry out mass political popular education. Changing the world requires understanding it. We will produce digital educational tools and organize trainings so that supporters can become migrant and racial justice champions.

Our convergence was entirely funded by donations from people like you! Make sure we can implement our 2020 plans by becoming a monthly sustainer. Click here to give a monthly contribution of as low as $2 per month. 

Today, 2,153 billionaires have more wealth than 4.6 billion people. Power over the lives of the majority is concentrated in the hands of these very few. Our collapsing climate, the threat of yet another war, and worsening quality of life are a direct result of this concentration of power.  

To continue their hold on our collective resources, the rich minority fuel racism, xenophobia and divisiveness. Today, at least 70.8 million people are displaced, another 258 million live and work away from their homes. Most migrants are low-waged, racialized people exploited in the countries where we try to build new lives.

Here in Canada, temporariness in the immigration system and in work is increasing. Government policies polarize and divide us. We are given different rights on the basis of the places of our birth, the colour of our skin, the accents we have, and the bodies we inhabit. We are denied labour protections, decent healthcare, the ability to change jobs, and to be with our families. We are divided, tricked into fighting each other instead of those responsible for our suffering. 

We reject these categories of migrant, irregular, refugee, undocumented, citizen. We assert our humanity. We fight not just for ourselves, but for all of us, because we all deserve:

  • Status for All: Permanent resident status and family unity for all migrants and refugees here, and landed status on arrival for those that arrive in the future. No detentions, no deportations!
  • Decent Work: $15 minimum wage, full labour rights and no employer specific or time limited work permits, as well as democratic control over work. 
  • Universal Services: Full access to quality public services including healthcare, education, income security, childcare settlement services, pensions, and more for all residents.
  • Justice for All: Indigenous self-determination, gender justice, and an end to racism, particularly anti-Black racism and Islamophobia, and specific policies to end social oppression. 
  • No Displacement: An end to practices that force people to migrate including climate change, wars, corporate impunity and capitalist economic exploitation.

Winning the fight for racial and migrant justice!

We are in the fight for our lives. Polarization is increasing across the country. Austerity drive governments are in power in many provinces and are slashing public services. The climate crisis is escalating. The worst impacts of these will be on migrants, even as anti-immigrant sentiment increases.

This is a fight we must win. It’s a fight we can win – together. We know we can, because we have accomplished so much, with so little already! 

In 2019, you joined thousands of people in 20+ cities from coast to coast to coast in one of four days of action. Together, we gave a clear warning to politicians that we would not allow racism as a divisive strategy. At these actions, we spoke out against discrimination and global displacement and put forward our platform for justice.

The Migrant Rights Network trained 400 facilitators just between April to September. These facilitators in turn had thousands of one-on-one conversations with people in their lives; busting myths that fuel xenophobia, challenging divisiveness and calling for decent work, universal services, and permanent status for everyone.

While we organized to change minds and the media narrative, we also WON better laws. Care workers facing deportation won a new program for themselves. Immigration detainees won at the Supreme Court of Canada. Farm workers won a commitment to a partial permanent residency program. Migrants pushed for an open work permit for vulnerable workers. International students increased their organizing!

In the days before the election, we issued 10 Election Reality Checks emails full of facts and infographics. You were part of hundreds of thousands of people who read these updates, shared them on social media and used them to talk to your neighbours, friends and family members.

As we approach the end of this incredible year, we know there is hard work ahead of us. Right now, grassroots migrant groups from British Columbia to PEI are holding local meetings to assess  our work to date, and plan for 2020. Just $2 per month would go a long way in ensuring we can continue our work. Give now: www.migrantrights.ca/Donate

If you are part of a self-organized group of racialized people and migrants, get in touch at info@migrantrights.ca. If you want to stay connected, and aren’t part of an organization, sign up!

With your support, in 2020 we will:

  • Bring together grassroots migrant justice organizations from across the country to share strategies and resources, to increase collaboration, and bring migrant leadership to the front!
  • Work closely with climate, labour, feminist and other social movements here and around the world to build a common future where we all thrive!
  • Win better laws and policies for migrants and support campaigns for justice!
  • Create and disseminate popular education materials to build our capacity to fight racism and win!

Together, we will win. Onwards to 2020!

Election Reality Checks

This election, we are publishing regular updates with speaking points and facts to help you talk to your friends, family members and co-workers about racism and immigration.

Often it’s hard to have these difficult conversations, so we prepared a step by step guide to anti-racist conversations to help you.

  • Election Reality Check 1: Let’s Get Louder – For the next 40 days, we will be hearing more lies, half-truths and empty promises from politicians. This is why for the next 40 days, we will be sending you regular Election Reality Checks to help you cut through the noise. These Reality Checks will be full of facts and talking points you can use to respond to politicians who will try to make us blame migrants for low wages, inadequate services and the high cost of living.
  • Election Reality Check 2: Refugees Explained – 9 key facts about refugees that you need to know.
  • Election Reality Check 3: Talking About Blackface – Racialized people, particularly children, are hurt when they see the Prime Minister in Blackface. These images are reminders of all the ways in which they are seen as inferior, been excluded, or tormented. But this is about a lot more than feelings of hurt, this is about systematic laws, policies and culture that underwrite Canada, and how they must change.
  • Election Reality Check 4: Climate Crisis, Racism and Migration – It is no coincidence that the politicians refusing to act on climate change are the same ones drumming up hatred against migrants. Those who have brought us to the brink of climate catastrophe want to evade their responsibility by selling us ineffective individualistic solutions and put the blame elsewhere. To win action on climate, we must reject the politics of division and racism.
  • Election Reality Check 5: Immigration Detention – While migrants are framed as criminals by politicians and the media, the truth is many migrants live in daily fear of being imprisoned without charges or trial, often indefinitely. The threat of detention and deportation keeps migrants from asserting basic rights. Canada’s immigration detention system is unjust, deadly and growing.
  • Election Reality Check 6: What they say vs What they mean on Immigration Policy – During this election you’ll hear many statements and promises about immigration. Some will be explicitly racist, most will be based on half-truths, and all will fall short of what we really need. Here are some common refrains you will hear, and some points you can use to understand and challenge them.
  • Election Reality Check 7: Quebec’s Law 21 Explained – Under the guise of secularism, Quebec’s Law 21 is whipping up anti-immigrant sentiment and Islamophobia. This strategy is not unique to Quebec; it is part of a broader attack on migrants through provincial and federal laws across the country. There is widespread resistance to Law 21 in Quebec. We must amplify that resistance and reject all forms of racism that serve to distract and divide us.
  • Election Reality Check 8: Thank a Migrant Farmworker: We must build communities that prioritize the needs and humanity of migrant farm workers as centrally as our communities rely on their labour. From clean drinking water to safe housing, accessible public transportation, healthcare, full and equal labour and immigration rights, we must build communities in which migrant farm workers and their families can thrive.
  • Election Reality Check 9: Affordability, Work and Wealth: During this election campaign, almost every party has expressed concern for people “struggling to make ends meet” or pledged to make life “more affordable”. Most of the ‘solutions’ on offer, like tax cuts and credits, fail to redistribute wealth and make the economy work for the majority of us. Here are some points you can use to challenge your friends and family members to demand better.
  • Final Reality Check: After the Election: While it may seem difficult to impact what happens inside parliament, we have and we must continue to build our power outside it. Let us coordinate in our workplaces and our communities by talking to people, and winning them over to a shared vision of justice for all, one person at a time, one meeting at a time. And as we come together around issues that matter to each of us the most, we must connect and build links with others here and around the world, towards a common platform of decent work, universal services, permanent status, climate justice, and an end to displacement and discrimination.

4 step guide to talking about racism this election

A recent poll showed that 63% of residents believe that Canada should limit immigration, even though the majority of migrants are coming on temporary permits with few rights. 

Many of our neighbours, colleagues and family members are being convinced by anti-immigrant ideas. It is crucial that they hear from people they know and trust that these anti-immigrant messages are not a solution to our problems but a strategy to distract and divide us. It is crucial that they hear from you.

We are creating tools and tips to help you have these conversations with people in your life. Here are regular bulletins with talking points you can use to respond to the latest anti-immigrant messages your friends and families that we created during the federal election. 

Download a poster version of these 4 steps here. 

We know this is not an easy ask. So, here’s a step-by-step guide:

(1) Listen: Start by listening, and asking questions to identify what feelings are underlying their beliefs. While the specific points may vary, most racist anti-immigrant ideas at their root are motivated by scarcity (there isn’t enough for everyone), law and order (I follow the rules but others do not), or fear (someone is out to get me and my family). Identify the motivating feeling so that you can engage with it. 

(2) Acknowledge: Most of us feel anxious about our future and our children’s future. Acknowledge that and highlight how most of us share this anxiety. Then point out how the people responsible for our low wages, high cost of living, and climate change are the rich and corporations, not migrants.

(3) New facts: Changing people’s minds is largely about values and feelings. But facts are useful too. Share facts about the realities of immigration or the economy, while also talking about why these are not the facts we usually hear and whose interests are served by that. We have lots of resources on our website, and we will be sending you useful facts regularly between now and the election once you sign the pledge at www.migrantrights.ca. 

(4) Solidarity: It’s important to paint a vision of collective struggle that includes all of us as workers, irrespective of immigration status. Talk about how we can all have decent work, universal services, permanent status and fully rights, and a world free of discrimination and displacement if we work together, and the rich pay their fair share. 

The only way to do this is to try. So call up that friend, family member, or co-worker who is falling prey to racist and anti-immigrant ideas and have a conversation. Test out these steps and let us know what worked – email info@migrantrights.ca. Remember: it will take more than one conversation. But we can stop the rise of xenophobia, one conversation at a time. 

Together we can win:

      • DECENT WORK: $15 minimum wage, full labour rights for all, and no employer specific or time limited work permits.
      • UNIVERSAL SERVICES: Quality public services including healthcare, education, income security, childcare, settlement services, pensions, and pharmacare for all.
      • STATUS FOR ALL, STATUS NOW: Permanent resident status for all migrants and refugees here, and landed status on arrival for those who come in the future. No detentions, no deportations!
      • JUSTICE FOR ALL: Indigenous self-determination, gender justice, and an end to racism, particularly anti-Black racism and Islamophobia.
      • NO DISPLACEMENT: An end to practices that force people to migrate including climate change, wars, corporate impunity, and economic exploitation.

 

Immigration Truth & Lies

Learn how to challenge myths about immigration. Let’s unite in our demands for a fair and just society for everyone.

Unite Against Racism Film

This video is a tool to help communities educate themselves about immigration, racism, and the importance of uniting to fight the rise of the right. It comes with discussion guide that will assist you in screening.

Migrant Care Workers Claim Partial Victory, Continue to Demand Landed Status On Arrival

For media contacts, please email info@migrantworkersalliance.org

Toronto, June 15, 2019 — Migrant Care Worker groups from Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec welcome changes announced today that finally allow care workers to bring their families and work without work permits tied to employers. These changes respond, in part, to what care workers have been demanding for years. But this victory falls short of the permanent resident status on arrival that is necessary for migrant care workers to be treated the same as others through our immigration system. Many questions and concerns remain about the implementation of the changes announced today, particularly for migrant care workers already in Canada who will continue to be left out. Migrant workers across Canada are taking action on June 16, 2019 for International Domestic Workers Day, see list of events here.

“Today’s announcement is a result of care workers fighting for our rights for decades, it’s a tremendous victory and testament to our organizing and it’s not enough. Migrant care workers take care of families, and have been for centuries, this is a permanent program with a permanent solution and that means permanent resident status upon arrival for future workers, and full immigration status for all migrant workers already in the country, particularly those who have become undocmented. We particularly need changes for workers already in the country, which means removing arbitrary and unnecessary language and educational requirements, and granting open work permits to all.”
– Kara Manso, Landed Status Now Campaign, Former Care Worker, Coordinator – Caregivers Action Centre

New Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker Pilot Program & Changes Needed

The new pilot program will come into force on June 18th, 2019. Care Workers will have to demonstrate 1 year of post-secondary education, CLB level 5, and a job offer in Canada to apply. They along with their spouses and children will be vetted in advance of arrival to Canada. Upon arrival, the Care Worker will receive an occupation specific work permit, spouses will receive an open work permit, and children will receive study permits. Only after completion of 24 months of service, will care workers and their families be able to apply for permanent resident status.

Care Workers have long demanded the creation of non-LMIA specific work permits, and the ability for families to accompany workers – the addition of these in today’s announcement is a victory.

Care workers demand:

    • English language requirements should be kept at CLB Level 3, and educational requirements should be kept at high school. The Interim Program (see below) was created because CLB Level 5 and post-secondary educational requirements were impossible for most care workers, and unnecessary to work or live or succeed in Canada. They should not be re-introduced. These increased requirements will shut out skilled care workers who do not have the money to pay for the education and English language training.
    • Care workers already in Canada should be granted occupational specific work permits immediately. The government has now clearly recognized that employer specific work permits creates conditions of abuse, there is no reason for them to be continued for workers already here.
    • Migrant care workers must be able to come to Canada with permanent resident status on arrival and with their families. Migrant care work is permanent work, and requires a permanent solution, not another pilot program. Requiring 24 months of service before granting permanent resident status gives enormous power to employers which opens up the possibility of exploitation and abuse.
    • The definition of the family unit must be inclusive, and children must be able to get work permits and pay domestic tuition fees. Care Worker families include grandparents, siblings and other relatives who are sometimes primary carers in the family instead of or in addition to spouses – families should be expanded from just spouse and children. Dependent children are of varying ages and there should be no age limit. Accompanying children must be allowed work permits (not just study permits) and be allowed to pay domestic tuition fees. Care workers must have the ability to choose when their families join them.
    • There should be no second medical examination
    • Care Workers in Quebec continue to be left in limbo. Coordinate with Quebec-based Care Worker groups and the Government of Quebec to ensure this program is extended and includes workers based there.

Interim Pathway & Changes Needed

The Interim Pathway created on March 4th and which expired on June 4th is now being extended from July 8th to October 8th. This Interim Pathway was created in response to the arbitrary, unfair and unnecessary requirements that were created in November 2014, which left tens of thousands of racialized workers without a path to permanent residency, needing to choose between deportation and becoming undocumented.

  • The Interim Pathway lowered service requirement from 24 months to 12 months
  • The Interim Pathway lowered educational requirements from 1 year post-secondary education to high school education.
  • The Interim Pathway kept the arbitrary CLB Level 5 requirement, even though only CLB Level 3 is required or necessary to work in Canada.

While the extension of the program is a Care Worker demand, and opens up the opportunity for some workers to apply, Care Workers continue to demand:

  • Expand the Interim Pathway to all workers including undocumented workers who came to Canada under the 2014 Pilot Caregiver program (i.e., grandfather all current caregivers in the program under the Interim Pathway). For those without enough service accumulated, ensure workers can be grandfathered into the new 2019 Caregiver Pilot Program;
  • Allow Care Workers to apply if they have worked in Canada for 12 months, even if the work was done without a work permit; Care Workers should not have to bear the costs of the unworkable LMIA permits
  • Reduce the required language level to CLB Level 3. Without this change thousands of workers face becoming undocumented;
  • Remove requirement for second medical examination as was previously the law; and,
  • An Interim Pathway for Quebec be created in coordination with Quebec-based Care Worker groups and the Government of Quebec. Since the creation of the Interim Pathway many Quebec based workers have been forced to move out of the province to apply for this program creating mass displacement.

Federal Workers Program

Landed Status Now demands the creation of a Federal Care Worker Program that provides landed status upon entry for Care Workers and our families. Care Workers should be able to seek employment in Canada through the national job bank. Employers seeking Care Workers can use the job bank to find care worker employees. This would take away the need for third-party recruiters / job agencies and the thousands of dollars they charge care workers to get a job.

Landed Status Now: Care Workers Organize (www.LandedStatusNow.ca) is a national coalition including Caregivers Action Centre (Toronto); Caregivers Connection (Toronto); Alberta Careworkers Association (Edmonton); Migrante Alberta; Migrante BC, Migrante Canada; Migrante Ottawa; PINAY Quebec; Immigrant Workers Centre (Montreal); Association for the Rights of Household Workers (Montreal), Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregiver Rights (Vancouver), and Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (Canada).

Actions Across Canada Put Forward Anti-Racist Demands Before Federal Elections

Canada – The cross-country alliance Migrant Rights Network is holding Canada-wide actions on June 16 to put forward a pro-migrant and anti-racist agenda in advance of the federal elections. June 16 is International Domestic Workers Day and Father’s Day. Many migrants are unjustly separated from their families, and domestic workers continue to be harmed by federal and provincial laws that deny them full rights and permanent resident status. Ahead of the federal election, migrants and allies are ringing the alarm on the increasing use of racist and xenophobic rhetoric as a vote wining strategy. The Migrant Rights Network is calling on all political parties to committ to status for all, decent work, quality universal public services, end to discrimination, and a stop to policies of displacement.

Cross-Canada Media Contacts:
EN: Syed Hussan, 416 453 3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org
FR/ES: Karen Cocq, 647 970 8464, karen@migrantworkersalliance.org

Affiliated rallies / creative actions and marches are planned in:

  • Fredericton – 7pm, June 16, City Hall, Tabatha Armstrong 506.453.4875 (No One Is Illegal Fredericton)
  • Guelph – 12pm, June 16, Mandy Hiscocks, 519.731.4179 (OPIRG Guelph)
  • Halifax – 2pm, June 16, Garrison Grounds, Citadel Hill
  • Kelowna – 12pm, June 16, Dayton Street Overpass over Harvey Avenue. Luis Diaz, 250.826.1551 (RAMA)
  • London – 1pm, June 16, Victoria Park
  • Montreal – 2pm, June 16, Parc Nelson Mandela, Romina Hernandez-Gomez, (514) 560-0673 (Solidarity Across Borders)
  • Ottawa – 2pm, June 16, Dundonald Park – Karen Cocq, 647 970 8464 (Migrant Workers Alliance)
  • Peterborough – 2pm, June 16, Confederation Park
  • Toronto – 2pm, June 16, Grange Park – Syed Hussan, 416 453 3632 (Migrant Worker Alliance)
  • Winnipeg – 1pm, June 15. Canadian Museum for Human Rights
  • Vancouver – For migrant workers only, by invitation. Byron Cruz – (604) 315-7725 and Lorina Serafico – (604) 618-3649

    See full details at www.migrantrights.ca/June16 (more added daily)

Background

#UniteAgainstRacism Demands:

  • STATUS FOR ALL: Permanent resident status and family unity for all migrants and refugees here, and landed status on arrival for those that arrive in the future. No detentions, no deportations!
  • DECENT WORK: $15 minimum wage, full labour rights for all and no employer specific or time limited work permits.
  • UNIVERSAL SERVICES: Full access to quality public services including healthcare, education, income security, childcare, pensions, and more for all residents.
  • NO DISCRIMINATION: Indigenous self-determination, gender justice, and an end to racism, particularly anti-Black racism and Islamophobia.
  • NO DISPLACEMENT: An end to practices and policies further climate change, wars, corporate impunity, dirty mining and economic exploitation which force people to migrate.

Open Letter: Labour Council Presidents Across Canada #UniteAgainstRacism

To sign, please fill out the form on this page. To download a PDF, click here. To access a template resolution for your local or Council, click here. 

Brothers, Sisters and Comrades,

An insurgent right wing is seizing political power at the provincial level across Canada. Their victories have ushered in austerity, cuts, and attacks on workers and communities.

We are at a critical political moment. We are calling on Labour Councils and the Labour movement across Canada to #UniteAgainstRacism.

While workers are united in the desire for decent work and strong social programs for all residents, politicians are using anti-immigrant and racist ideas to pit workers against each other. We saw this in the federal by-election in February, when Maxime Bernier’s anti-immigrant party garnered 11% of the vote in Burnaby South. In Alberta many United Conservative Party candidates were found to have close ties to white supremacists. And in Quebec, the Coalition Avenir Quebec campaigned for a 20% reduction in immigration and won a majority. This is Trump’s strategy, and the strategy of many other right wing parties globally.

The mainstreaming of racist ideologies has resulted in grave violence. We were horrified at the mass murder of Muslims in Christchurch at a New Zealand mosque. In Canada, since the deadly Quebec City Mosque shooting in 2017, hate crimes have increased 47% and there are now 300 active white supremacist organizations operating in this country — a 200% increase.

Labour has the opportunity to show leadership and stand strong against racism and xenophobia. We must ensure union members are not divided by racism and lured into voting for a right wing government that will hurt all of us. We must stand united as workers – an injury to one is an injury to all. Our members must see us showing as clearly as possible that we will not be divided.

This year, let’s hold high the banner of #UniteAgainstRacism. Through our visual materials, our media statements, and speeches and in member-to-member education from now on and especially on Labour Day, let us insist that:

  • All workers are suffering, and feel precarious. But we feel strong when we stand together for decent work; for quality public services; permanent immigration status for all; and for gender, racial, climate and Indigenous justice. Let’s build a vision of global solidarity that inspires workers to fight together, not fight each other for scraps. Let’s not allow any political party to use racism to divide us for votes.
  • Immigrants are not responsible for low wages, or poor services, but rather it’s the bosses and their political representatives who exploit us all;
  • Far from benefiting unfairly from their work in Canada, migrant workers and refugees are being exploited in substandard working conditions, because regressive immigration and labour laws restrict their agency and leave them open to abuse;
  • Migrants and refugees aren’t vulnerable, they are organizing and winning rights and justice for all workers;
  • Labour is unified in our call for decent work, universal quality services, and permanent resident status for all workers, including migrants. Now is the time to ensure racial and gender justice including Indigenous self-determination; and an end to practices that force people to migrate including war, corporate impunity and climate change.

As allies of migrant worker groups in the Migrant Rights Network (www.migrantrights.ca), we call on Labour Councils across Canada to make #UniteAgainstRacism a key rallying cry now, and the theme of Labour Day 2019. Join actions in communities taking place on June 16, 2019.

Contact info@migrantrights.ca for #UniteAgainstRacism materials or to arrange a popular education training for your members. You can endorse the letter by filling out the form on this page.

Together, we will win.

Initial Signatories, May 22, 2019

Tiffany Balducci, President
Durham Region Labour Council

Greg Mady, President
Edmonton and District Labour Council

Kevin Smallwood, President
Fredericton and District Labour Council

Janice Folk-Dawson, President
Guelph and District Labour Council

Anthony Marco, President
Hamilton District Labour Council

Suzanne MacNeil, President
Halifax-Dartmouth and District Labour Council

Lesley Jamieson, President
Kingston and District Labour Council

Patti Dalton, President
London and District Labour Council

Henri Giroux, President
North Bay and District Labour Council

Additional signatories

Dan Tobin, President
Northumberland Labour Council

Krysty Thomas, President
Lethbridge and District Labour Council

Kevin Smith, President
Grey Bruce Labour Council

Wayne Kelley, President
Annapolis Valley Labour Council

Michele McCleave-Kennedy, President
Sault Ste Marie District Labour Council

Lou Ann Binning, President
Niagara Regional Labour Council

Shobna Radons, President
Regina & District Labour Council

Deborah Jones, Acting President / 1st Vice President
Winnipeg & District Labour Council

 

New Cross-Canada Network Launches Today to Fight Racism and Xenophobia

National Media Contacts (local contacts listed below):
EN: Syed Hussan, 416 453 3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org
FR: Karen Cocq, 647-9708464, karen@migrantworkersalliance.org

Actions today on the International Day for the Elimination of Racism in Montreal (10am, 200 Rene Levesque) Halifax (4:30pm, Halifax Convention Centre), Toronto (5:30pm, City Hall) and Vancouver (6:30pm, 350 West Georgia). Actions in over a dozen cities this week updated here: https://migrantrights.ca/en/march21/

Canada – Actions are taking place in over a dozen cities this week from Halifax to Vancouver as part of the launch of the Migrant Rights Network, a new cross-Canada alliance to demand pro-migrant, anti-racist laws and policies, including permanent residence status for all. The Migrant Rights Network’s formation, in advance of the federal elections, has been given added urgency after the white supremacist attacks in New Zealand that left at least 50 Muslims dead.

“After decades of job loss, wage stagnation and service cuts, people across the country are increasingly worried about the future. Politicians are responding to this fear, not by raising wages or expanding public services, but by demonizing migrants and refugees,” says Syed Hussan from Migrant Workers Alliance for Change in Toronto. “This divisiveness has created a dangerous political environment, and must be stopped.”

Since the Quebec City Mosque shooting in 2017 that left 6 dead and served as a blueprint for the New Zealand shooter, police reported hate crimes have increased by 47% in Canada. At least 300 known white supremacist organizations are currently active across the country.

“CAQ won a majority after campaigning on an anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim platform. We will not allow federal political parties to repeat this disturbing and dangerous strategy,” says Niel La Dode from Immigrant Workers Centre in Montreal. “At the end of the day, we all want the same things: decent work, the ability to provide for our families, a life with dignity. The politicians and corporations who deny us these basic rights are the real problem, not migrants, not refugees, not undocumented people.”

Under current immigration policies, 700,000 people, over 70% of migrants who arrive in Canada each year, are shut out from basic services, such as healthcare and education, because of unfair temporary permits. This denial happens despite migrants and refugees paying for public services through municipal, sales and income taxes.

“The social safety net is being pulled away from us while corporations get massive tax cuts. Politicians want us fighting for scraps, and blaming immigrants for their economic mess. We can’t be distracted. We must demand the fundamental changes our communities need,” says Marco Luciano, of Migrante Canada from Edmonton.

The Migrant Rights Network is demanding permanent residence status for everyone, decent work and labour protections, universal access to social services, real gender and racial justice, and respect for indigenous self-determination. In addition, practices of displacement and persecution that force people to migrate including climate change, wars, corporate impunity and economic exploitation, need to be eradicated.

“Indigenous and racialized people suffer at every turn because of the systemic racism reflected in Canadian laws and policies. We do not want piecemeal reforms. It is time for fundamental changes,” says Stacey Gomez from Halifax. “No matter what issue you are concerned about, uniting against racism right now is our most urgent task.”

Women of colour continue to earn far less than white men. Black and Indigenous communities are unfairly targeted by police and imprisonment.

“Decisions made in Canada have directly led to the escalation of the climate crisis, political instability and the global displacement of peoples. We all have a moral responsibility to stop the Canadian government and corporations to continue profiting from unsafe mining, arms exports, and fossil fuel extraction,” says Chris Sorio from Migrante BC in Vancouver. “

Led by grassroots migrant and refugee groups, civil society organizations and labour unions, Migrant Rights Network will counter fake news about Canada’s immigration system and coordinate a national dialogue to create a Platform for Racial and Migrant Justice ahead of the federal election. All social, environmental and labour groups in Canada are invited to participate in this process.

Following the March 21 #UniteAgainstRacism mobilization, actions are also called for May 1, 2019 (International Workers Day); June 16, 2019 (Father’s Day & International Domestic Workers Day); and September 2, 2019 (Labour Day).

Upcoming #UniteAgainstRacism actions. Week of Action March 17 – 24.
More actions are being announced everyday, visit https://migrantrights.ca/en/march21/ for the latest listing.

March 21, 2019

HALIFAX – 4:30pm, Halifax Convention Centre
Stacey Gomez, 902-999-4458

MONTREAL – 10am, 200 Rene Levesque
Niel La Dode, 438-505-4820; Viviana Carol Velazquez, 514-342-2111

TORONTO – 5:30pm, Nathan Phillips Square
Syed Hussan, 416-453-3632

VANCOUVER – 6:30pm, Alma VanDusen Room, 350 West Georgia Street
Chris Perry Sorio, 416-828-0441

March 23, 2019

LETHBRIDGE – 12pm, City Hall

EDMONTON – 6pm, 11834 Kingsway Avenue – Note this event is a fundraiser
Marco Luciano, 780-966-5908

March 24, 2019

MONTREAL – 2pm, Saint-Laurent Station
Safa Chebbi, 438-497-4243

OTTAWA – 2pm, 166 Frank Street
Aimee Beboso, 613-255-1921

Migrant and racial justice organizations are coming together as the Migrant Rights Network to intervene in an increasingly divisive and alarmingly dangerous political environment.

THE MIGRANT RIGHTS NETWORK DEMANDS

STATUS FOR ALL, STATUS NOW: Permanent resident status and family unity for all migrants and refugees here, and landed status on arrival for those that arrive in the future. Replace Caregiver “pilot project” with a Federal Care Workers Program that provides landed status upon entry for Care Workers and their families. No detentions, no deportations!

DECENT WORK: $15 minimum wage, full labour rights and no employer specific or time limited work permits.

UNIVERSAL SERVICES: Full access to quality public services including healthcare, education, income security, childcare settlement services, pensions, and more for all residents.

JUST SOCIETY: Indigenous self-determination, gender justice, and an end to racism, particularly anti-Black racism and Islamophobia.

NO DISPLACEMENT: An end to practices of displacement and persecution that force people to migrate including climate change, wars, corporate impunity and economic exploitation.

Cross Canada Network Launches to Fight Racism and Anti-Immigrant Hysteria in Election Year

Media Contact National (local contacts listed below):
EN: Syed Hussan, 416 453 3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org
FR: Karen Cocq, 647-9708464, karen@migrantworkersalliance.org

Cross Canada Network Launches to Fight Racism and Anti-Immigrant Hysteria in Election Year

Canada – New Zealand mosque shooting with 49 murders and counting has given intense urgency in Canada which faced a similar mosque shooting in 2017 in Quebec. With actions planned from Halifax to Vancouver, a new cross-country alliance, the Migrant Rights Network is launching March 21, International Day for the Elimination of Racism, to counter fake news about Canada’s immigration system, and urgently demand pro-immigrant and anti-racist laws. The Migrant Rights Network is led by grassroots migrant and refugee groups, civil society organizations and labour unions. March 21 marks the beginning of a national dialogue to create a Platform for Racial and Migrant Justice ahead of the federal election. All social, environmental and labour groups in Canada are invited to participate in this process.

Following the March 21 #UniteAgainstRacism mobilization, actions are also called for May 1, 2019 (International Workers Day); June 16, 2019 (Father’s Day & International Domestic Workers Day); and September 2, 2019 (Labour Day). More information can be found on www.migrantrights.ca

Initial details and media contacts for #UniteAgainstRacism Week of Action (March 17-24)
More actions being announced everyday at https://migrantrights.ca/en/march21/

March 17, 2019

NIAGARA – 2pm, 1665 Four Mile Creek Rd
Sonia Aviles, 289-990-4519

March 20, 2019

PETERBOROUGH – 6pm, Confederation Park

March 21, 2019

HALIFAX – 4:30pm, Halifax Convention Centre
Stacey Gomez, 902 999 4458

MONTREAL – 10am, 200 Rene Levesque
Niel La Dode, 438-505-4820; Viviana Carol Velazquez, 514-342-2111

TORONTO – 5:30pm, Nathan Phillips Square
Syed Hussan, 416 453 3632

VANCOUVER – 6:30pm, Alma VanDusen Room, 350 West Georgia Street
Chris Perry Sorio, 416-828-0441

March 23, 2019

LETHBRIDGE – 12pm, City Hall

EDMONTON – 6pm, 11834 Kingsway Avenue – Note this event is a fundraiser
Marco Luciano, 780-966-5908

March 24, 2019

MONTREAL – 2pm, Saint-Laurent Station
Safa Chebbi, 438-497-4243

OTTAWA – 2pm, 166 Frank Street
Aimee Beboso, 613-255-1921

BACKGROUND

Migrant and racial justice organizations are coming together as the Migrant Rights Network to intervene in an increasingly divisive and alarmingly dangerous political environment.

n Canada, police reported hate crimes went up 47% in 2017. At least 300 known white supremacist organizations are currently active across the country. Over 70% of the migrants in Canada are denied full access to basic labour or social rights because of unfair temporary permits. Women of colour continue to earn far less than white men. Black and Indigenous communities are unfairly targeted by police and imprisonment. Racialized people are shut out of basic services. Meanwhile, anti-immigrant populist messaging by federal political parties increased dramatically during the recent by-elections. Clearly, Canada is not immune to the racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric which was central to national elections in the United States, and in many countries in Western Europe. Uniting against racism now is the only way forward.

THE MIGRANT RIGHTS NETWORK DEMANDS

STATUS FOR ALL, STATUS NOW: Permanent resident status and family unity for all migrants and refugees here, and landed status on arrival for those that arrive in the future. Replace Caregiver “pilot project” with a Federal Care Workers Program that provides landed status upon entry for Care Workers and their families. No detentions, no deportations!

DECENT WORK: $15 minimum wage, full labour rights and no employer specific or time limited work permits.

UNIVERSAL SERVICES: Full access to quality public services including healthcare, education, income security, childcare settlement services, pensions, and more for all residents.

JUST SOCIETY: Indigenous self-determination, gender justice, and an end to racism, particularly anti-Black racism and Islamophobia.

NO DISPLACEMENT: An end to practices of displacement and persecution that force people to migrate including climate change, wars, corporate impunity and economic exploitation.

Migrant Caregivers WIN MAJOR VICTORY but permanent resident status on arrival for migrant workers still needed

Newly announced pilot Caregiver Program, and Interim Program important steps in the right direction, and a direct response to Caregiver organizing.

CANADA – Migrant Care Worker organizations and allies from across Canada (scroll below for list of organizations) are welcoming the newly announced Caregiver Program which is a direct response to the Landed Status Now (www.LandedStatusNow.ca) campaign and decades of organizing before that, but questions remain on details, and the temporariness of the program continues to allow for migrant Care Worker exploitation. Migrant Care Workers remain united in calling for permanent resident status on arrival for all migrant workers.

Care Worker Wins!

In the new pilot program

  • Sector-specific work permits for Care Workers allowing workers greater ability to leave bad jobs;
  • The ability of migrant Care Workers to bring their spouses and children with them upon arrival;

In the interim program

  • The removal of post-secondary educational requirements;
  • The ability for workers to apply after 12 months of service (instead of 24 months);
  • The ability of workers to count work experience in either of the two streams – Childcare or High Medical Needs; and
  • Expedited processing

Questions remain about recent announcement, including about:

  • Details of the eligibility criteria of the new pilot program;
  • Processing mechanisms of the pilot program particularly with the bulk of processing taking place in sending countries and 5,500 per annum applications cap in place;
  • Interaction between the new sectoral work permits and Labour Market Impact Assessment process which is generally employer specific; and
  • Dates when the new pilot program will go into effect.

Care Worker organizations will be responding to further information as it becomes available.

Temporary program continues to allow for worker exploitation

  • The program announced keeps the temporary nature of the system in place, despite evidence that the lack of permanent resident status is the primary reason for migrant worker exploitation;
  • The changes announced are for a pilot program, restricted to 5 years, and by Ministerial order rather than by changes to law or regulations. This is a temporary change, while Care Work is a permanent need. Care Workers have been coming to Canada for more than 100 years;
  • The announcement excludes workers in Quebec, who remain caught in a web of exploitation;
  • The interim program excludes workers who have become undocumented as a result of exclusionary requirement in the current program, or because they were issued permits for less than 24 months. These workers must be included;
  • The interim program is only open from March 4 to June 4, 2019 – which is not sufficient time for many workers to even hear about the changes. Only 1,955 Care Workers and dependents were granted permanent residency in the first 36 months under the current Caregiver program set to expire in November 2019. This is in stark contrast to the average of 10,740 Care Workers and their dependants who received permanent resident status every year under the previous Live-In Caregiver program;
  • The 5,500 cap on applicants per year is far lower the Care Work in the economy. Concerns remain about assessment in sending countries, and what will happen to Care Workers who apply each year after the 5,500 cap has been reached;
  • It is not clear if the existing criteria of Canadian 1-year post-secondary education equivalent and high levels of English language expertise will be part of the new pilot program. If it is, and assessments are happening in sending countries, this new pilot program will shut out migrants with fewer resources who have historically been able to come to Canada under Caregiver Programs;
  • No resources have been announced for families arriving with Care Workers in the new pilot; or for workers to access the interim program. It is essential that assistance be provided to ensure that family members are able to settle in Canada, including affordable housing, full healthcare and the ability attend schools and post-secondary institutions without paying high international fees;
  • No details on regulating recruiters, licensing employers and holding them jointly financially liable were announced which will be even more essential with processing happening in sending countries;
  • Section 38(1)(c) of the IRPA (“Medical Inadmissibility” rules) has not been repealed which denies PR to an entire family if even one member of the family has a disability. No details have been announced on whether there will be a second medical examination; and
  • Temporary migrant Care Work remains an ad-hoc solution rather than part of a broader Care Strategy in Canada that ensures universal childcare and elder care.

Coalition of Migrant Care Worker groups and allies and Landed Status Now Campaign (in alphabetic order by organization)

For contact numbers of these organizations, please email hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org

  • Association for the Rights of Household Workers
  • Caregivers Action Centre – Toronto
  • Caregiver Connections Education and Support Org – Toronto
  • Vancouver Committee for Domestic Worker and Caregiver Rights
  • Migrant Mothers Project University of Toronto – Toronto
  • Migrant Workers Alliance for Change* – Canada
  • Migrant Workers Centre – Vancouver
  • Migrante Alberta – Edmonton
  • Migrante British Columbia – Vancouver
  • Migrante Canada
  • Migrante Ottawa – Ottawa
  • PINAY Quebec – Montreal

* The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change includes individuals as well as Alliance for South Asian Aids Prevention, Asian Community Aids Services, Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support), Caregiver Connections Education and Support Organization, Caregivers Action Centre, Durham Region Migrant Solidarity Network, FCJ Refugee House, Fuerza Puwersa, GABRIELA Ontario, IAVGO Community Legal Clinic, Income Security Advocacy Centre, Migrante Ontario, No One Is Illegal – Toronto, Northumberland Community Legal Centre, OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, OHIP For All, PCLS Community Legal Clinic, SALCO Community Legal Clinic, Students Against Migrant Exploitation, Social Planning Toronto, UFCW, UNIFOR, Workers Action Centre and Workers United.

Landed Status Now

Courageously take action and send an email to the Immigration Minister right now and insist that Care Workers deserve permanent residency status, family unity and full rights. This is about human rights, it’s about Canada keeping its promises, and it’s about ensuring health and care for everyone.

Media Release: Migrant Care Workers Speak Out for Status and Fairness

Download our new report at www.LandedStatusNow.ca

CARE WORKERS WILL BE LAUNCHING A NEW REPORT AND THEIR CAMPAIGN AND SHARING THEIR STORIES IN FIVE CITIES

  • Toronto: Nov 18, 11am, Suite 202, 720 Spadina Avenue, 647-782-6633 (Caregivers Action Centre & Caregiver Connections)
  • Vancouver: Nov 18, 10am, BCGEU, 130-2920 Virtual Way, 604-618-3649 (Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregiver Rights)
  • Edmonton: Nov 18, 1pm, CUPE 474 Hall – 10989 124 Street, 780-937-5908 (Alberta Careworkers Association & Migrante Alberta)
  • Montreal: Nov 18, 10am, 4755 Van Horne, Bureau 110, 514-238-0089 (PINAY Quebec)
  • Ottawa: Nov 18, 2:30pm, 251 Bank Street, 613-255-1921 (Migrante Ottawa)

CANADA – Today, migrant Care Workers across Canada are raising their voices together to call for permanent resident status on arrival, dignity and fairness for migrant Care Workers by simultaneously launching a report with personal stories from hundreds of Care Workers across Canada. The Caregiver Program is set to expire in November 2019. Tens of thousands of racialized women who came to Canada with the promise of living in Canada permanently with their families are now in limbo.

“Women like us have been coming to Canada for over a century raising children, taking care of the sick and the elderly, being the backbone of the economy, and yet we are treated like we are expendable,” says Kara Manso, coordinator of the Caregivers Action Centre speaking in Toronto. “We need security, and that means landed status on arrival, family unity and justice for workers already here.”

Care Workers are calling on Canada to replace the broken Caregiver Program with a new program that will end precarious status, forced family separation, and exploitative working conditions while improving access to the critical care that Care Workers give to all Canadians. This requires creating a new permanent immigration stream for migrant Care Workers, and in the interim creating open work permits, removing discriminatory language, educational and medical requirements, and granting permanent residency to workers in the country.

The report, “Care Worker Voices for Landed Status and Fairness”, has been produced by Care Workers and their organizations through surveys, focus groups and interviews. It features over a 150 Care Worker stories which demonstrate the painful impacts of family separation, low-wages, precarious status, and unfair laws and policies on racialized women.

An average of 8,000 new Care Worker permits were issued annually in the last five years – all of whom come on employer specific work permits, without their families and with temporary resident status. Over 95% of Care Workers surveyed reported family separation enforced by the Caregiver Program as having the most significant detrimental impact on their lives.

“Care Workers keep coming to Canada with the promise of eventually getting permanent residency and being reunited with their families, but the program excludes so many and is expiring without any details of what will replace it, promises are being broken,” says Julie Diesta of the Vancouver Committee for Domestic Worker and Caregiver Rights. “This isn’t integrity, it is not ethical, Canada must do better.”

Only 1,955 Care Workers and dependents were granted permanent residency in the first 36 months under the current Caregiver program. This is in stark contrast to the average  10,740 Care Workers and their dependants received permanent resident status every year under the previous Live-In Caregiver program. At least 20,000 Care Workers have applied for permanent residency and are awaiting a decision on their application, others are unable to apply because of new requirements.

“Care Workers do the critical work of raising families, caring for an elderly population and ensuring dignity for those who are sick and disabled, without us the economy doesn’t work, yet we get low wages, long work hours, unsafe housing and constant stress” adds Cynthia Palmaria from Migrante Alberta speaking in Edmonton. “Making these changes won’t just benefit migrants, it will ensure that everyone in Canada is healthy and has a better quality of life.”

“Most people have the ability to change jobs when they have a bad employer, or celebrate their children’s birthday, or sit by their parent’s bedside when they are ill, or be able to take a day off when they are sick, these are basic human rights, and that’s all Care Workers are asking for,” says Evelyn Mondonedo of PINAY Quebec in Montreal. “Care Workers deserve landed status, open work permits, family unity and an end to exclusionary laws.”

The report documents the experiences of workers like Maiko who face unpaid wages. “According to the contract, I work 37.5 hrs per week at $11.40 an hour (back in 2016). But I worked 50 hrs and got no pay for the extra 12.5 hours. I get $1, 275/per month (net).” She worked 12.5 hours per week without pay. That amounts to $815 per month in unpaid wages and overtime premium pay (and $9,781 per year). Our research indicates that most workers are being underpaid at a similar level because of immigration and labour rules.

“Thousands of Care Workers have come to Canada in the last few decades, we have families here, and we vote, all of us are watching closely to see how political parties respond to this looming crisis,” adds Aimee Beboso of Migrante Ottawa. “But more than the political parties, we are hoping for courageous support from everyday people who will join us for justice and fairness for everyone.”

QUOTES FROM THE REPORT

“There are lots of moments of no sleep because we are missing our family; tears because of homesickness. Being separated from your family as a Caregiver adds to the burden that cause depression and guilty feelings of taking care of other people.”

– Martha, Migrant Care Worker

“I’m worried about getting my [permanent residency] application accepted. The government’s caps on new streams makes it harder. And then we have to pass the new language and education tests; I’m worried. I am here since April 2015 and I am still completing my 24 months of work. I have been separated from my family for 10 years already.“

– Maribeth is responsible for 14 family members in the Philippines

“Why do they not give us permanent residency when we come? There is obviously a huge need for workers to care for the elderly. They bring us over to do this important work. But then they delay and delay. By not giving us [permanent residency], they tell employers that we are not worthy. That’s why so many employers do not follow the law and pay us properly.”

– Rosalie, Migrant Care Worker

“It is so hard transferring from one client to another due to the death of my client. I care for people with high medical needs. It is expected that some of them get weaker and die naturally but then I end up being jobless. The immigration department must have some exemption or way of transferring us from one employer to another that doesn’t make us wait for so long and have to start over again and again I am worried that I won’t get my [permanent residency]and my family here.”

– Lisa, a mother of 3 who has been separated from her family for 5 years.

“I work for another family as part-time. They were mostly abusive when it comes to work hours (they made me work more than I am supposed to do). If I’m not done on time because of more work, they added hours but didn’t pay. They will not let me go home. But if I finished work early, they will complain and said I didn’t do my job properly even if I know it’s spotless.”

– Alicia

THE COALITION OF CARE WORKERS ARE DEMANDING:

(1) Federal Care Worker Program

The program is broken and needs fundamental reform. The government should create a new Federal Workers Program for Care Workers that provides landed status upon entry for Care Workers and our families. Care Workers should be able to seek employment in Canada through the national job bank. Employers seeking caregivers can use the job bank to find caregiver employees. This would take away the need for third-party recruiters / job agencies and the thousands of dollars they charge us to get a job.

(2) No one left behind!

Care Workers – like us – who are already in Canada also need fairness, security, and a smooth path to permanent status with our families:

  • Care Workers should able to apply for Permanent Residency (PR) after 1 year of work (or 1,950 hours): Currently we have to work 2 years while 1 year is the standard for most other permanent immigration programs in Canada;
  • All Care Workers must get open work permits, and be able to renew work permits without Labour Market Impact Assessment: Care Workers currently can only work for the employer listed on our permits, which makes it extremely difficult to leave bad bosses or, in the case of elder care, when employers pass away;
  • The new educational requirements should be removed: Care Workers are required to have completed 1-year of Canadian post-secondary equivalent education to apply for PR but we are not allowed to or able to study while working;
  • The English language test prior to PR should be removed: New English language requirements were introduced in the pilot program but no free English classes exist;
  • The new caps that allow only 2,750 PR applications each year in each caregiving stream should be removed: There are over 5,500 Care Workers coming to Canada in the childcare stream each year, the discretionary caps on PR applications means that at least half of us will not be able to apply even after completing all the requirements;
  • Clear the permanent residency backlog: Thousands of Care Workers have been waiting for up to 10 years to reunite with their families because no one’s looking at their application – that’s not fair;
  • Spouses and children should be allowed to join us  with open work and study permits of their own: This is the norm for many other temporary immigration programs and it results in improved health and stronger families rather than years of forced separation;
  • Remove the second medical that is required when applying for permanent residency. This change was sneaked in the pilot project and adds unnecessary financial barriers and delays;
  • Section 38(1)(c) of the IRPA (“Medical Inadmissibility” rules) should repealed because it denies PR to an entire family if even one member of the family has a disability.

Tell Agricultural Ministers: Migrant Workers Deserve Respect & Status

Right now Provincial and Federal Agricultural Ministers are meeting in Vancouver to discuss the future of migrant agricultural labour in Canada. Employers have been urging them to think about the labour shortage – but we have to insist that migrant workers are human beings and deserve respect and dignity! Fill in your information here, and we will email all the Agricultural Ministers letting them know that you are watching.

751 people have already signed this petition.

 

 

Les travailleurs agricoles migrants exclus des consultations gouvernementales secrètes: demande d’obtention d’un statut permanent à l’arrivé

Les consultations sont facilitées par le lobbyiste bien connu des employeurs agricoles Hill & Knowlton Canada

CANADA – Les organisations de travailleurs agricoles migrants du Canada sont indignées par les consultations à huis clos sur les changements dans le volet agricole du Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires qui ont exclu les travailleurs et qui refusent de se concentrer sur les préoccupations des travailleurs. Le gouvernement fédéral a entamé des réunions sur invitation seulement avec les groupes de pression des grandes entreprises à la fin du mois de mai. Les groupes de travailleurs migrants ont été invités tardivement ou pas du tout, malgré les demandes répétées à faire partie des discussions.

« Il serait impensable que le gouvernement fédéral élabore des règlements susceptibles d’influer sur les enjeux concernant les femmes et n’invite pas les femmes à la table, mais il se sent à l’aise d’exclure les travailleurs agricoles migrants et leurs défenseurs des règles et politiques qui influent profondément sur leurs vies. C’est incroyable », affirme Joey Calugay du Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrants au Québec. « Les travailleurs migrants méritent une place à la table, et ils veulent le droit à un statut permanent à l’arrivée. »

Les travailleurs migrants du secteur primaire de l’agriculture sont limités à travailler uniquement pour l’employeur indiqué sur leur permis de travail. Ils sont en grande partie autorisés à vivre uniquement dans des logements contrôlés par l’employeur. Dans certaines provinces, ils sont exclus ou soumis à des restrictions en matière de négociation collective et sont souvent exemptés du salaire minimum, des heures supplémentaires et d’autres normes fondamentales d’emploi. Les employeurs sont autorisés à licencier et renvoyer chez eux les travailleurs agricoles migrants s’ils sont blessés ou tombent malades. Les travailleurs paient la plupart des impôts, mais ils n’obtiennent souvent pas l’accès total à l’assurance-emploi, au RPC ou à d’autres droits. C’est pourquoi les organisations de travailleurs agricoles migrants à travers le Canada sont unifiées en demandant le statut de résident permanent à l’arrivée, ainsi que les pleins droits du travail et l’accès aux droits sociaux.

« Le déséquilibre des pouvoirs entre les travailleurs agricoles migrants et les employeurs est bien documenté, et toute réforme significative doit commencer par des conversations avec les travailleurs migrants ainsi que leurs organisations à un moment et à un endroit où les travailleurs peuvent participer, dans une langue avec laquelle ils sont à l’aise, puis avec des garanties qu’il n’y aura pas de représailles de la part des employeurs », ajoute Diwa Marcelino, de Migrante du Manitoba.

Ces consultations, qui incluent des décideurs fédéraux et provinciaux, sont facilitées par Hill and Knowlton Strategies, un cabinet de lobbying qui représente les intérêts des employeurs agricoles partout au Canada. Ceci est un conflit d’intérêts flagrant. En 2017, Hill and Knowlton a exercé 53 pressions auprès d’Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada, souvent au nom de différents employeurs et groupes organisations de lobbying d’employeurs.

« Il n’y a pas de travailleurs migrants dans les salles pour ces conversations, ce sont principalement des employeurs et cela est facilité par leurs propres lobbyistes. Comment des changements significatifs qui reflètent les besoins des travailleurs migrants peuvent-ils venir de ce processus? », Demande Syed Hussan de Migrant Workers Alliance for Change de l’Ontario. « Nous demandons au Ministre Hajdu et au Ministre Hussen d’intervenir et de relancer ce processus, cette fois-ci avec l’implication des travailleurs migrants, et de veiller à ce que nous discutions du statut permanent à l’atterrissage comme solution. »

« Les travailleurs migrants cultivent de la nourriture et nourrissent des familles, leurs vies méritent le respect, puis leur travail mérite notre admiration et notre soutien, ce qui doit inclure leur participation aux décisions qui ont une incidence sur leurs vies », a déclaré Byron Cruz de Sanctuary Health à Vancouver, C.-B. « Le problème fondamental du Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires est le manque de droits d’immigrations et du travail, et la première étape pour le corriger est l’accès au statut de résident permanent à l’arrivée ».

DISPONIBLE POUR COMMENTER

  • Joey Calugay, Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrants, Québec, 514-947-3662
  • Syed Hussan, Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada, Toronto, 416-453-3632
  • Byron Cruz, Sanctuary Health, Colombie-Britannique, 604-315-7725
  • Andrew Stevens, Migrant Work Saskatchewan & University of Regina, 306-552-9330
  • Diwa Marcelino, Migrante Manitoba, 204-218-7100
  • Robyn Bunn, RAMA, Kelowna, Colombie-Britannique, 250-215-1033

Migrant Agricultural Workers Shut Out from Secretive Government Consultations: Call for Permanent Status on Arrival

Consultations are being facilitated by well-known agricultural employer lobbyist Hill & Knowlton Canada

CANADA – Migrant agricultural worker organizations across Canada are outraged at closed door consultations on changes to the agricultural stream of the temporary foreign worker program which have shut out workers, and which refuse to focus on worker concerns. The federal government began invitation-only meetings with big business lobby groups in late May. Migrant worker groups have either been invited late or not at all, despite repeated requests to be part of the discussions.

“The power imbalance between migrant agricultural workers and employers is well documented, and any meaningful reforms must begin with conversations with migrant workers and their organizations at a time and place where workers can participate, in a language they are comfortable in, and with guarantees that there won’t be employer reprisals,” says Diwa Marcelino of Migrante from Manitoba.

Migrant workers in the primary agriculture stream are restricted to working only for the employer listed on their work permit. They are in large part allowed to only live in employer-controlled housing. In some provinces they are excluded from, or face restrictions on collective bargaining, and are often exempted from minimum wage, overtime hours, and other basic employment standards. Employers are allowed to fire and send migrant agricultural workers home if they are injured or fall sick. Workers pay most taxes but often can’t get full access to EI, CPP or other entitlements. This is why migrant agricultural worker organizations across Canada are unified in calling for permanent residency status on arrival, as well as full labour rights and access to social entitlements.  

“It would be unthinkable for the the federal government to craft regulations that might affect women’s issues and not invite women to the table, but they feel comfortable excluding migrant agricultural workers and their advocates from rules and policies that deeply impact their lives. It’s unbelievable,” says Joey Calugay of the Immigrant Workers Centre in Quebec. “Migrant workers deserve a seat at the table, and they want the right to permanent status upon landing.”

These consultations, which include federal and provincial policy makers, are being facilitated by Hill and Knowlton Strategies, a lobbying firm that has represented the interests of agricultural employers throughout Canada. This is a gross conflict of interest. In 2017, Hill and Knowlton lobbied Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 53 times, often on behalf of different employer and employer lobby organizations.

“There are no migrant workers in the rooms for these conversations, it’s mostly employers and it’s being facilitated by their own lobbyists. How can any meaningful changes that reflect the needs of migrant workers come from this process?” asks Syed Hussan of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change from Ontario. “We are calling on Minister Hajdu and Minister Hussen to step in and restart this process, this time with migrant worker involvement, and ensure that we are discussing permanent status on landing as a solution.”

“Migrant workers grow food, and feed families, their lives deserve respect and their work deserves our admiration and support which must include their involvement in decisions that impact their lives,” said Byron Cruz from Sanctuary Health in Vancouver, BC. “The fundamental problem with the temporary foreign worker program is the lack of immigration and labour rights, and the first step to correcting it is access to permanent residency status on arrival.”

AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT

  • Joey Calugay, Immigration Workers Centre, Quebec, 514-947-3662
  • Syed Hussan, Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada, Toronto, 416-453-3632
  • Byron Cruz, Sanctuary Health, British Columbia, 604-315-7725
  • Andrew Stevens, Migrant Work Saskatchewan & University of Regina, 306-552-9330
  • Diwa Marcelino, Migrante Manitoba, 204-218-7100
  • Robyn Bunn, RAMA, Kelowna, British Columbia, 250-215-1033

Disability, HIV and AIDS, Immigrant Rights Groups Disappointed in Medical Inadmissibility Announcement, Call for Full Repeal of Misguided Law

Toronto, April 16, 2018 – Organizations representing key groups of immigrants excluded from Canada due to medical inadmissibility are very disappointed in today’s announcement by Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen for not repealing Section 38(1)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. This section denies permanent residency to an entire family if a member of the family is sick or has a disability and deemed to pose an “excessive demand” on health and social services.

Today’s modest gains are the result of many years of affected people and our organizations calling for an end to these discriminatory laws. Our advocacy resulted in a review by the federal Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration in 2017, which ultimately echoed our recommendation for a full repeal. Instead of taking this principled position, the Immigration Minister Hussen today announced only minor tweaks to the existing, and deeply flawed, regime.

Minnister Hussen’s announcement continues to uphold discriminatory medical inadmissibility laws. Today’s changes that promise to increase the cost threshold and amend the definition of social services, if properly implemented, may ensure that many future immigrants living with HIV and some people with disabilities may no longer be excluded. However, the underlying issue remains: people with disabilities continue to be considered as burdens on Canadian society. Today’s announcement  also fails to address retroactive cases, such that all of the applicants currently in Canada who are separated from family members with disabilities remain in limbo. It is important to note that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, which recommended the repeal of the law in late 2017, noted that “savings [from this law] are not known and were not provided to the Committee.” The Government of Canada, while explicitly agreeing with the Standing Committee’s recommendation to repeal this legislation, has failed to bring its policies in line with inclusivity for persons with disabilities and with Canada’s domestic and international human rights obligations.

For comments:

Anna Malla, Coordinator, Caregivers Action Centre, 647-782-6633
James Hicks, National Coordinator, Council of Canadians With Disabilities, 343-291-1118
John Rae, 1st Vice Chair, Council of Canadians With Disabilities, 416-941-1547
Joshua Terry, Communications and Campaigns Officer, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, 416 595-1666 ext. 236
Natalie Drolet, Executive Director, Migrant Workers Centre, 604.669.4482, ext 104.

Visit Your MP: End Medical Inadmissibility Now

As a result of organizing by people with Disabilities and their families, and with your support, in 2017, the Standing Committee for Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) issued a report to Parliament recommending the repeal of the medical inadmissibility regime. The Minister of Immigration, the Honourable Minister Ahmed Hussen, has himself agreed that this policy must be changed. He will be announcing these changes on April 12th. 

Lets make sure that he follows the Committee’s recommendation and repeals the law rather than tweaking it. 

Members of Parliament need to hear from residents in their riding urging them to repeal Section 38(1)(c) of IRPA. It’s your turn to act.

Here’s what to do:

  1. Find the contact of your local MP: http://www.ourcommons.ca/parliamentarians/en/constituencies/FindMP
  2. Email them as soon as possible requesting a meeting.
  3. Follow up with a phone call requesting a meeting.
  4. If you have a meeting confirmed, please let us know at info@migrantrights.ca
  5. At the appointed time, go to the meeting. Make sure to read this memo in advance and leave a copy with the MP
  6. Take a picture with the MP and send it to us at info@migrantrights.ca so we can remind them that they committed to acting on this issue.

Download this TOOLKIT

It includes sample emails to request a meeting, phone scripts, agendas for a meeting and what to say. Please get in touch if you have more questions.

Here’s a backgrounder to share with your MP and for you to be apprised of the facts.

Please download, read, and print.

 

Media Release: Migrant Rights Organizers Insist on Immediate Repeal of Discriminatory Law After Federal Parliamentary Recommendation

Toronto — Caregiver and migrant rights organizations are calling on Federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen to immediately repeal Section 38(1)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act following a report by the Parliamentary Citizenship and Immigration Committee’s report which called for the repeal. The report also proposed interim measures, but migrant rights organizations insist that interim measures would uphold a fundamentally discriminatory system. More than a thousand people and organizations have signed an Open Letter in support of these demands.

“Denying permanent residency to entire families was never fair or just, thousands of people have suffered under this law already and hundreds of families are waiting to be reunited, there is no time for delay, it is time to repeal Section 38(1)(c)” says Anna Malla of the Caregivers Action Centre. “Caregivers and Disabled people cannot wait for interim measures, the Liberal government must do the right thing, end medical inadmissibility immediately as an interim step to permanent status on arrival.”

The Parliamentary Committee’s report titled, Building an Inclusive Canada: Bringing the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in Step with Modern Values was released following consultations in November. Migrant rights and disability justice groups insist that Disablism was never acceptable, and ending discriminatory laws is not a ‘modern value’.

Section 38(1)(c) reads, “A foreign national is inadmissible on health grounds if their health condition is expected to cause excessive demand on health or social services,” in effect denying an entire family permanent status if any member of the family is sick or disabled. This discriminatory system has been in place since 2002, and an average of 1,000 people, and their families are rejected each year.

BACKGROUND
https://migrantrights.ca/en/613-2/

Signez cette lettre ouverte : Il faut mettre fin à la discrimination contre les personnes handicapées

Mise à jour du 15 novembre – nous avons présenté la lettre appuyée par 47 organisations et plus de 900 noms individuels au comité parlementaire! Continuez de signer cette page car chaque signature est un courriel envoyé aux députés et un rappel que nous sommes vigilants! 

Josarie Danieles est séparée de sa fille Precious Ann depuis sept ans. Sept années pénibles d’anniversaires et de vacances en famille ratées. Sept années à communiquer en touchant un écran au lieu de serrer sa fille dans ses bras.

Josarie est venue au Canada comme aide familiale. Elle a rempli toutes les conditions et aurait dû obtenir le statut de résidente permanente. Mais on le lui refuse parce qu’Immigration Canada croit que sa fille représenterait un « fardeau excessif » pour le système de soins de santé.

Un comité parlementaire fédéral examine la question en ce moment même. Ajoutez votre nom dès maintenant et demandez aux membres du comité de mettre fin aux lois discriminatoires. Chaque fois qu’un nom s’ajoute, la lettre ci-dessous est envoyée par courriel aux députés concernés. 

Les articles discriminatoires 38(1)(a) et 38(1)(c) de la Loi sur l’immigration doivent être immédiatement abrogés. C’est une première étape. Les handicaps ne sont que l’un des motifs en vertu desquels des centaines de milliers de personnes sont obligées de travailler, d’étudier ou de vivre au Canada temporairement ou se voient refuser la résidence permanente. Nous devons revoir entièrement le système d’immigration de manière à accorder la résidence permanente à tous les migrants maintenant et, pour ceux qui arriveront plus tard, dès leur arrivée.

Le temps presse. Faisons-en sorte que Josarie célèbre le prochain anniversaire de naissance de Precious avec elle. Lisez la lettre ci-dessous et signez-la.

Signez cette lettre : Nos vies ne sont PAS un « fardeau excessif »

Il faut retirer l’incapacitisme des règles canadiennes en immigration dès maintenant

L’honorable Ahmed Hussen, c.p., député
Ministre de l’Immigration, des Réfugiés et de la Citoyenneté

Les membres du Comité permanent de la citoyenneté et de l’immigration

À titre de membres et supporters de personnes ayant un handicap, de sourds, de fous, de consommateurs ou survivants psychiatrisés et de communautés qualifiées d’handicapées, nous demandons au gouvernement fédéral de retirer immédiatement la clause relative au « fardeau excessif » et les règlements incapacitistes de la Loi sur l‘immigration et la protection des réfugiés, et d’assurer un traitement équitable aux travailleurs migrants et aux membres de leurs familles qui en subissent les effets.

Même si le premier ministre Justin Trudeau affirme que « nous ne pourrons pas nous arrêter tant et aussi longtemps que les personnes ayant un handicap ne profiteront pas des mêmes opportunités que tout le monde », l’article 38(1)(c) de la Loi sur l’immigration et la protection des réfugiés exclut du Canada les personnes handicapées, y compris les personnes vivant avec le VIH et certaines personnes trans. L’article 38(1)(c) permet de rejeter un demandeur en fournissant la base de ce rejet si le demandeur ou un membre de sa famille pourrait risquer « vraisemblablement … d’entraîner un fardeau excessif pour les services sociaux ou de santé ».

La clause du « fardeau excessif » empêche les personnes ayant un handicap d’immigrer au Canada et permet de refuser la citoyenneté aux personnes qui sont devenues handicapées pendant qu’elles travaillaient au Canada dans le cadre d’un programme fédéral de travail temporaire.

La clause du « fardeau excessif » exclut les migrants et immigrants qui vivent et travaillent au Canada depuis de nombreuses années si eux-mêmes ou une de leurs personnes à charge sont handicapés.

La clause du « fardeau excessif » projette une image uniquement négative des personnes handicapées, en soutenant qu’elles drainent trop de ressources. Cette vision nie les contributions valables qu’apportent les personnes handicapées à la société.

La clause du « fardeau excessif » accroît la vulnérabilité et l’exploitation des travailleurs migrants à faibles salaires qui tombent malades ou se blessent à cause des conditions de travail misérables qu’on leur impose au Canada. On leur refuse le statut de résident permanent parce qu’ils sont blessés ou malades.

Les travailleurs migrants qui sont venus au Canada dans le cadre de programmes fédéraux comme le Programme d’aides familiales (PAF), le Programme des travailleurs agricoles saisonniers (PTAS) ou le Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires (PTET) ne peuvent pas changer de lieu de travail sous peine de perdre leur permis de travail, ce qui veut dire qu’ils ne peuvent pas facilement refuser de faire un travail dangereux et qu’ils doivent risquer de tomber malades ou de se blesser.

Les aides familiales (ce sont en majorité des femmes) sont le seul groupe de travailleuses migrantes à faible salaire qui pourraient obtenir la résidence permanente après une période de travail au Canada. Mais si elles tombent malades ou se blessent pendant la période d’admissibilité, elles peuvent être exclues en vertu de la clause du « fardeau excessif ». Au début, les aides familiales ont obtenu des protections contre cette règle avec la loi « Juana Tejada » en 2010, mais ces garanties ont été annulées en 2014. En outre, la clause du « fardeau excessif » interdit aux aides familiales dont les enfants ou les partenaires sont malades ou handicapés de devenir résidentes permanentes. Le PAF discrimine aussi contre les aides familiales handicapées en exigeant un examen médical avant l’obtention du permis.

La Charte garantit l’égalité devant la loi et le droit à la protection égale et au bénéfice égal de la loi sans discrimination, y compris pour des motifs basés sur un handicap. L’article 38 (1)(c) contrevient spécifiquement à la Charte.

Le Comité permanent de la citoyenneté de la Chambre des communes tient présentement des auditions sur l’inadmissibilité médicale (« fardeau excessif »).

Nous exigeons que le gouvernement canadien :

  1. Retire immédiatement la clause du « fardeau excessif » de l’article 38(1)(c) de la Loi sur l’immigration et la protection des réfugiés.
  2. Accorde immédiatement la résidence permanente à toute personne à qui elle a été refusée pour des motifs de handicap au cours des dix dernières années.

Enfin, nous exigeons que le gouvernement canadien élimine toutes les politiques et tous les règlements incapacitistes et assure un statut d’immigration permanent à tous, y compris la résidence permanente à l’arrivée pour les travailleurs migrants.

 

“Wait and see is not an option, end the discrimination now” insist migrant Caregivers and disability justice advocates

Toronto, November 20, 2017 – As the Federal government prepares to host consultations in Ottawa, migrant caregivers and disability justice advocates spoke out in Toronto today calling for an immediate end to disability discrimination in Canada’s immigration law. More than a thousand people and organizations have signed an Open Letter in support of these demands.

The parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration is examining Section 38(1)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) today. Section 38(1)(c) reads “A foreign national is inadmissible on health grounds if their health condition is expected to cause excessive demand on health or social services,” in effect denying an entire family permanent status if ​any ​member ​of ​the ​family ​is sick or disabled. This discriminatory system has been in place since 2002, and an average of 1,000 people, and their families are rejected each year.

“We can’t wait any longer, we need an immediate repeal of the discriminatory medical inadmissibility regime, Permanent Residency for all those denied based on this Section in the last ten years, and Permanent Residency upon arrival for all migrant workers” says Caregivers Action Centre member Amalia Loyzaga, mother of three and a recent widow. Ms Loyzaga has been separated from her family for the past ten years because her Permanent Residency is being challenged based solely on her daughter’s autism diagnosis. She is also one of 25,000 Caregivers caught in a backlog.

“I cannot comprehend how inhuman, discriminatory and unjust immigration law is set out for people with disabilities, and why action is still being delayed” adds Loyzaga.

“Section 38 (1)(c) violates basic rights to equality for disabled people, tears apart families, diminishes the invaluable contributions made by disabled people and stigmatizes us,” says prominent disability activist and scholar Dr. Loree Erickson, who has been in Canada for the past 14 years and was recently denied permanent residency.

“I ​felt ​like ​I ​am ​dying ​when ​I ​was ​denied. ​I ​don’t ​know ​what ​to ​do ​and ​where ​to ​go. ​I felt ​so ​hopeless. ​I ​wanted ​to ​scream. My family has been waiting for years, and we can’t wait any longer, we need to be reunited now” adds Josarie Danieles. Ms. Danieles is a member of the Caregivers Action Centre and has been publicly calling for overhaul of the medical inadmissibility regime since 2016.

Ms Danieles has been in Canada since 2010, and completed her requirements for permanent residency in 2014. Her permanent residency application is being challenged because her daughter Precious has been deemed to be an ‘excessive burden to the Canadian health system’.

Caregiver Mercedes Benitez, whose case was in the news recently and is scheduled to speak to Parliament later today, was granted Permanent Residency based on Humanitarian and compassionate grounds last week.

“Getting my file approved means that I won the lottery. But although now I’m approved, I wonder, what about those other cases? So many others are still suffering. Excessive demand should be eliminated because there should not be any more mothers who cry every night or children who are being discriminated based on their disability or health condition.”

The denial of permanent resident status based on disability is just one symptom of a system that fails to protect those who come from other countries to care for children, the sick, and the elderly. “For caregivers, the medical inadmissibility rule magnifies the hardships imposed by what is already a two-tier system where some immigrants come with temporary status and limited rights, while others come as permanent residents. There needs to be one system of rights, and full immigration status on arrival” adds Fay Faraday, a labour and human rights lawyer who has worked with migrant workers for over two decades.

Directly affected migrant mothers, disabled people and advocates are also concerned with the lack of truly democratic consultation in Parliament.

“While all of us applied to participate in these so-called public consultations, only one of us was invited to speak, but we are here speaking today, to say we cannot wait, end discrimination now,” adds Loyzaga.

Source
www.caregiversactioncentre.org

Migrant caregivers and their supporters are calling on the the Federal Government to:

  1. Immediately grant permanent residency to Josarie Danieles, Amalia Loyzaga and their families, as well as other migrants who have been denied permanent residency on disability grounds over the past ten years.
  2. Eliminate Section 38(1)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which allows for discriminating against people with disabilities.
  3. Grant permanent residency status to migrant workers currently in Canada, including undocumented workers, with specific provisions to allow their families to join them.
  4. Ensure that all migrant workers are allowed to come to Canada with their families, and with permanent residency status, which is the norm for applicants in the Canadian Express Entry system.
  5. Ensure all migrant workers have access to all public services, basic rights and the ability to change jobs through open work permits.

Immigrant Rights Groups Lay Out Agenda for Incoming Ministers

hussenhadjuCanada — Immigrant rights groups across Canada are laying out a pressing agenda for incoming Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen and Employment Minister Patty Hajdu, calling for a transformative turn towards ensuring permanency and mobility for all immigrants. Over 1.2 million people in Canada, the vast majority of immigrants, are on precarious and temporary immigration permits. Many are restricted to a single workplace, and therefore unable to assert their rights. Tapping into this under-utilized economic potential and ensuring that Canada meets its human rights obligations requires opening up work permits, and granting permanent residence both on arrival to incoming migrant workers and to undocumented immigrants and other precarious status migrants already in the country.

“The largest part of the immigration system is undocumented and temporary status migrants, and their precarious status directly impacts employment and the economy. That’s where the Ministers must turn their attention,” says Syed Hussan of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change in Ontario. “We need an overhaul of the system, and not tinkering, and that begins with immediate steps to ensure permanent status for undocumented families and migrant workers in the country.”

Due to ineffective immigration and employment law, all low-wage Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada are stuck working for a single employer. It is difficult, if not impossible, for workers to change jobs even if the job is dangerous, making them sick, or if they are facing abuse.

“Creating an open work permit program for temporary foreign workers should be the first order of business for the incoming Ministers,” says Anna Malla of Caregivers’ Action Centre. “Doing so will ensure that all immigrants in Canada have the same basic mobility rights, and would be a major step in the right direction towards real change.”

Undocumented and temporary status immigrants in Canada who have proven work experiences and community ties in the country, many of whom do not have access to permanent residency, will be forced to eventually leave Canada. This is a massive drain on Canada’s economy as trained and experienced immigrants are pushed out in a revolving door immigration system.

“Permanent status for immigrants already in the country would immediately boost the economy, integrating skilled and established individuals and families who already work to take care of our communities,” added Josie Baker from Cooper Institute in Prince Edward Island. “Permanent status for undocumented and temporary status immigrants is the smart and effective move.”

The Coalition for Migrant Workers Rights Canada (CMWRC) is the representative body of migrant workers in Canada, with membership is six provinces.

Temporary and undocumented immigrants in Canada
Category Numbers^
Undocumented immigrants 500,000
Temporary Foreign Workers* 73,069
International Mobility Program Permit Holders in 2015 176,502
International Students in 2015 353,262
Work permits for humanitarian purposes in 2015* 16,672
Work permit holders who are PR applicants in 2015* 41,813
Work permit holders for study related purposes in 2015* 56,391
In-country refugee claimants in 2015* 16,109
TOTAL 1,233,818
* These numbers are just for entries in 2015. However, many individuals are in the country for multiple more years at a time. So the total number of people present could be much higher. Data for 2016 has not been updated.
^ All numbers, except those on undocumented residents compiled from Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Data: http://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/052642bb-3fd9-4828-b608-c81dff7e539c?_ga=1.261505422.2084657334.1468989248
Undocumented immigrants in Canada were estimated to be 500,000 by the RCMP in its 2007 environmental scan: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/grc-rcmp/PS61-22-2007-eng.pdf

 

MEDIA CONTACTS

  • Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada – Syed Hussan – Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 1-416-453-3632
  • Pour le français/Québec: Francisco Mootoo, Association des travailleuses et travailleurs étrangers temporaires — (514) 793-2672
  • Alberta – Edmonton – Marco Luciano – Migrante Canada – 1-780-966-5908
  • Atlantic Canada – Josie Baker – Cooper Institute- 1-902-894-4573
  • British Columbia – Vancouver – Natalie Drolet – West Coast Domestic Workers Association –1-604-669-6452
  • Prairies – Manitoba – Diwa Marcelino – Migrante Canada – 204-218-710

 

We won! 4-and-4 repealed! Lets win status for all.

meme-4-and-4Since 2009, migrant worker groups along with you have organized against the 4-and-4 rule, as part of a broader campaign for open work permits and permanent status on landing.

SHARE ON FACEBOOK | SIGN OUR PETITION

The 4-and-4 rule required migrant workers to leave after four years of cumulative employment and banned them from returning for four years. Over 15 cities organized protest and actions in March 2015 as a lead up to the imposition of the 4-and-4 rule which uprooted tens of thousands of migrant workers, and caused mass deportations. Nearly 4,000 people signed petitions. Since October 2015, the Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada (CMWRC) has campaigned for the overturn of this rule and permanent status on landing.

While this is an important step, we need more than repealing and tinkering. We need a total overhaul of the system which begins with ensuring permanent status on landing for migrant workers now and a regularization program for workers who stayed and became undocumented.

In yesterday’s announcement, the Federal Government promised to expand ‘pathways to citizenship’. The Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada (CMWRC) believes that ‘pathways’ are a euphemism for maintaining unjust temporariness for low-waged and racialized workers. A pathway is a two stage process, where migrant workers must first complete a temporary sentence of abuse and injustice before a few are selected to compete for permanent status. Low-waged and racialized people deemed to be doing ‘low-skilled’ work deserve permanent status on landing, just as much as those deemed to be doing ‘high skilled’ work.

Migrant workers from across Canada called for a repeal of the 4-and-4 rule and most importantly permanent status on landing in the recent review of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program in Ottawa.  

RELEASE: Notorious 4-and-4 rule repealed; migrant workers need permanent status, not tinkering

Feel free to use pictures and background: http://no4and4campaign.tumblr.com/

Canada,  December 14, 2016 – Since April 2011, migrant worker groups have organized against the 4-and-4 rule, as part of a broader campaign for open work permits and permanent status on landing. The 4-and-4 rule required migrant workers to leave after four years of cumulative employment and banned them from returning for four years. Over 15 cities organized protest and actions in March 2015 as a lead up to the imposition of the 4-and-4 rule which uprooted tens of thousands of migrant workers, and caused mass deportations. Nearly 4,000 people signed petitions. Since October 2015, the Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada (CMWRC) has campaigned for the overturn of this rule. On December 13th, the notorious 4-and-4 rule was repealed.

“This repeal is a first step which came about because migrant workers and their allies organized against an unjust rule that resulted in thousands of deportations and migrants becoming undocumented,” says Syed Hussan of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. “We need permanent status for migrant workers who stayed here undocumented and for those that were uprooted and forced out, for this change to be really meaningful.”

“There were more than thirty of us who reached our 4 year limit and we fought an uphill battle to stay in Quebec and apply for permanent status,” explains Francisco Mootoo of the Temporary Foreign Workers Association. “Many other migrant workers impacted were unable to do so, and it’s essential that all migrant workers get permanent residence upon arrival.”

“Dozens of our members have been forced to become undocumented or leave Canada because of this badly planned, and badly executed law that seems to have been designed by the previous government simply to show that they were being hard on migrant workers,” adds Anna Malla of the Caregivers’ Action Centre. “Repealing and tinkering is not enough. We need a total overhaul of the system which begins with ensuring permanent status on landing for migrant workers now and a regularization program for workers who have become undocumented.”

In yesterday’s announcement, the Federal Government promised to expand ‘pathways to citizenship’. The Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada (CMWRC) believes that ‘pathways’ are a euphemism for maintaining unjust temporariness for low-waged and racialized workers. A pathway is a two stage process, where migrant workers must first complete a temporary sentence of abuse and injustice before a few are selected to compete for permanent status. Low-waged and racialized people deemed to be doing ‘low-skilled’ work deserve permanent status on landing, just as much as those deemed to be doing ‘high skilled’ work.

Migrant workers from across Canada called for a repeal of the 4-and-4 rule and most importantly for permanent status on landing in the recent review of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program in Ottawa.  

National Media Contacts

  • Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada – Syed Hussan – Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 1-416-453-3632
  • Pour le français/Québec: Francisco Mootoo, Association des travailleuses et travailleurs étrangers temporaires: (514) 793-2672
  • Atlantic Canada – Josie Baker – Cooper Institute- 1-902-315-2705
  • British Columbia – Vancouver – Natalie Drolet, 604-669-6452, West Coast Domestic Workers’ Association
  • Ontario – Chris Ramsaroop – Justicia for Migrant Workers / Harvesting Freedom Campaign –1-647-834-4932
  • Prairies – Manitoba – Diwa Marcelino – Migrante Canada – 204-218-710

Les travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s insistent pour un statut permanent et le respect des lois et normes du travail ainsi que le respect des droits humains en réponse à la révision sur les travailleurs étrangers

Canada, 19 septembre 2016 – La reconnaissance de la nécessité de réformes du Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires du gouvernement fédéral aujourd’hui est le résultat de plusieurs années de lutte où les travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s ont fait valoir leurs droits et ont lutté contre la violation de leurs droits humains et du respect des lois et normes du travail. Des membres de la Coalition pour les droits des travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s Canada, l’organe représentatif des travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s au Canada, interpellent le ministre McCallum et la ministre Mihychuk afin de légiférer rapidement pour un statut de résidence permanente pour les travailleurs et travailleuses agricoles saisonniers, les aidantes et aidants naturels et les travailleurs et travailleuses étrangers temporaires dans les catégories à bas salaire. CMWRC demande comme mesure provisoire des permis de travail ouvert, la fin des restrictions de l’ère Harper, y compris la règle 4 et 4, et l’enregistrement des recruteurs.

« Pendant trop longtemps, nous avons été traités comme les rouages d’une machine, incapable de changer d’emploi, et le débat a porté sur les profits au lieu d’être sur les gens », a dit Francisco Mottoo, un travailleur étranger temporaire du Québec membre de l’Association des travailleuses et travailleurs étrangers temporaires qui a parlé en mai devant le Comité permanent étudiant la révision du programme. « Mais nous sommes des êtres humains, nous avons des familles, nous avons des sentiments, et nous sommes privés de nos droits les plus élémentaires. La question fondamentale n’est pas combien de travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s et dans quelles industries, mais quels sont les droits que nous avons. Nous méritons un statut d’immigration permanent dès l’arrivée. Nous méritons d’être avec nos familles, nous méritons le bonheur. »

Tous les travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s qui ont été entendu par le comité permanent sont membres d’organismes affiliés à la Coalition pour les droits des travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s Canada. Les travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s ont identifié la nécessité d’un statut permanent dès l’arrivée, des permis de travail ouverts, des réglementations pour les recruteurs, des enquêtes du travail qui sont proactive, et la fin des permis de travail cumulatifs qui sont recommandés dans le rapport d’HUMA aujourd’hui. Les travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s demandent également de revoir l’admissibilité des aides familiales aux soins de santé et le rapatriement des travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s pour des problèmes de santé, demandes qui ne sont pas abordées dans le rapport. La CMWRC espère que toutes ses recommandations seront rapidement mises en œuvre.

Le rapport est publié alors que des travailleurs et des travailleuses agricoles de Justice for Migrant Workers ont entrepris une marche de plus de 1500 kilomètres de Windsor à Ottawa pour souligner les 50 ans de la création du Programme des travailleurs agricoles saisonniers.

« Le rapport d’aujourd’hui est vague et ses recommandations ne sont pas spécifiques. Nous avons besoin de changements réels. Ils parlent de l’élargissement du programme PTAS, mais cela ne peut se produire sans statut permanent », a dit Gabriel Allahdua, un travailleur agricole, qui est à Guelph aujourd’hui. « Depuis un demi-siècle, nous venons au Canada pour l’agriculture, pour le nettoyage, pour l’emballage et pour la restauration. Il n’y a rien de temporaire dans notre situation et nous méritons un statut permanent. »

Le comité HUMA a recommandé un chemin vers la résidence permanente pour les travailleurs étrangers et les travailleuses étrangères temporaires, mais les travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s insistent qu’un « chemin » ne suffit pas.

« Notre travail n’est jamais temporaire. Le travail que nous faisons est permanent. Les aides familiales ont un soi-disant d’accès à une voie menant à la résidence permanente, mais ce n’est pas une voie. C’est un champ de mines qui nous expose à l’exploitation. Nous méritons tous et toutes, les travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s, la résidence permanente à l’arrivée, non pas une situation temporaire à long terme », a expliqué Teta Bayan, aide familiale du Caregivers Action Centre qui n’a pas pu s’exprimer devant le comité. « Nous avons également besoin de la fin du programme des aides familiaux actuel mis en place par le gouvernement précédent qui nous a enlevé notre droit à la résidence permanente. »

###

Transcriptions et enregistrements audio de travailleurs et travailleuses migrant-e-s s’adressant au parlement : https://migrantrights.ca/en/migrant-workers-address-parliament/ 

Observations présentées par diverses organisations demandant la résidence permanente immigration comme statut : https://migrantrights.ca/en/everyone-agrees-policy-recommendations-call-for-permanent-residency-status/

 

  • Pour le français/Québec : Francisco Mootoo, Association des travailleuses et travailleurs étrangers temporaires – (514) 793-2672

 

  • Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada – Syed Hussan – Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 1-416-453-3632
  • Alberta – Edmonton – Marco Luciano – Migrante Canada – 1-780-966-5908
  • Atlantic Canada – Josie Baker – Cooper Institute- 1-902-315-2705
  • British Columbia – Vancouver – Mildred German – Migrante BC –1-604-879-5850
  • Ontario – Chris Ramsaroop – Justicia for Migrant Workers / Harvesting Freedom Campaign –1-647-834-4932
  • Prairies – Manitoba – Diwa Marcelino – Migrante Canada – 204-218-710

Migrant Workers call for permanent status and labour and human rights in wake of Temporary Foreign Worker Review

Canada, September 19, 2016 – The Federal government’s acknowledgement of the need for reforms of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program today is a result of years of migrant workers advocating for themselves and fighting against against denial of their human and labour rights. Migrant workers members of Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada (CMWRC), the representative body for migrant workers in Canada, are calling on Minister McCallum and Minister Mihychuk to now swiftly introduce legislation for permanent immigration status for Seasonal Agricultural Workers, Caregivers and Temporary Foreign Workers in low-waged categories. As an interim measure, CMWRC is calling for open work permits, the licensing of recruiters, and an end to Harper era restrictions, including the 4 and 4 rule.

“For too long we have been treated like cogs in the machine, unable to change jobs, and the debate has been about profits over people,” says Francisco Moottoo, a temporary foreign worker from Quebec and member of Association des travailleuses et travailleurs étrangers temporaires, who spoke to the Standing Committee in May. “But we are human beings, we have families and we have feelings, and we are being denied the most basic of rights. The fundamental question is not how many migrant workers and in what industries, but what rights do we have. We deserve permanent immigration status on landing, we deserve to be able to change our jobs, we deserve to be with our families, we deserve happiness.”

All the migrant workers that participated in this review are members of organizations that make up the CMWRC. Migrant workers identified the need for permanent status on landing, open work permits, recruiter regulation, proactive labour investigations, and an end to the cumulative work permit, which are recommended in the report today. Migrant workers also called for review of medical inadmissibility of Caregivers and repatriation of migrant workers for health concerns, which have not been addressed. CMWRC hopes that all its recommendations are swiftly implemented.

The report comes as agricultural worker members of Justice for Migrant Workers are marching over 1,500 kilometres from Windsor to Ottawa to mark the 50 years since the creation of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program.

“Today’s report is vague and its recommendations are not specific, we need real changes. They are talking about expanding the SAWP program but that can’t happen without permanent status” says Farmworker Gabriel Allahdua who is in Guelph today. “We have been coming to Canada, and growing, harvesting, cleaning, packing and serving food for half a century, there is nothing temporary about us. We deserve permanent status.”

The committee has recommended a path to permanent residency for Temporary Foreign Workers, but migrant workers insist that a ‘path’ is not enough.

“Our job is never temporary, the work we do is permanent. Caregivers have a so-called path to permanent residency, but it’s not a path, it’s a minefield and it’s exposing us to exploitation, all of us migrant workers deserve permanent residence on arrival not long-term temporariness,” says Caregiver Teta Bayan from the Caregivers Action Centre who was forced to miss her turn to speak to the review. “We also need an end to the current Caregiver program introduced by the previous government which took away our right to permanent residency.”

###

  • Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada – Syed Hussan – Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 1-416-453-3632
  • Pour le français/Quebec: Francisco Mootoo, Association des travailleuses et travailleurs étrangers temporaires: (514) 793-2672
  • Alberta – Edmonton – Marco Luciano – Migrante Canada – 1-780-966-5908
  • Atlantic Canada – Josie Baker – Cooper Institute- 1-902-315-2705
  • British Columbia – Vancouver – Mildred German – Migrante BC –1-604-879-5850
  • Ontario – Chris Ramsaroop – Justicia for Migrant Workers / Harvesting Freedom Campaign –1-647-834-4932
  • Prairies – Manitoba – Diwa Marcelino – Migrante Canada – 204-218-710

Transcripts and audio recordings of migrant worker addressing Parliament: http://migrantrights.ca/en/migrant-workers-address-parliament/

Submissions by diverse organizations calling for permanent resident immigration status:https://migrantrights.ca/en/everyone-agrees-policy-recommendations-call-for-permanent-residency-status/

Migrant workers shut out of secretive closed door immigration consultations

 

Canada, July 6, 2016 — Migrant worker organizations are ringing alarm bells about closed-door meetings on immigration policy across the country that do not include migrant workers’ concerns. These invitation-only ‘Townhalls’ began last week, while an online consultation form was launched on a government website without much notice Tuesday. Over 50 national organizations have joined the Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada, the representative body of migrant workers, in calling for open meetings with migrant workers at a time and place where they can participate, and comprehensive immigration reform to ensure permanent resident status for low-waged, racialized workers.

“Migrant workers are critical to Canada’s economy. However, they are denied basic rights and are unable to participate in decisions that affect their lives. Permanent immigration status for migrant workers is the most pressing change needed in immigration policy in Canada today” says Josie Baker from the Cooper Institute in Prince Edward Island and a member of the Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada. “I had to call MPs in my area to find out about the meeting. I was told that one was happening in my town right away. They hadn’t told anyone about it, and migrant workers aren’t invited. Where is the transparency?”

A review of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and the Caregiver Program was just completed by a parliamentary committee but the final recommendations will not be released until the Fall. Migrant workers are one of the only groups of immigrants that can’t come to Canada with permanent resident status, a change that must be made through the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

“First and foremost, we need to change immigration law to ensure that migrant workers have permanent resident immigration rights like everyone else. These immigration consultations should be a time to ensure real conversation and transparency where Parliamentarians listen to migrant workers where they are and move towards comprehensive reforms, not backroom conversations with a few insiders,” says Marco Luciano from Migrante Canada, based in Edmonton.

Migrant workers recently spoke to Parliamentarians at the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. Audio and transcripts can be found here. Dozens of national organizations have called for permanent immigration status for migrant workers, see some of them here. Migrant worker organizations across the country are available to comment.

Media Contacts

  • Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada – Syed Hussan – Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 1-416-453-3632
  • Alberta – Edmonton – Marco Luciano – Migrante Canada – 1-780-966-5908
  • Atlantic Canada – Josie Baker – Cooper Institute- 1-902-894-4573
  • British Columbia – Vancouver – Natalie Drolet – West Coast Domestic Workers Association –1-604-669-6452
  • British Columbia – Okanagan – Elise Hjalmarson — RAMA – 250-212-2620.
  • Ontario – Chris Ramsaroop – Justicia for Migrant Workers / Harvesting Freedom Campaign –1-647-834-4932

Migrant Workers address Parliament

Click their names to read the transcript or scroll below to hear audio. Click here to read submissions from diverse organizations supporting migrant worker demands.

• Gabriel Allahdua, Agricultural worker, Justicia for Migrant Workers
• Gina Bahiwal, Agricultural worker, Justicia for Migrant Workers / others
• Ericson Santos De Leon, Caregiver, Migrante
• Francisco Mootoo, Migrant worker, Temporary Foreign Workers Association, Quebec
• Teta Bayan, Member, Caregivers Action Centre
• Pinky Paglingayen, Caregiver
• Claudia Colocho, Migrant worker, United Food and Commercial Workers
AND
• Marcia Lindo-Barrett the cousin of Sheldon Mckenzie, Farmworker who died as a result of workplace injuries

Everyone agrees. Diverse groups call for permanent residency status for migrant workers

From May 11 to June 1, 2016, the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities invited written submissions on the future of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program. Across the board, most written submissions called for permanent residency status on arrival for all migrant workers. Here are a few of them.

Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada / Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, and endorsed by 16 organizations.

All migrant workers must be able to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents immediately, independently and permanently without depending or relying on the sponsorship or good will of their employers or third party agencies. This program should include migrant workers already in Canada, those that have worked here and left and those arriving in the future. Migrant workers who have been granted permanent residency should get comprehensive settlement services that will ensure their success. Download full submissions here.

Canadian Council for Refugees

The federal government should guarantee the right to all admitted as migrant workers, whatever the category, to apply for permanent residence at the same time as they apply for the work permit. This would move us away from treating newcomers as disposable, as we have been doing by using precarious, temporary labour to fill long-term positions. Download full submissions here.

Inter Pares

Current and future migrant workers should be presented with the option of acquiring permanent residency in Canada immediately, independently and permanently without depending or relying on the sponsorship or good will of their employers or third party agencies. Download full submissions here.

United Food and Commercial Workers

Canada should view the prosperity of migrant workers as an investment in Canada. We should actively support their settlement and nurture their attachment to Canada. Our primary recommendation is that workers have the option to enter Canada as permanent residents. Download full submissions here.

Migrant Worker Solidarity Network

Migrant workers, including Seasonal Agricultural Workers, should be given permanent resident status. Download full submissions here.

Caregivers Action Centre 

The only real and permanent solution is granting these workers permanent resident immigration status on landing – this is our key recommendation. Permanent immigration status on landing does not entail a closure of the temporary foreign workers program or a mass expansion of it. Rather we propose a third way: inclusion and access for low-waged racialized women in care work to Canada with full rights and benefits that can only be secured by permanent resident status. Download full submissions here.

Migrant Worker Rights Canada

Ensure access upon arrival permanent legal status for all migrant workers, and in parallel access to permanent RESIDENT status (associated with public services and access to citizenship), allowing re‐entry in Canada. Download full submissions here.

West Coast Domestic Workers Alliance

All Temporary Foreign Workers should be granted permanent residency immediately upon entry in Canada. Pathways to permanent residency should be provided to all TFWs currently working in Canada. Reinstate guaranteed pathways to permanent residency for caregivers. Download full submissions here.

OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Give migrant workers who are here the opportunity to apply for permanent residence, and allow future workers a way become permanent residents. Download full submissions here.

Community Legal Assistance Society

Above all, migrant workers need secure immigration status upon arrival in Canada in order to have equal and meaningful access to legal protections in employment, housing, and human rights. Download full submissions here.

Actions across Canada call for permanent resident status and open work permits for vulnerable workers

May 27, 2016 – Canada — Migrant advocates are calling for immediate permanent resident immigration status for Seasonal Agricultural Workers, Caregivers and Temporary Foreign Workers as a parliamentary committee reviews the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Migrant workers take care of our children, grow our food and build our economy, but remain precarious and vulnerable. These hard working community members are unable to change jobs, assert their rights and are separated from their children and parents by restricting policies.

Media events across Canada

Charlottetown, PEI: May 30, 12pm, Province House – 902-315-2705
Edmonton, AB: May 30, 9:30am, Alberta Legislature – 780-966-5908
Kelowna, BC: May 28, 11am, Kelowna Farmers Market – 250-212-2620
Montreal, QC: Available by phone – (514) 793-2672
Toronto, ON: May 30, 1pm, Southeast corner of Bloor & Spadina – 416-453-3632
Vancouver, BC: May 31, 11:30am, 550 W 6th Avenue – 604-669-6452

Background

The federal government is reviewing the Temporary Foreign Workers Program over six, three hour sessions in a parliamentary committee. Migrant workers have largely been excluded from this process. Only four migrant workers have spoken to the Parliamentarians, and one Caregiver leader was turned away on May 18th. CMWRC is calling for a comprehensive multi-Ministry consultation with migrant workers at a time and place they can attend following the current review.

Download backgrounder here.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada – Syed Hussan – Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 1-416-453-3632
Pour le français/Quebec: Francisco Mootoo, Association des travailleuses et travailleurs étrangers temporaires: (514) 793-2672
Alberta – Edmonton – Marco Luciano – Migrante Canada – 1-780-966-5908
Atlantic Canada – Josie Baker – Cooper Institute- 1-902-315-2705
British Columbia – Vancouver – Natalie Drolet – West Coast Domestic Workers Association –1-604-669-6452
British Columbia – Okanagan – Elise Hjalmarson — RAMA – 250-212-2620.
Ontario – Chris Ramsaroop – Justicia for Migrant Workers / Harvesting Freedom Campaign –1-647-834-4932
Prairies – Manitoba – Diwa Marcelino – Migrante Canada – 204-218-710

Migrant workers testify on Parliament Hill today, call for permanent immigration status, open work permits, and real reforms

Ottawa, May 16, 2016 – Four migrant workers will testify at the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) today between 4:30pm and 6:30pm calling for permanent immigration status, open work permits and comprehensive reforms. Migrant worker leaders from across Canada are joining them to call for permanent immigration status on landing. The Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada which is helping to coordinate these testimonies continues to insist that more needs to be done to ensure migrant worker participation in laws that primarily affect their lives. The hearing can be watched – audio only – as of 3:30pm by clicking here.

Gina Bahiwal, has been a Temporary Foreign Worker in Ontario and BC since 2008 and has worked at a warehouse, Holiday Inn and Mcdonalds. She will testify to HUMA today.

“I think migrant workers should all get permanent status upon arrival because we came here to Canada to work, and our work is skilled work. If you come to Canada and your work is called high-skilled, you get permanent immigration status, why don’t we? In addition, those workers who are being abused on closed work permits, can’t find another job because their work permit is tied to a job. Many workers, vulnerable workers, who worked in Canada for four years are being told to go home, but they have no life to go back to.”

Gabriel Alahuda is a Seasonal Agricultural Worker in Ontario. He will testify to HUMA today.

“A migrant farmworker, named Sheldon Mc Kenzie, died in 2005 in a work related accident – a fact that is news across Canada today. What safety net is available for the young family he’ve left behind after 13 years of service on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program? These questions must be answered. Migrant workers spend years working in a developed country like Canada, where we consistently make our contributions, like all working citizens, only to be denied the benefits which only citizens can access and enjoy. We need rights, we need permanent residency and need it now.”

Francisco Mootoo a temporary foreign worker from Mauritius. He arrived in Quebec in 2012. He will testify to HUMA this week.

“We were lucky, but we had to fight for our right to stay, knowing full well that we have done everything required of us as working people contributing to Canada’s economy here in Quebec.  These immigration policies have to change for the better, reflecting a program that does not seek to exploit the desperation of hardworking people who merely wish to make this country their home. In that light, we fully support the demands of the Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada and hope that the HUMA committee seriously listens to our collective voice when reviewing the TFWP.”

Ericson Santos De Leon, Caregiver from Montreal, Quebec who will testify to the committee

“My agency charged me $4,300 placement fee. They said that I had to pay such a high fee because it was harder to place male caregivers. When I got here, I found out that the agency that hired me paid a friend to pretend to be my employer for my papers. For three months, I was stranded. After three months, I was getting desperate so I went to the agency and asked, what was going on? I’ve been waiting for so long. They made me work under the table for a family for a year. After a year, I told them I would report them to the authorities. I said, “you’ve been abusing me. I have a family to support.” They got scared and finally fixed my papers so I was legally employed. What they did was very wrong. They took advantage of me because they know that I wanted to come to Canada.”

Hessed Torres, Temporary Foreign Worker from Vancouver, British Columbia

“As a live-in caregiver, I experienced working between 12-16 hours a days despite my contract stating that I would work 8 hours a day. I also worked beyond the job duties that were stated in my contract. I felt that I needed to stay with my employer despite my working conditions being unjust because I didn’t have mobility to work for a different employer that would treat me fairly. When I asserted my rights, I was terminated. I was left jobless and homeless. I’m very fortunate to be part of MIGRANTE BC because they gave me shelter, a home, a community, and helped to empower me to assert my rights and to talk about my experience as a migrant worker.”

Dhon Mojica, Migrant Worker from Alberta

“Temporary foreign workers like myself are people, we are workers were not rags that can be thrown away when you don’t need us anymore, We were invited to come and many made money off us, we deserve the right to stay in Canada.”

Source
Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada
www.migrantrights.ca

Backgrounder

Please see: https://migrantrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/MigrantWorkers_Backgrounder.pdf

MEDIA CONTACTS

  • Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada – Syed Hussan – Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 1-416-453-3632
  • Ontario – Chris Ramsaroop – Justicia for Migrant Workers / Harvesting Freedom Campaign – 1-647-834-4932
  • Pour le français/Quebec: Lucio Castracani – Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrant-e-s, (514) 885-4014
  • Alberta – Edmonton – Marco Luciano – Migrante Canada – 1-780-966-5908
  • British Columbia – Vancouver – Natalie Drolet – West Coast Domestic Workers Association – 1-604-669-6452
  • Atlantic Canada – Josie Baker – Cooper Institute- 1-902-315-2705
  • Prairies – Manitoba – Diwa Marcelino – Migrante Canada – 204-218-710

Ease EI and Work Permit Rules to Help Alberta Fire Evacuees Get Back to Work

National Migrant Worker Rights Coalition calls for Open Work Permits and Permanent Resident Status

Canada – The Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada (CMWRC) is calling for removal of restrictions of hours required for Employment Insurance so that ALL Fort McMurray worker evacuees can have immediate income. CMWRC is also calling on the federal government to issue open work permits or temporary residents permits for temporary foreign workers (TFW) evacuees so that they can get back on their feet and get back to work. A review is currently taking place for EI in Parliament and a review of the TFW program starts on Wednesday, May 11th. CMWRC is calling for open work permits, and permanent resident status for migrant workers in the TFW review. A petition has also been started by CMWRC.

“Many of the 80,000 people who were evacuated now have no income due to no fault of their own, and many may be denied Employment Insurance,” explains Migrante Canada organizer and CMWRC member Marco Luciano based in Edmonton. “Getting Employment Insurance into the hands of all workers – Canadian and migrant – is essential to giving people the support they need.”

Under current laws, workers in Fort McMurray need to have worked 630 hours in the previous 52 weeks to qualify for EI. If they do, they would receive a base rate of 55% of their weekly salary. Many workers will be excluded because they have not accrued this many hours.

“Migrant workers face an additional burden however, which requires immediate action. Under the current broken system, migrant workers can only work for one employer at the one location that is listed on their permits. They are effectively tied to a single workplace, and now likely that workplace has been destroyed by fire” added Luciano. “These migrant workers need open work permits or temporary resident permits immediately so that they can start looking for work and get back on their feet. They have taken huge loans to come work in Canada, they have families to feed just like everyone else, and they need their hands untied so they can get back to work.”

“The tragedy in Alberta highlights the need to address the inconsistencies that exist for migrant workers that should be dealt with in the upcoming review of the TFW process,” says Syed Hussan, from the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change in Toronto. “All migrant workers need permanent resident immigration status, open work permits and an end to Harper era laws.”

The Filipino Workers Network is raising funds for the foreign worker evacuees at https://fundrazr.com/b180X9.

###

Backgrounder on TFWP and asks by CMWRC: https://migrantrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/MigrantWorkers_Backgrounder.pdf

Source
www.migrantrights.ca

###

Media Contacts

  • Alberta – Edmonton – Marco Luciano – Migrante Canada – 1-780-966-5908
  • Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada – Syed Hussan – Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 1-416-453-3632
  • Pour le français/Quebec: Lucio Castracani – Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrant-e-s, (514) 885-4014
  • Ontario – Chris Ramsaroop – Justicia for Migrant Workers / Harvesting Freedom Campaign – 1-647-834-4932
  • British Columbia – Vancouver – Natalie Drolet – West Coast Domestic Workers Association – 1-604-669-6452
  • Atlantic Canada – Josie Baker – Cooper Institute- 1-902-315-2705
  • Prairies – Manitoba – Diwa Marcelino – Migrante Canada – 204-218-710

Online Forum: Turning the Tide – Ending Migrant Worker Exploitation

1pm EST, Thursday, May 5, 2016
On your telephone or your computer
Space is limited, please RSVP below!

For the last ten years, we’ve seen a rise in laws that deny migrant workers basic rights and simultaneously an increase in anti-immigrant sentiment that blames migrant workers for job loss and low-wages. Now, with a new government in Ottawa, we need to work together to turn the tide. We need to ensure permanent immigration status and full rights for all workers.

Join the Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada on May 5, 2016 to learn about:

– The upcoming parliamentary review of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program
– Possible changes to the Caregiver Program
– Harvesting Freedom campaign marking 50 years of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program.

This is not a webinar. It will be a brief presentation, followed by a discussion on:

– Building a shared set of demands
– Local actions across the country for migrant worker rights
– Supporting migrant workers in your communities

We will be sharing a toolkit with participants on how to take collective action.

The Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada (CMWRC) is the representative body of migrant worker groups in the country with members in six regions. CMWRC is calling for permanent immigration status for migrant workers, including status on landing for incoming workers, open work permits and full access to labour rights and social entitlements. Learn more, and sign the petition.

Organisations des droits des migrantEs partagent une lettre ouverte sur la révision des travailleuses et travailleurs étrangers

 

L’honorable MaryAnn Mihychuk, C.P, députée
Ministre de l’Emploi, du Développement de la main-d’œuvre et du Travail

L’honorable John McCallum, C.P., député
Ministre de l’Immigration, des Réfugiés et de la Citoyenneté

21 mars, 2016

Cher et chère ministre :

La Coalition pour les droits des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs du Canada (CDTTMC), l’organe représentatif des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs dans le pays, répond aux rapports d’une révision de travailleurs étrangers temporaires et travailleuses étrangères temporaires en redélivrant nos appels pour mettre fin à la pratique discriminatoire consistant à lier les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs à des employeurs spécifiques ainsi qu’à faire la transition vers le statut d’immigration permanente à l’arrivée pour tous les travailleurs migrants et toutes les travailleuses migrantes.

Avec une adhésion dans six provinces, la CDTTMC est une coalition de groupes de travailleurs et travailleuses d’un océan à l’autre, visant à améliorer les conditions de travail pour tous les travailleurs et toutes les travailleuses. La CDTTMC croit que la révision du Programme de travailleurs étrangers temporaires doit se traduire par des conditions de vie et de travail améliorées pour les aides familiaux, les travailleurs agricoles saisonniers ou travailleuses agricoles saisonnières ainsi que d’autres travailleurs étrangers temporaires ou travailleuses étrangères temporaires.

Encouragée par les commentaires de la ministre Mihychuk d’assurer la résidence permanente pour les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs, la CDTTMC expose les prochains principes pour aider le gouvernement à concevoir sa révision du Programme de travailleurs étrangers temporaires. Ces principes sont endossés par XX organisations.

Principes pour une révision du Programme de travailleurs étrangers temporaires

Droits humains ainsi que dignité pour les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs doit guider le processus

  • La révision doit fixer comme ses objectifs la garantie des droits de résidence permanente, de réunification familiale, de droits sociaux complets ainsi que de protections au travail pour les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs.
  • Les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs cultivent notre nourriture, prennent soins des enfants, malades et personnes âgées, puis réalisent le travail éreintant de bâtir notre économie. La révision devrait célébrer et honorer les contributions des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs.
  • Toute révision doit rejeter le traitement de travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs comme des marchandises pour faire face aux pénuries de main-d’œuvre ou la caractérisation des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs comme externes à la main-d’œuvre Canadienne et ayant donc une incidence sur les possibilités d’emploi pour les travailleurs et travailleuses citoyenNEs ou résidentEs permanentEs.

Es voix des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs doivent être au centre

  • Les représentantEs de travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs doivent avoir leur mot à dire dans le développement de la structure, la portée et l’échéancier de la révision.
  • Les audiences devraient avoir lieu à travers le pays, à des moments et à des endroits où les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs sont en mesure d’assister et de parler librement dans leur propre langue ainsi qu’avec une protection contre des représailles d’un employeur ou d’être cibléE par le renforcement des politiques d’immigration.

La revision devrait être compréhensif

  • Tous les aspects du Programme de travailleurs étrangers temporaires, incluant le Programme de travailleurs agricoles saisonniers, le Programme des aides familiaux résidants ainsi que les travailleurs étrangers temporaires ou travailleuses étrangères temporaires à bas salaires et salaire élevés doivent être pris en compte dans un cadre fondé sur des données probantes.
  • La révision devrait inclure les voix et les intérêts des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs qui ont été forcéEs de devenir sans papiers à la suite de lois de l’immigration et du travail restrictives.
  • Les voix et les intérêts des travailleurs et travailleuses migrant
  • The voices and interests of migrant workers who have returned home, particularly those as a result of sickness and injury should be included.

La révision devrait être située dans le contexte d’immigration historique et actuelle

  • Les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs viennent au Canada depuis au moins 1880 lorsque des « travailleurs et travailleuses invitéEs » ChinoisES ont été amenéEs au Canada pour bâtir le chemin de fer entre la Colombie-Britannique et l’Est du Canada. 2016 est le 50e anniversaire du Programme de travailleurs agricoles saisonniers. La révision doit viser à corriger des siècles d’exclusions dans les itérations précédentes du Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires.
  • Les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs sont des immigrantEs racialiséEs et à bas salaire. Alors que de nombreux et nombreuses réfugiéEs, résidentEs permanentEs, époux/épouses, parents et grand-parents sont en mesure de venir au Canada avec le statut d’immigration de résidence permanente, les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs ne le sont pas. La révision doit coordonner étroitement avec les politiques d’immigration fédérales pour développer un système d’immigration à pallier unique qui assure la réunification familiale ainsi que le statut permanent pour tous et toutes.

Merci pour votre amiable attention sur cette question.

Sincèrement,

Membres de la Coalition pour les droits des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs du Canada

 

Lettre par les membres de la Coalition pour les droits des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs du Canada

*« Migrant Workers Alliance for Change » inclut:

  • Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention (Toronto)
  • Asian Community Aids Services (Ontario)
  • Caregivers Action Centre (Ontario)
  • Fuerza Puwersa (Guelph)
  • Industrial Accident Victims’ Group of Ontario
  • Justicia for Migrant Workers (Ontario, Colombie-Britannique, Mexique)
  • Legal Assistance of Windsor
  • Migrante Ontario
  • No One Is Illegal – Toronto
  • Parkdale Community Legal Services
  • Social Planning Toronto
  • UNIFOR (Canada)
  • South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario
  • United Food and Commercial Workers (Canada)
  • Workers United (Canada)
  • Workers’ Action Centre (Toronto).

Actuellement endossé par (veuillez compléter le formulaire ci-dessus et ajouter votre nom!)

  • AIDS Committee of Durham Region, Ontario
  • Birchmount Bluffs Neighbourhood Centre
  • British Columbia Federation of Labour Health and Safety Centre, British Columbia
  • BC Government & Service Employees’ Union
  • Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network), Ontario
  • Community Legal Assistance Society, British Columbia
  • Caregiver Connections Education and Support Organization (CCESO)
  • Council of Canadians, Canada
  • Council of Canadians, Prince Edward Island
  • Couples for Christ Migrants Program
  • Filipino-Canadian CommUnity of NB Inc.
  • Injured Workers’ Consultants Community Legal Clinic, Ontario
  • Inter Pares
  • Justice Across Borders Hamilton, Ontario
  • Kawartha Ploughshares
  • Mexicanxs Unidxs Por Regularizacion Mur
  • Migrant Worker Health Project, Ontario
  • Migrant Workers Dignity Association, British Columbia
  • Migrante Canada – Manitoba chapter
  • Migrante BC
  • MoveUP, British Columbia
  • Niagara Migrant Workers Interest Group, Ontario
  • Ontario Federation of Labour
  • Philippine Advancement Through Arts and Culture (PATAC)
  • PINAY Quebec
  • PEI Food Security Network
  • People’s Health Movement Canada/Mouvement populaire pour la santé au Canada
  • Refugees Welcome Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • Reproductive Justice NB, New Brunswick
  • Students Against Migrant Exploitation Brock Chapter, Ontario
  • Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape
  • UNIFOR Local 468
  • UNIFOR Local 707
  • Waterloo Region Migrant Workers Interest Group, Ontario
  • West Coast LEAF, British Columbia
  • Windsor Workers’ Education Centre, Ontario

Migrant Rights Organizations Release Open Letter on Temporary Foreign Workers Review

March 21, 2016, International Day for the Elimination of Racism — Today, 25 member organizations of the Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada in six provinces, are jointly releasing an open letter on the upcoming Temporary Foreign Workers Review. The letter, also endorsed by dozens of national, provincial and local human rights, labour and immigration rights organizations, calls on  Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, MaryAnn Mihychuk and Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship John McCallum to ensure permanent resident status on arrival for migrant workers. Our Open Letter outlines a review process that must centre migrant worker human rights and dignity, leads to comprehensive reforms for Seasonal Agricultural Workers, Caregivers and Temporary Foreign Workers, and corrects historical exclusions faced by migrant workers. Please read the open letter below and add your organization’s name to endorse. 

Open Letter

The Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour

The Honourable John McCallum, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Dear Ministers:

The Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada (CMWRC), the representative body of migrant workers in the country, is responding to reports of a Temporary Foreign Workers Review by re-issuing our calls for an end to the discriminatory practice of tying migrant workers to specific employers and transition towards permanent immigration status upon arrival for all migrant workers.

With membership in six provinces, the CMWRC is a coalition of migrant worker groups from coast to coast to coast, aimed at improving work conditions for all workers. CMWRC believes that the review of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program must result in improved living and working conditions for Caregivers, Seasonal Agricultural Workers and other Temporary Foreign Workers.

Heartened by Minister Mihychuk’s comments about ensuring permanent residency status for migrant workers, CMWRC is outlining the following principles to assist the government to design its review of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program. These principles are endorsed by the listed organizations. 

Principles for a Review of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program

Human rights and dignity of migrant workers must guide the process

  • The review must set as its goal the ensuring of permanent residency rights, family reunification, full social entitlements and labour protections for migrant workers.
  • Migrant workers grow our food; take care of children, sick and the elderly and do the backbreaking work of building our economy. The review should celebrate and honour migrant worker contributions.
  • Any review must reject treating migrant workers like commodities to deal with labour shortages or characterizing of migrant workers as external to the Canadian labour force and therefore impacting job opportunities of citizen or permanent resident workers.

Migrant worker voices must be at the centre

  • Migrant worker representatives must have a direct say in the development of the structure, scope and timelines of the review.
  • Hearings should take place across the country, at times and locations that migrant workers are able to attend and speak freely in their own languages, and with protection from employer reprisals or being targeted by immigration enforcement.

The review should be comprehensive

  • All aspects of the temporary foreign workers program, including Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program, the Live In Caregiver / Caregiver Program and low-waged and high-waged Temporary Foreign Workers must be considered in an evidence based framework.
  • The review should include the voices and interests of migrant workers that have been forced to become undocumented as a result of restrictive immigration and labour laws.
  • The voices and interests of migrant workers who have left Canada, particularly those as a result of sickness and injury should be included.

The review should be placed in historic and current immigration context

  • Migrant workers have been coming to Canada since at least 1880 when Chinese ‘guest workers’ were brought into Canada to build a railroad between British Columbia and Eastern Canada. 2016 is the 50th anniversary of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program. The review must aim at rectifying centuries of exclusions in previous iterations of the temporary foreign worker program.
  • Migrant workers are low-waged and racialized immigrants. While many refugees, permanent residents, spouses, parents and grandparents are able to come to Canada with permanent resident immigration status, migrant workers are not. The review must coordinate closely with federal immigration policies to develop a single tier immigration system that ensures family reunification and permanent status for all.  

Thank you for your kind attention to the matter.

Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada and supporting organizations.

Letter by Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada Members

 *Migrant Workers Alliance for Change includes:

  • Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention (Toronto)
  • Asian Community Aids Services (Ontario)
  • Caregivers Action Centre (Ontario)
  • Fuerza Puwersa (Guelph)
  • Industrial Accident Victims’ Group of Ontario
  • Justicia for Migrant Workers (Ontario, BC, Mexico)
  • Legal Assistance of Windsor
  • Migrante Ontario
  • No One Is Illegal – Toronto
  • Parkdale Community Legal Services
  • Social Planning Toronto
  • UNIFOR (Canada)
  • South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario
  • United Food and Commercial Workers (Canada)
  • Workers United (Canada)
  • Workers’ Action Centre (Toronto).

Currently endorsed by (please fill out the form above and add your name!)

  • AIDS Committee of Durham Region, Ontario
  • Birchmount Bluffs Neighbourhood Centre
  • British Columbia Federation of Labour Health and Safety Centre, British Columbia
  • BC Government & Service Employees’ Union
  • Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network), Ontario
  • Community Legal Assistance Society, British Columbia
  • Caregiver Connections Education and Support Organization (CCESO)
  • Comité pour les droits humains en Amérique latine
  • Council of Canadians
  • Council of Canadians, Ottawa chapter
  • Council of Canadians, Montreal chapter
  • Council of Canadians, Peterborough and Kawarthas
  • Council of Canadians, Prince Edward Island
  • Council of Canadians, Saint John Chapter
  • Council of Canadians, South Niagara Chapter
  • Couples for Christ Migrants Program
  • CUPE Canada
  • Emergency Support Committee for Refugees
  • Filipino-Canadian CommUnity of NB Inc.
  • Injured Workers’ Consultants Community Legal Clinic, Ontario
  • Inter Pares
  • Justice Across Borders Hamilton, Ontario
  • Kawartha Ploughshares
  • Mexicanxs Unidxs Por Regularizacion Mur
  • Migrant Worker Health Project, Ontario
  • Migrant Workers Dignity Association, British Columbia
  • Migrante Canada – Manitoba chapter
  • Migrante BC
  • MoveUP, British Columbia
  • Niagara Migrant Workers Interest Group, Ontario
  • North Park Presbyterian Church
  • Ontario Federation of Labour
  • Philippine Advancement Through Arts and Culture (PATAC)
  • PINAY Quebec
  • PEI Food Security Network
  • People’s Health Movement Canada/Mouvement populaire pour la santé au Canada
  • Refugees Welcome Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • Reproductive Justice NB, New Brunswick
  • Students Against Migrant Exploitation Brock Chapter, Ontario
  • Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape
  • UNIFOR Local 468
  • UNIFOR Local 707
  • Waterloo Regional Labour Council
  • Waterloo Region Migrant Workers Interest Group, Ontario
  • West Coast LEAF, British Columbia
  • Windsor Workers’ Education Centre, Ontario

National Migrant Worker Rights Coalition Calls for Comprehensive Changes in Foreign Worker Program Review

Canada, February 24, 2016 — The Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada (CMWRC), the representative body of migrant workers in the country is calling for an end to the discriminatory practice of tying migrant workers to specific employers and transition towards permanent immigration status upon arrival for all migrant workers. With membership in six provinces, the CMWRC is a coalition of organizations representing Canadian born and migrant worker groups from coast to coast to coast, aimed at improving work conditions for all workers. CMWRC believes that the review of the program must result in improved living and working conditions for Caregivers, Seasonal Agricultural Workers and other low-wage Temporary Foreign Workers that make up the Temporary Foreign Workers Program.`

“Under the previous government, we saw a $1,000 processing fees imposed on employers which was sometimes downloaded to the workers themselves; a restriction of four years for workers to stay here; and many exclusions on migrant worker permits which made it so that workers couldn’t leave bad jobs,” says Marco Luciano from Migrante Canada which represents migrant workers in Alberta. “Any review of the Foreign Worker Program should end these exclusions and move towards open work permits and ensure permanent status on landing.”

Under current laws, work sites with over 10 workers are subject to progressive “caps” on the percentage of migrant workers in their total workforce each year, from 30%, to 20%, to 10% in July 2016. Migrant workers as a result are forced out of jobs they have held for years. No new permits are being issued in food, retail and accommodation sector regions with unemployment greater than 6%, this has effectively locked workers already here in to their jobs greatly increasing the chances of exploitation.

“Atlantic Canada has a seasonal economy, and seasonal industry has come to depend on migrant workers to keep things running,” says Josie Baker of the Cooper Institute who works with migrant workers in Prince Edward Island. “We need to re-build our rural communities, but we have to face the reality that thousands of our neighbours are captive workers tied to a single employer, unable to re-unite with their families. We need to ensure that migrant workers have the same rights as everyone else.”

“Migrant workers are still being talked about as if they were an endless commodity Canada can bring in and send away whenever they feel like. There is no mention about the human and labor rights abuses this program gave way to, and the only issue that seems to be a problem is whether Canada has enough of this “product” or not,” says Enrique Illanes from the Immigrant Workers Centre that supports migrant workers in Quebec. “We need to shift the discussion to how to reformulate a program that leaves many workers unprotected and exposed, as well as ensuring labor and human rights for all workers in Canada.”

“For the last 50 years, the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) has brought tens of thousands of migrant workers from the Caribbean and Mexico annually to work in fields across Canada. These workers who risk life and limb in often unsafe work conditions to put food on the table,” says Chris Ramsaroop of Justicia for Migrant Workers that supports agricultural workers in Ontario. “This government has the opportunity to end half a century of injustice, and ensure permanent immigration status on landing for agricultural workers.”

“Migrant caregivers take care of children, the sick and the elderly, they safeguard our future and do critical work that benefits Canadian families and the Canadian economy. Their right to apply for permanent residence was taken away by the previous government and replaced by a quota that restricts their ability to stay. Tied work permits make it nearly impossible for Caregivers to switch jobs if they are in exploitative employment situations,” says Natalie Drolet of the West Coast Domestic Workers Association which serves Caregivers in British Columbia. “Caregivers should be able to switch jobs like other workers in Canada, and have open work permits immediately, as well as permanent immigration status on landing.”

“Here in Manitoba, we have seen that strong regulatory protections against recruiters, and providing decent healthcare and labour protections results in better work for everyone,” says Diwa Marcelino with Migrante in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “Now it is time for the Federal Government to keep its end of the bargain, and extend Federal protections.”

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Source
Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada
www.migrantrights.ca

Migrant worker rights groups are available for comment across Canada

  • Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada – Syed Hussan – Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 1-416-453-3632
  • Pour le français/Quebec: Enrique Llanes – Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrant-e-s, (514) 546-9382 – attetquebec@gmail.com
  • Agricultural Workers / Ontario – Chris Ramsaroop – Justicia for Migrant Workers / Harvesting Freedom Campaign – 1-647-834-4932
  • Caregivers / British Columbia – Vancouver – Natalie Drolet – West Coast Domestic Workers Association – 1-604-669-6452
  • Alberta – Edmonton – Marco Luciano – Migrante Canada – 1-780-966-5908
  • Atlantic Canada – Josie Baker – Cooper Institute- 1-902-315-2705
  • Prairies – Manitoba – Diwa Marcelino – Migrante Canada – 204-218-7100

Coalition nationale pour les droits des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes appelle à des changements compréhensifs dans la révision du Programme de travailleurs étrangers.

Canada, 24 février 2016 – La Coalition pour les droits des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes du Canada (CDTTMC), l’organe représentatif des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes du pays demandent de mettre fin à la pratique discriminatoire de lier des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes à des employeurs spécifiques et à faire la transition vers le statut d’immigration permanent à l’arrivée pour tous les travailleurs migrants et toutes les travailleuses migrantes. Avec une adhésion dans six provinces, la CDTTMC est une coalition d’organisations représentant des groupes de travailleurs et travailleuses Canadiennes nées et migrantes d’un océan à un autre, visant à améliorer les conditions de travail pour tous les travailleurs et toutes les travailleuses. La CDTTMC croit que la révision du programme doit se traduire par une amélioration des conditions de vie et des conditions de travail pour les Travailleurs agricoles saisonniers ainsi que d’autres travailleurs étrangers temporaires et travailleurs étrangères temporaires à bas salaires tels que les travailleurs et travailleuses domestiques qui relèvent du Programme de travailleurs étrangers temporaires.

« Sous le gouvernement précédent, nous avons vu des frais de traitement de 1,000$ imposés aux employeurs qui étaient parfois surimposé aux travailleurs ou travailleuses même; une limite de quatre années aux travailleurs et travailleuses pour rester ici; ainsi que plusieurs exclusions aux permis des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes qui fait en sorte que les travailleurs et travailleuses ne peuvent pas quitter de mauvais emplois », dit Marco Luciano de Migrante Canada qui représente les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes en Alberta. « Tout révision du Programme de travailleurs étrangers temporaires devrait mettre fin à ces exclusions et devrait progresser vers des permis de travail ouverts ainsi que d’assurer un statut de résidence permanente à l’arrivée ».

Sous les lois actuelles, les lieux de travail avec plus de 10 travailleurs et travailleuses sont assujettis à des « caps » progressif sur le pourcentage de travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes dans leur main d’œuvre totale chaque année, de 30%, à 20%, à 10% en juillet 2016. Les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes sont par conséquent forcées de quitter des emplois qu’ils et elles ont occupées pendant plusieurs années. Aucuns nouveaux emplois ne sont pas émis dans les secteurs alimentaires, de vente au détail ou d’hébergement de régions avec un taux de chômage plus élevé que 6%. Ceci a efficacement confiné les travailleurs et travailleuses déjà ici dans leurs emplois, ce qui augmente considérablement les chances d’exploitations.

« La Canada Atlantique à une économie saisonnière et une industrie saisonnière qui est venu à dépendre des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes pour que tout fonctionne », dit Josie Baker de Cooper Institute qui travaille avec les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes à l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard. « Nous devons reconstruire nos communautés rurales, mais nous devons faire face à la réalité que des milliers de nos voisines sont des travailleurs captifs et travailleuses captives qui sont attachées à un seul employeur, incapable de se réunir à leurs familles. Nous devons assurer que les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes aient le même droit que tous et toutes les autres ».

« Les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes sont encore adressées comme s’iles étaient une commodité infinie que le Canada peut amener et renvoyer n’importe quand. Il n’y a aucune mention des abus des droits humains et des droits du travail auxquels ce programme a donné lieu et la seule question qui semble être une problématique est si le Canada a assez de ce « produit » ou non », dit Enrique Llanes du Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrantes qui appuie les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes au Québec. « Nous avons besoin de déplacer la discussion vers comment reformuler le Programme qui laisse plusieurs travailleurs et travailleuses non-protégées ainsi qu’exposées et pour assurer les droits du travail ainsi que les droits humains pour tous les travailleurs et toutes les travailleuses au Canada ».

« Pour les dernières 50 années, le Programme des travailleurs agricoles saisonniers (PTAS) a amené une dizaine de milliers de travailleurs et travailleuses des Caraïbes ainsi que du Mexique annuellement pour travailler sur des champs à travers le Canada. Ces travailleurs et travailleuses qui risque sa vie et ses corps dans des conditions de travail, souvent non-sécuritaires, pour mettre de la nourriture sur leur table », dit Chris Ramsaroop de Justicia for Migrant Workers qui appuie les travailleurs et travailleuses agricoles en Ontario. « Ce gouvernement a l’opportunité de mettre fin à un demi-siècle d’injustice et pour assurer le statut d’immigration permanent à l’arrivée pour les travailleurs et travailleuses agricoles ».

« Les travailleurs et travailleuses domestiques migrantes prennent soin des enfants, des malades ainsi que des personnes âgées puis ils et elles garantissent notre futur, mais ils ont été enlevées et remplacées par un quota et nous avons vu qu’il est encore plus difficile de prendre soin de notre passé », dit Natalie Drolet de la West Coast Domestic Workers Association qui aide les travailleurs et travailleuses domestique en Colombie-Britannique. « Les travailleurs et travailleuses domestiques devraient être en mesure de changer d’employeur, d’avoir des permis de travail ouvert immédiatement ainsi que d’avoir le statut d’immigration permanent à l’arrivée ».

« Ici, au Manitoba, nous avons vu que de fortes régulations protectrices contre les recruteurs ainsi que d’offrir des soins de santé décents et des protections au milieu de travail résulte en de meilleures conditions pour tous et toutes », dit Diwa Marcelino avec Migrant Manitoba et le Migrant Worker Solidarity Network à Manitoba. « Maintenant, il est temps que le gouvernement fédéral maintienne sa part de l’entente et étend les protections fédérales ».

Source
Coalition pour les droits des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes du Canada
www.migrantrights.ca

Les groups de travailleurs et travailleuses migrantes disponibles pour commenter à travers le Canada

  • Pour le français/Québec: Enrique Llanes – Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrantEs, (514) 546-9382 – attetquebec@gmail.com
  • Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada – Syed Hussan – Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 1-416-453-3632
  • Travailleurs et travailleuses agricoles / Ontario – Chris Ramsaroop – Justicia for Migrant Workers / Harvesting Freedom Campaign – 1-647-834-4932
  • Travailleurs et travailleuses domestiques / Colombie-Britannique – Vancouver – Natalie Drolet – West Coast Domestic Workers Association –1-604-669-6452
  • Alberta – Edmonton – Marco Luciano – Migrante Canada – 1-780-966-5908
  • Canada Atlantique – Josie Baker – Cooper Institute- 1-902-315-2705

Les voix des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantES doivent être au centre pour réviser le Programme des travailleurs étrangers

Permis de travail ouvert, réunification familiale et statut d’immigration permanent à l’arrivée pour les travailleurs agricoles saisonniers et travailleuses agricoles saisonnières, travailleurs et travailleuses domestiques ainsi que les travailleurs étrangers temporaires et travailleuses étrangères temporaires demeurent des priorités.

Canada – La Coalition pour les droits des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs (CDTTMC), l’alliance représentative des groupes de travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs à travers le pays, répond à la déclaration de la ministre Mihychuk dans les médias traditionnels au courant au sujet de la révision à venir du Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires en appelant à davantage de détails, incluant des délais, la participation de travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs ainsi qu’une portée de la révision. Les militantEs des droits des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs ont demandé à la mobilité, la voix et l’égalité pour les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs, incluant des permis de travail ouvert; une fin aux régulations discriminatoires de l’étude d’impact sur le marché du travail (EIMT) comme la règle 4 ans maximum dans le Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires ; ainsi que le statut d’immigration permanent à l’arrivée.

« En tant que pays, nous devons honorer et célébrer les travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs à bas salaires et racialiséEs pour nourrir nos familles; prendre soin de nos enfants, des malades et des personnes agéEs; ainsi que pour faire le travail éreintant pour bâtir notre économie » dit Syed Hussan de la CDTTMC.

« Les voix des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs doivent être au centre de la révision pour démontrer aux CanadienNEs l’importance critique des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs ainsi que le besoin d’assurer qu’ils et elles aient leurs pleins droits et le statut d’immigration permanent comme tous et toutes les autres qui travaillent ici ».

Les groupes de travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs sont disponibles pour commenter à travers le Canada

Pour le français
Enrique Llanes – Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrantEs, (514) 546-9382 – attetquebec@gmail.com

Pour les impacts sur les travailleurs et travailleuses agricoles
Ontario – Chris Ramsaroop – Justicia for Migrant Workers / Campagne Harvesting Freedom – 1-647-834-4932

Pour les impacts sur les travailleurs et travailleuses domestiques
Vancouver – Natalie Drolet – West Coast Domestic Workers Association – 1-604-669-6452

Pour les impacts sur les travailleurs étrangers temporaires et travailleuses étrangères temporaires en Alberta
Edmonton – Marco Luciano – Migrante Canada – 1-780-966-5908

Pour les impacts dans le Canada atlantique
Charlottetown – Josie Baker – Cooper Institute- 1-902-315-2705

Pour les impacts dans les Prairies
Diwa Marcelino – Migrante Canada – 204-218-7100

Pour plus sur la Coalition pour les droits des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs (CDTTMC) et l’Ontario
Toronto – Syed Hussan – Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 1-416-453-3632

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Source
La Coalition pour les droits des travailleurs et travailleuses migrantEs (CDTTMC)
www.migrantrights.ca