Our courageous organizing has forced the Federal Government to take action. The Immigration Minister has announced some details of a pilot program that will allow migrant Care Workers to come to Canada with our families, and make it easier for us to change jobs. Not just that, an interim pathway has been announced to give access to PR to the thousands of us that were shut out because of the injustices of the previous laws. But details are unclear, and the interim pathway will exclude many.
We need you to send an email to the Immigration Minister right now and insist that no one should be left behind. This is about human rights, it’s about Canada keeping its promises, and it’s about ensuring health and care for everyone. (Organizations are encouraged to send an email directly on their letter head using this template)
Email that will be sent to the Immigration Minister once you enter your information
Honorable Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen,
Care Work is the important work done by caregivers in the home; often by migrant workers under the Caregiver Program. This Care Work is the backbone of Canada’s labour market and social support systems. Without Care Work, the economy doesn’t work. Canada must create a national care strategy to ensure quality care for children, the elderly and people with disabilities. Decent work and permanent landed status on entry for the workers providing that care labour must be the foundation of Canada’s care system.
The newly created Interim Pathway will support some workers who were tricked by previous laws, but thousands of racialized women may still become or remain undocumented. They need a path to stability and justice!
I am calling on you to ensure all Care Workers already in the country, including those that have become undocumented, and those that have not finished 12 months of official service can apply through the Interim Pathway. Workers in Quebec should not be unfairly shut out. Language requirements should be kept to what they were when workers arrived, not changed ad hoc. There should be no second medical exam.
It is critical that Canada create a Federal Workers Program for Care Workers as proposed by Care Workers organizations across the country to ensure that migrant Care Workers come to Canada with their families and permanent resident status (PR).
The new 2019 Pilot Program must not repeat the mistakes of the past. This means open work permits, no second medical, no high English language test, and no requirement for 1 year Canadian post-secondary education. No more laws that deny PR to an entire family if one person in the family has a disability. We want an end to the backlog; Caregivers who have completed their applications must get PR now. Families accompanying workers must get open work and study permits. And again workers from Quebec should not be shut out.
I strongly urge you to read what Care Workers are saying and implement their recommendations as soon as possible. Granting landed status on arrival to Care Workers should be the first step to granting landed status on arrival to all migrant workers, migrants and refugees.
I will be watching closely in 2019 to see what actions you take.
Landed Status Now: Care Workers Organize! Members – (email info@migrantrights.ca to join)
Caregivers Action Centre (Toronto); Caregivers Connection (Toronto); Alberta Careworkers Association (Edmonton); Migrante Alberta; Migrant 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), Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (Canada) and Migrant Rights Network (Canada).