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Ottawa, ON (November 25, 2024) – Migrant and refugee leaders, along with housing advocates, gathered this morning at the House of Commons to demand an immediate end to immigration cuts, systemic exploitation, and racist rhetoric. The press conference took place just hours before Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s appearance before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) to discuss Canada’s immigration levels for 2025-2027.
Echoing the call from over 180 civil society organizations, migrant and justice groups called for bold action to address Canada’s deepening housing and affordability crisis, as well as the urgent need for permanent resident status for all migrants rejecting recent immigration changes.
Drastic and misguided changes to immigration policy over the last 18 months will expel 2.3 million people over the next two years, exacerbating a growing humanitarian crisis. These cuts and an avalanche of restrictions—including new limits on permanent residency, cuts to refugee resettlement, and bans on family reunification—are pushing millions into precarious and potentially undocumented situations.
“This government’s decision to slash immigration and scapegoat migrants for the housing and affordability crises is cruel, unjust, and economically short-sighted,” said Sarom Rho, spokesperson for the Migrant Rights Network. “Migrants are vital to Canada’s communities and economy—we need permanent residency and rights, not cuts and exploitation.”
Speakers called on all political parties at CIMM to:
- Call on the federal government to reverse its plan to slash immigration and expel 2.3 million migrants.
- Commit to permanent residency for all migrants, including international students, refugees, temporary foreign workers, and undocumented people.
- Address Canada’s systemic failures in housing, healthcare, and labor protections instead of scapegoating migrants.
The recent changes, including the immigration levels announcement, come at a time when migrants are being incorrectly blamed for the housing and affordability crisis.
Michèle Biss, National Director for the National Right to Housing Network, rejected these ideas, stating “This scapegoating of migrants for the housing crisis demonstrates a lack of genuine commitment to the human right to housing. Experts have told government time and time again that the housing crisis is driven by factors like under-investment in non-market housing (like social, non-profit, and cooperative housing), lack of regulation of investors who treat housing as a commodity rather than a human right, and a severe lack of protections for renters experiencing renovictions, discrimination, unreasonable rent hikes and more.”
The recent changes will particularly force precarious international students, temporary foreign workers, refugees and undocumented people into situations of greater abuse and violence.
One of these people is Navjot Salaria, an international student graduate. “Over the years, international students have been vital to Canada’s economy, contributing billions of dollars in tuition fees, housing rent, and other costs. Many of them rely on the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) program as a pathway to permanent residency,” said Salaria, a member of the Post-Graduate Work Permit Holders Committee & Naujawan Support Network, a committee and organization of international students and immigrant workers fighting exploitation, such as through their 24/7 encampment protest in Brampton since August 30, 2024. “Yet, as 200,000 PGWP holders face imminent permit expirations in 2024 and 2025, the government’s abrupt policy shifts expose a lack of commitment and stability, leaving these students’ futures in jeopardy.”
Without permanent resident status, migrants face abuse and exploitation.
“I came as a migrant farmworker and was physically and verbally mistreated. What me and other migrant workers face is slavery. Now the federal government and the media is saying that we are responsible for the housing crisis. We did not cause the crisis. We live in some of the worst homes, and pay the highest rent. Justin Trudeau called us a tap, to turn off and on, when he likes. But I am standing here to say I am a person. I have feelings. I deserve rights,” said Monieya Jess, an undocumented former migrant farmworker and member of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. “Now I am undocumented. Without papers, we’re blowing in the wind and can’t hold on to anything. Our families depend on us, but nobody will hire us and it’s hard to survive. PM Trudeau promised regularization of undocumented people – now he needs to deliver it. Without migrants there’s no Canada, we need status.”
Canada is also slashing its refugee protections. “Behind the numbers slashed from the humanitarian component of the levels today are over 14,000 real people fleeing persecution and seeking safety in Canada or struggling in conflict zones around the world facing violence, starvation, and death. The announcement particularly fails those already here whom we have committed to protect and their family members abroad,” said Diana Gallego, President of the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR), a leading voice for the rights, protection, sponsorship, settlement, and well-being of refugees and migrants, in Canada and globally. “It is not an exaggeration to say that the action taken with the levels cuts will rob children of their futures and destroy families. People will lose their lives.”
Viviana Medina, a community organizer with the Immigrant Workers Centre in Montreal, reiterated Migrant Rights Network’s demands stating, “The Canadian government is cynically using immigration to create a disposable and vulnerable workforce – convenient to exploit to create economic growth and easy to dispose of during economic slowdowns. We demand that the government stop the implementation of these new immigration cuts for all migrants already in Canada. We demand a comprehensive regularization program and a stop to detentions and deportations, abolition of closed work permits, and permanent resident status for all.”
Background:
The federal government has slashed immigration over the last year and half with multiple policies, including:
Permanent residency
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- Permanent residency has been slashed for 2025 – 2027 limiting opportunities for migrants who are already living and working in Canada to transition to permanent status and increasing their likelihood of becoming undocumented. Particularly low-wage migrants are impacted. Even accepted refugees will be excluded. Questions remain about promised programs such as permanent residency on landing for care workers.
- Provincial Programs Abruptly Closed: Programs in Yukon, Northwest Territories, Alberta, and Saskatchewan have been abruptly closed, while New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and PEI have changed rules without warning and spaces in these programs have been cut, leaving hundreds of thousands of migrants in limbo. Many of these programs were the only way through which low-waged workers could apply for permanent residency and this door has been effectively closed for 2025-2027.
- Regularization of undocumented people delayed: In December 2021, Prime Minister Trudeau promised comprehensive regularization, a promise reiterated by multiple Immigration Ministers until June 2024, when the Immigration Minister abruptly about-turned despite proclaiming massive economic and humanitarian benefits of regularization. Minister Miller has since promised a smaller, undefined program that has not been announced.
International students and graduated students
- No Renewals for Expiring PGWPs: Over 200,000 PGWPs are set to expire by end of 2025, leaving many stranded in Canada, some of whom have already applied for permanent residency, with no other options to stay. Many are being forced to choose between being uprooted and becoming undocumented.
- Ban on Family Reunification: Spouses of undergraduate and college students can no longer receive work permits, and spouses and children of graduate students in programs shorter than 16 months are also barred from being in Canada as of Fall 2024.
- Study Permit Caps: The government capped study permits for undergraduate and college programs in 2024, with caps on graduate students coming in 2025. Even international students already in Canada will be barred from renewing their permits if the cap is reached.
- Higher Proof of Funds: Since January 2024, international students must show more financial resources—$20,635 per person plus tuition, up from $10,000. These increased requirements effectively shut out lower-income students.
- Work Hour Restrictions: As of November 2024, international students are limited to 24 off-campus work hours. These limits force those needing more income into undocumented work, increasing their risk of exploitation and wage theft.
- Restrictions on PGWP Eligibility: Graduates of private colleges and college students in fields not aligned with specific industries are no longer eligible for PGWPs, which are crucial for those wishing to work and settle permanently in Canada. This restriction does not apply to bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree holders.
Temporary foreign workers
- Cuts to Family Work Permits: Only spouses of workers in managerial jobs will be eligible for work permits. Even high-wage workers, such as chefs and truck drivers, will face family separation. A promised expansion of work permits for family members of low-wage workers has been cancelled, disproportionately affecting women.
- Shorter Work Permits: Low-wage work permits (except for primary agriculture) will be limited to one year. Migrants will be forced to pay high fees to renew their work permits annually.
- No LMIAs in High Unemployment Areas: Starting September 26, 2024, Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) will not be issued in areas with over 6% unemployment, except for certain jobs in caregiving, agriculture, construction, food manufacturing, and education. Those already in Canada will be unable to renew their permits.
- Cap on Low-Wage LMIA Positions: Starting September 26, 2024, employers cannot hire more than 10% of their workforce through low-wage LMIAs, except in some industries like farming – one of the sectors with the most rampant labour violations – and caregiving. Those already in Canada will also be unable to renew their permits.
- End to Work Permits for Visitors: As of August 28, 2024, visitors can no longer transition to temporary work permits without leaving Canada, an option that many relied on to maintain status and income during long government delays in processing applications.
Refugees
- Increased Visa Rejections and Border Refusals: Reports indicate a surge in rejected visitor visa applications, with a higher ratio of refusals compared to approvals this year. Border officers are also turning away an average of 3,727 foreign travelers each month, many of whom may be potential refugees for whom the government has eliminated other options.
- 14,000 places slashed from the humanitarian component of immigration levels: These cuts impact real people fleeing persecution and seeking safety in Canada or struggling in conflict zones around the world facing violence, starvation, and death. The cuts in the humanitarian component particularly fails those already here whom we have committed to protect and their family members abroad, all but ensuring families will remain separated for many years to come.
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MEDIA CONTACT (EN/FR): Karen Cocq, karen@migrantworkersalliance.org, 647-970-8464
Migrant Rights Network is Canada’s largest coalition of migrant-led organizations advocating for immigrant and worker justice. For more information, visit www.migrantrights.ca.