Protests in Montreal Mark International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Around 200 people, including numerous organizations defending the rights of migrants and refugees, gathered on March 21 outside the offices of Immigration Canada in Montreal. They condemned the state-organized racist attacks faced by migrant workers and refugees in Quebec and Canada.
Speakers highlighted the lack of legal protection for migrant workers, among other issues, and the recruitment process, where they are victims of abuse by employment agencies, recruiters and employers. The spokesperson for the Migrant Justice Clinic condemned the botched parliamentary process leading to the adoption of Bill C-12, Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act. Speaking about section 7 of the bill, she said: "Under the guise of the public interest -- a concept that is not defined at all -- this section will allow the government to reject entire categories of immigration applications, cancel immigration programs and revoke documents. We are talking about work permits, even permanent residence permits, even if they have already been issued. This opens the door to mass deportations. The Minister of Immigration, Lena Metlege Diab even said in a parliamentary committee that the open-ended definition of public interest was intentional in order to ensure 'maximum flexibility'."
The protesters then marched through the streets of the city's downtown and Chinatown, where a representative of the Chinese community took the mic to denounce the smear campaign, led by the RCMP and echoed by the mainstream media, that demonizes the community and portrays it as "police stations of the Chinese government." All this is happening, she said, whilst Chinese migrants are being deported from Canada at an alarming rate, ranking among the top ten groups most frequently deported in 2025, with all indications they will be the fourth largest group to be deported in 2026.
The demonstration ended outside the offices of the Quebec Ministry of Immigration, where speakers took turns denouncing the Coalition Avenir Québec government's adoption of Bills 94 and 9, which stigmatize entire sections of migrant workers in the name of "strengthening religious neutrality." They condemned the Legault government's stance, as it "refuses to participate in the federal temporary programme to grant permanent residence to 115,000 people over the next two years." "Protected persons currently have to wait 112 months -- more than nine years -- to obtain permanent residence," noted one of the event's organizers.
This article was published in
Volume 56 Number 3 - March-April, 2026
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/TML2026/Articles/MS56032.HTM
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