Permanent
Resident Status for All! National Day of Action in Defence of the Rights of All 
On August 23, working people across the country took a bold stand in
defence of the rights of all in pickets and other actions demanding Status
for All! Actions organized by the Migrant Rights Network
took place in cities and towns from coast to coast: on the Halifax
Peninsula, in Sherbrooke, Montreal, Ottawa, Sudbury, Toronto, Niagara
Falls, Windsor, Regina and Vancouver. The Migrant Rights Network is an
umbrella group of nearly fifty migrant rights organizations. The
main focus of the Cross Canada Day of Action was to demand once again
that Canada uphold the rights of all migrants to Canada and grant
status immediately to the 1.6 million people living here without
permanent resident status. Permanent resident status must be recognized
so that all migrants have the basis for a dignified and secure life.
 The call out for
the actions said, "For too long, those of us without permanent resident
status have been unable to get universal services, or speak back
against bad bosses and power structures. COVID-19 has exacerbated our
crisis. We have lost lives and livelihoods. We have been excluded from
receiving the support we need. We need a single-tier society where
everyone in the country has the same rights and opportunities, and that
means full and permanent immigration status for all. No more racism, no
more deaths, no more exploitation, STATUS NOW!"
In
the Halifax area the action took place over two days in eight locations
on the Halifax Peninsula, with the message of postering and flyering at
farmers' markets on August 22 that "Migrant workers are part of our
community!" Among the actions on August 23 was one outside the
Northwood seniors' residence where so many workers and residents were
infected with COVID-19 and 53 residents died. In
Montreal, festive marches were organized in several neighbourhoods --
Montréal-Nord, Parc Ex, Côte-des-Neiges and
downtown -- to mobilize the communities around the demand "Status for
All!" In Ottawa an event was held in front of the
Immigration and Refugee Board offices in answer to the call of the
Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. The Toronto
action outside the Immigration and Refugee Board and Canada Border
Services Agency offices included the installation of a human clock to
emphasize "We are DONE WAITING! The Time for Status for All is NOW!"
Among the speakers was Gabriel Flores, a migrant farmworker who was
fired from his job because he stood up for his and fellow workers'
health and safety after one of his workmates contracted COVID-19 and
died. He pointed out that migrant workers are put in the untenable
position of working in dangerous conditions under threat of deportation
if they refuse. Other speakers included an international student, a
careworker and a member of Migrante Canada. Some
thirty people participated in the Niagara Falls action at the Niagara
Detention Centre which is used to detain asylum seekers and
undocumented migrants. A speaker at the action pointed out that
seasonal agricultural workers have long been organizing for their
rights, with successful sit-down and slow-down strikes, speaking out
against abuse and holding agri-businesses accountable. In
Windsor, where migrant farm workers in nearby Leamington and Kingsville
have been hard-hit by COVID-19 due to the reprehensible living and
working conditions they endure, and government refusal to protect them,
65 people rallied in front of the offices of Immigration, Refugees and
Citizenship Canada to call for permanent resident status for migrants.
They were told that migrant farm workers were appreciative of all the
support and love they have been receiving from other working people and
their communities at this difficult time. Participants were informed
that $50,000 had so far been raised from unions and some other
community groups and individuals to acquire personal protective
equipment to give to agri-food workers since many employers are not
supplying them with it, and are not being required to do so either by
the province. They were also told that volunteers continue to deliver
boxes of food to migrant workers who are self-isolating in area hotels,
to supplement the inadequate meals many were receiving from the Red
Cross who the government had contracted to look after the food needs of
quarantining workers. The action organized by the
University of Regina Students' Union at MP Michael Kram's office
demanded permanent resident status for international students under the
conditions of the pandemic. Many international students have not been
able to find summer jobs and some cannot currently return to their
country because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most are wondering how they
will find the money to pay their tuition, which is around three times
higher than that paid by Canadian citizens. The
Vancouver event was centred at the Citizenship and Immigration Canada
office. To respect physical distancing requirements only a few people
were at the information table while others came by to pick up posters
which they put up around the city. One of the organizers, Nayeli
Jimenez, explained to a representative of Workers' Forum that
the aim was to mobilize the community behind the demand for full
immigration status for all migrant workers in Canada. She pointed out
that the COVID-19 pandemic has made the situation of temporary foreign
workers, which was already bad, even worse as these workers lack the
protection that those with permanent resident status have. Commenting
on the deportation of two Mexican farm workers who broke the employer's
rules by receiving food and clothing from community members in the
Okanagan, she said this shows that all workers need full immigration
status so that they can stand up to such violations of their rights,
access the communities they are living in, and be able to change
employers. Across the country, migrant workers and
their supporters pledged to step up their organizing to defend the
rights of migrants and those without status and to achieve permanent
resident status for all so that all migrants, who are part of the
Canadian working class, can live with dignity. Full Status for All Now!
We Are
All Essential!
Defend the Rights of All! Halifax,
NS 
Sherbrooke,QC 
Montreal,
QC
 
Ottawa, ON  
 
Toronto, ON 
 
  
Niagara
Falls  
Windsor 
Vancouver  
 
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 32 - August 29, 2020
Article Link:
Permanent
Resident Status for All!: National Day of Action in Defence of the Rights of All
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
|
