Status For All, Without Exception
Thousands of Canadians and Quebeckers Take Action on Eve of Opening of Parliament
Toronto
On September 17, the day before the fall session of parliament opened, thousands of Canadians along with migrant workers without status, held actions in 17 cities across the country to demand that the Trudeau government prioritize the regularization of close to half a million workers in Canada without permanent status. The actions were organized by the Migrant Rights Network with the support of more than 160 organizations including unions. The united demand was that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau keep his pledge, made more than 20 months ago, to implement a regularization program for all migrant workers.
Montreal
In Montreal, hundreds of people descended upon the riding office of Marc Miller, the recently appointed federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. The action was organized by Solidarity Across Borders.
Protesters told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to stop stalling, that justice and equality for all requires permanent resident status now.
"We are fighting for regularization because it's the right thing to do for all communities of immigrants open to abuse. These are people who have contributed to the development of Canada economically as well as in many other ways," one speaker said. "We are demanding that Immigration Minister Marc Miller implement a regularization program for all, which includes everyone on Canadian soil, without condition or exception."
Speaking on behalf of Solidarity Across Borders, Samira Jasmin called for an end to deportation and detention. She informed that at present dozens of inmates at the Laval immigration holding centre are on a hunger strike demanding to be treated like human beings, and called for their release.
Those without status took to the mic to inform about the abuse they suffer because they are undocumented. For example, they are denied access to health care and education for themselves and their families, as well as proper housing. They are without a work permit and live in constant fear of arrest, detention and deportation. As contributors to Quebec and Canadian society and as human beings, they ask no more than what belongs to them by right: equality.
Participants were called upon to step up the struggle for a regularization program and status for all, without condition or exception.
Toronto
In Toronto a lively demonstration 3,000 strong marched through the streets from Bloor and Yonge to Dundas Square and on to City Hall. Slogans rang out, such as Status for All, Now!; Migrant Students, Migrant Workers Welcome Here! and When We Fight We Win! A number of unions participated in the action, including the Canadian Labour Congress, the Ontario Nurses' Association, the United Steelworkers and CUPE.
Throughout the action, speakers from rights organizations, such as Migrante, the Workers' Action Centre, and Migrant Students United, as well as individual workers, some of whom have been coming to Canada for decades on work permits, told of their experiences and the grave injustices being committed against them. These included farm workers, factory workers, international students working in retail, and home care workers, who spoke with pride of their contributions to Canadian society and demanded that their rights be respected.
Those who spoke in Toronto, like elsewhere, brought out the particulars of the abuse and exploitation experienced in Canada. This includes long hours, earning less than minimum wage, being denied basic health care and social services, wage theft, being unable to visit their children and the mental distress and anxiety of living in constant fear of being caught, and of being criminalized by employers for speaking out, and threatened with deportation.
Vancouver
In Vancouver several hundred people participated in a Status for All rally. Speakers pointed out that seasonal agricultural worker and temporary foreign worker programs create a super-precarious workforce with few rights. They face the constant threat of deportation, including for organizing.
Action outside immigration
detention centre in Surrey, BC.
Speakers at various actions cited the recent statement of the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Tomoya Obokata, who criticized the Trudeau Liberals for supporting various temporary foreign workers' programs in Canada that are "breeding grounds" for modern day slavery. They called for an end to the temporary worker regime and for full status for all workers.
The militant actions across Canada in support of full status and rights for migrant workers also underscored the resolve of the participants to continue to organize and fight until full status for all is achieved. They demand that as members of one working class, migrant workers can continue to contribute their skills to building Canadian society and live with dignity and enjoy their basic rights as workers.
Actions also took place at Canadian embassies in Britain, France, Spain and India in support of the demand for regularization of undocumented workers in Canada, organizers reported. For a video of action by allies in England click here. [LINK TO: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1804846709932860]
Ottawa
Kingston
Hamilton
London
Edmonton
Victoria
International
(Photos: TML, Migrant Workers Action for Change, Solidarity Across Borders, Decent Work and Health, Gawley, Migrant Rights Network, K. McCoy, A.M. Dorts, M. Dutt, S. Kaplan, M. Graeme)
This article was published in
Volume 53 Number 10 - October 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2023/Articles/M530109.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca