Day of Action Across Canada and Quebec Demands Status for All
Regularization for All, Now!
Toronto, September 18, 2022
A successful day of action for Status for All! was held in cities across Canada and Quebec on September 18, two days before the opening of parliament. Events were organized by migrant rights organizations to demand that the Trudeau government uphold the rights of hundreds of thousands of people to permanent resident status.
Actions took place in Vancouver, Edmonton, Guelph, Clarksburg, Toronto, Hamilton, Sudbury, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Charlottetown, Fredericton, Miramichi, and St. John's.
Montreal
In the pouring rain, hundreds of people congregated -- a literal gathering of the United Nations in Montreal -- at the foot of the toppled statue of Sir John A. MacDonald at Canada Place. A more fitting venue could not have been found by the organizers, which included Solidarity Across Borders and the Immigrant Workers Centre. The atmosphere was friendly, militant and cultured, as activists, with undocumented migrant workers themselves at the forefront, expressed their resolve that everyone be included in a regularization program for permanent residency, where their rights are recognized, as human beings and as members of the Quebec and Canadian polity.
Mamadou
Konaté, originally from Côte d'Ivoire, threatened by the
federal government with deportation on September 30, was the first to
speak. He pointed to the contribution made by undocumented workers
throughout the pandemic, forced to work in essential services and
deprived of any government
assistance such as proper health care for themselves in Quebec and the
Canada Emergency Response Benefit that was provided to Canadians
and permanent residents. He called for an end to deportations and a
regularization program for all.
Jasmin de la Calzada of PINAY, a Filipino organization in Quebec working with migrant workers, brought home the point that "all deserve to work in dignity and respect, whether they've arrived as workers, asylum seekers or because they want to make a new life, away from the social and political repression, turmoil and economic hardships that western nations like Canada have largely contributed to and perpetuated in many parts of this world." She added that displaced people, migrants, asylum seekers and the undocumented "deserve a regularization program that is inclusive and non-discriminatory. We can make this possible and today, we make it heard loud and clear."
Activists took to the street and made their way to the offices of the Canada Border Services Agency, where Frantz André of the Action Committee on Non-Status Persons (CAPSS) told the crowd: "We must continue to fight for those presently en route to Canada. We've seen thousands of people, Haitians amongst others, who have been deported to their country without even a hearing, and there are thousands who continue to leave their country to get to the U.S. and from there to Canada." He told the crowd, "Your commitment is proof that humanity is still very much alive and some day, we will all be Canadians, but we have to keep on fighting for it. They will not be giving it to us. We deserve to be Canadians. We've been contributing economically, socially."
Susana
Pont Rivera from the women's organization Echo des femmes, spoke of her
organization's motto, which is that alone, everything is difficult,
however together, anything is possible. "We therefore call upon our
sisters and comrades, on women's groups in Quebec and across Canada to
mobilize
for regularization. We salute the strength and the determination of
women without status. They are part of our communities and must stay,"
she said. This is proof positive that the movement in Quebec for the
recognition of the human rights of the undocumented continues to grow
and through all our
efforts, will prevail, she added.
The procession then made its way to the offices of the Legault government in Montreal, where the very successful and inspiring action ended with the denunciation of racist statements made by the Premier linking immigrants with violence.
Toronto
In
Toronto 1,500 people, including migrant students and workers, refugees
and undocumented workers, took part in the action. The spirit of the
action was captured in the words of welcome by Vanessa Gray, an
Anishinaabe kwe from Aamjiwnaang First Nation who expressed the
solidarity between
Indigenous people and immigrants, refugees and undocumented people. She
pointed out that the Canadian state treats Indigenous peoples brutally,
as it does newcomers and that by uniting and working together, by
supporting each other's struggles, a bright and secure future for all
will be
achieved.
Many speakers addressed the participants in the rain at Christie Pits, including Merari Borgez, who moved from Mexico City to Toronto with her family as refugees. She spoke about how her family struggled to access basic services such as health care and education as well as her father's brutal exploitation as a factory worker who had to continue working despite a workplace injury or face the loss of his livelihood. "Living without status is dehumanizing," she said, and demanded that the Trudeau government prioritize the means to provide status for all migrants and refugees in Canada. "We don't want pity. We want action," she said.
Caroline
Michael, an undocumented health care worker who works as a personal support worker in a
Toronto hospital, shared her many efforts to remain in Canada. She must
pay for her health care and other services and cannot take time off
from work particularly during the pandemic. "This is like [you are] in
prison.
You're being held captive," she said. "Why should we be treated this
way? All human beings deserve to be treated rightly. We have the right
to live happily in Canada," she said. She demanded that the Canadian
parliament regularize the status of everyone living in Canada so they
have stability and
dignity.
Following the speeches, with undocumented workers, refugees and migrant workers leading the way, participants marched to the constituency office of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, chanting Status for All Now! and other slogans, drawing the attention and support of people along the route, some of whom joined in.
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 19 - September 28, 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmld2022/Articles/D520195.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca