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.

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

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.

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.

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/

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.

Since 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.  

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

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

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

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

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 

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

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

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.

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Backgrounder on TFWP and asks by CMWRC: https://migrantrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/MigrantWorkers_Backgrounder.pdf

Source
www.migrantrights.ca

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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

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

Open work permits, family reunification and permanent immigration status on landing for Seasonal Agricultural Workers, Caregivers and Temporary Foreign Workers remain priorities.

Canada, February 18, 2016 – The Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada (CMWRC), the representative alliance of migrant worker groups across the country, is responding to Minister Mihychuk’s statements in the mainstream media about forthcoming review of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program by calling for further details, including timelines, migrant worker involvement and scope of the review. Migrant worker advocates have been calling for Mobility, Voice and Equality for Migrant Workers, including open work permits; an end to discriminatory Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) regulations like the 4 in and 4 out rule; and permanent immigration status on landing.

“As a country, we need to honour and celebrate low-waged, and racialized migrant workers for feeding our families; taking care of children, the sick and the elderly; and doing backbreaking work to build our economy,” says Syed Hussan of the CMWRC. “Migrant worker voices must be central to the review to show Canadians the critical importance of migrant workers, and the need to ensure that they have full rights, and permanent immigration status just like everyone else who works here.”

Migrant worker rights groups are available for comment across Canada

Pour le français
Enrique Llanes – Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrant-e-s, (514) 546-9382 – attetquebec@gmail.com

For impact on Agricultural Workers
Ontario – Chris Ramsaroop – Justicia for Migrant Workers / Harvesting Freedom Campaign – 1-647-834-4932

For impacts on Caregivers
Vancouver – Natalie Drolet – West Coast Domestic Workers Association – 1-604-669-6452

For impacts in Alberta
Edmonton – Marco Luciano – Migrante Canada – 1-780-966-5908

For impacts in Atlantic Canada
Charlottetown – Josie Baker – Cooper Institute- 1-902-315-2705

For impacts in Prairies
Manitoba – Diwa Marcelino – Migrante Canada – 204-218-7100

For more on Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada and Ontario
Toronto – Syed Hussan – Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – 1-416-453-3632

The whole world celebrates International Migrants Day today. 25 years ago, on December 18, 1990, the United Nations General Assembly signed and adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

Today, exactly 25 years later Canada, an active recruiter of migrant workers, has still not signed this covenant. As of 2013, there were over 176, 613 temporary foreign workers; 284, 050 international mobility program workers, and hundreds of thousands of migrants on other work permits living and working here precariously. On this day, and every day, we call upon the new Federal government to address the core issues that migrant workers face. It is time for Mobility, Voice and Equality for Migrant Workers.

Sign the Petition! Let’s work together to ensure justice

We are the Coalition for Migrant Workers Rights – Canada (CMWRC), a historic coalition of organizations representing Canadian born and migrant worker groups from coast to coast to coast. We are calling on the Federal government to end the discriminatory practice of tying migrant workers to specific employers and transition towards permanent immigration status upon arrival for migrant workers.

We are calling on groups and organizations to unite together to ensure decent work, and permanent immigration status on landing for migrant workers as it is the only way to ensure decent work and decent lives for all, and stop the rush towards fewer rights and protections. If your organization supports our demands, get in touch with us.

Migrant workers, many of them deemed low-skilled, in the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) come at the request of specific employers, and are attached to them for the duration of their stay in Canada. They cannot easily change jobs or remain in the country if they are unemployed. Most migrant workers are denied permanent residency and are pushed out by a revolving door immigration system.

The use of labour brokers or recruitment agencies has led to the proliferation of operators who exploit migrant worker for their profit. Brokers are largely unregulated, and charge exorbitant fees for placement in jobs that sometimes don’t even exist.

Federal immigration laws that create temporariness are exacerbated by provincial labour and social entitlement laws that shut migrant workers out from basic protections. As a result, migrant workers live in constant precarity.

This shift towards increased temporary worker programs over the last decade is part of a much longer historical trend towards temporariness. 2016 will be the 50th year of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program and over 40 years since the current form of the Caregivers program came into force. This temporariness has created  a massive divide between citizens with rights, and the rest, temporary and non-status, largely racialized and low-waged workers. CMWRC

We also know that the struggles for migrant worker rights in Canada cannot be separated from the struggle against displacement. Migration, in its current form, is still very much a product of underdevelopment. Poverty, unemployment, political conflict and general displacement of peoples including displacement due to environmental factors. Thus, justice for migrants includes ensuring an end to wars and war profiteering, economic free trade agreements, and ecological and environmental degradation that Canadian corporations are complicit in abroad. It requires recognition and honoring of Indigenous self-determination here at home.

This December 18th, let us commit to moving as one to make our dreams of justice a reality.

Coalition for Migrant Workers Rights Canada International Migrants’ Day statement, December 18, 2015
MoVE is a Campaign for Mobility, Voice and Equality for Migrant Workers

For too long, we have only heard about migrant workers. But it’s time to hear from them. Migrant worker leaders like Dhon Mojica. Dhon Mojica, was in the temporary foreign worker program. While his application for permanent residency was recently approved, his life and status were in limbo for a long time. He moved from one precarious job to another in search of stability. Many of his friends and co-workers were not as lucky. Most of them were sent back to the Philippines. Dhon should have arrived in Canada with permanent immigration status. That’s only fair.

Use these tools to amplify Dhon’s message.

After over a year of conversation, phone calls, in-person meetings and organizing together on the No 4 and 4 Campaign – today we launched over social media with the following:

Newly launched Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights – Canada calls for end to discrimination against migrant workers.

Canada – Migrant worker groups from across Canada are launching a historic coalition to call on Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government to end the discriminatory practice of tying migrant workers to specific employers and transition towards permanent immigration status upon arrival for migrant workers. The Coalition for Migrant Workers Rights – Canada (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 is launching MoVE – a campaign for Mobility, Voice and Equality for Migrant Workers to call on Prime Minister Trudeau to keep his campaign promises to undo the harm done by the Harper government and to move towards a single-tier immigration system based on permanency and family reunification to ensure decent work for all.

Low-waged Temporary Foreign Workers, Caregivers and Seasonal Agricultural Workers come to Canada on work permits that restrict them to working for the specific employer listed on their permit. Changing employers is extremely difficult which allows bad bosses to lower salaries and work conditions. This creates pressure to reduce salaries and erode work conditions for all workers. A first step to ending this downward cycle is to untie the permits so workers have the ‘mobility’ to leave employers who exploit them. Next steps must move to reorient the system to secure, permanent immigration that protects ‘voice’ and ‘equality’ for workers.

WHAT: Launch of MoVE Campaign by Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights – Canada

WHERE and WHEN:

• Charlottetown – 200 Richmond Street, 11am, Oct 28, 2015.
• Edmonton – 14931 107 Avenue, 3:30pm, Oct 28, 2015.
• Montreal – I.W.C, 4755 Van Horne, 10am, Oct 28, 2015.
• Toronto – Suite 223, 720 Spadina, 11am, Oct 28, 2015.
• Vancouver – 550 W 6th Avenue #100, 9am, Oct 28, 2015.

MoVE Demands

• Regulatory changes to make it easier for migrant workers to move between jobs thereby improving working and living conditions for Canadian born and migrant workers. Specifically:
  • Transition from tied work permits to open work permits
  • Remove limits on work permits and restrictions on Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) including a 4-year time limit on workers ability to stay.
• Permanent resident immigration status upon arrival for migrant workers.

WHO: Founding members of CMWRC:

• Cooper Institute (PEI)
• Migrant Workers Alliance for Change*
• Migrante Canada
• Radical Action with Migrants in Agriculture (Okanagan Valley)
• Temporary Foreign Workers Association in Quebec
• Temporary Foreign Workers Coalition in Alberta
• Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregiver Rights (Vancouver)

*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), 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 and the Workers’ Action Centre (Toronto).

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Media Contacts:

Toronto – Syed Hussan, Coordinator, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, 416 453 3632
Charlottetown – Josie Baker, Cooper Institute, 902-894-4573
Edmonton –Dhon Mojica, Migrante Canada, 780-716-3809
Montreal – ATTET Quebec <attetquebec@gmail.com>
Vancouver – Julie Diesta for Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights (CDWCR), 778-881-8345, Natalie Drolet for West Coast Domestic Workers Association (WCDWA), 604-445-0661, Jane Ordinario for Migrante BC, 604-961-7794