About the Federal Government's "Historic and Significant" Announcement 
At a press
conference in Montreal on August 14 announcing the federal government's
program providing a pathway to permanent residence for some essential
workers during the pandemic, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino was
asked why the government had not included security guards and
maintenance workers. Mendicino responded that the
program's aim "is to place the focus on asylum seekers that had worked
within a high risk environment" such as in hospitals and seniors' homes.
The Minister of Immigration was also asked if he could give an
estimate as to the number of workers who would benefit from the program.
"As we are placing the focus on designated professions," he
responded, "there is no precise number today." Another
journalist insisted that the Minister try to be more precise about
whether the measure would be covering a hundred or a thousand people,
to which Mendicino replied that for the moment he was unable to do so.
The Minister was also asked whether those whose refugee claims
had already been heard and refused by the Immigration and Refugee Board
of Canada would be able to have their files revisited. "No,
I don't think so," Mendicino replied, adding "This is only to be able
to create a bit of flexibility for asylum claimants who had submitted a
claim under a different process, but it's very specific, the criteria
are there to create a framework for the program." This appears to
contradict what he said earlier in the press conference that those
qualifying for an assessment under the new program would include
“failed claimants.” He was also
asked if the program could be expanded eventually to include other
types of occupations in the health care sector outside of care.
"It's a special program for this group," he said, "However, we
know that there are other groups who contributed to responding to
COVID-19 such as foreign workers, in particular those in the
agricultural sector where there are also risks and as the Prime
Minister has said, this foreign worker program must be improved."
Might there, then, be another announcement with regard to
temporary foreign workers in the agricultural sector, he was then asked.
"Listen," he responded "we've injected a lot of money and
resources and support for foreign workers, to the tune of more than
$100 million to introduce supports for foreign workers and we will
continue discussing with that group, however today this is [about] a
very particular program with a very particular focus on refugee
claimants." The same reporter then clarified that
he was specifically referring to maintenance and other essential
service workers. "This is a special program for
asylum claimants," Mendicino shot back. "So then it
will not be expanded?" "No" he replied. "We've
already spoken with people who were involved in this, helping asylum
seekers and they say the criteria is extremely strict," commented
another reporter. "For example, it doesn't include people who may have
begun working in April, for example, in health care as well as those
who may have actually gotten sick with COVID-19 because of the work
that they do. Can you explain why the criteria is as strict as it is?"
Said Mendicino: "We really wanted to place an emphasis on the
exceptional contributions of the asylum seekers who put themselves at
the greatest risk by working in hospitals, in long-term care homes, and
that was really the focus, the genesis of this program. We had a number
of conversations with the Quebec government and other stakeholders as
well, to really understand how it is that we could include as many as
possible, but really the focus was on the risk, and with regards to the
issue as to whether or not somebody may have become ill with COVID-19,
we're continuing to work with the government of Quebec to be sure that
any disruption in that time frame does not count against them as a
discount as they apply for eligibility. So that's an ongoing detail
that we are continuing to have discussions about." The
same journalist noted that the estimated number of people who will be
affected by the program was around a thousand, commenting that "this is
actually a very minor group, a very small announcement!" "Well,
I would say that this is an important announcement," the Minister
retorted. "And for every person that is going to be accepted under it,
it will be a life-changing moment, not only for them, but for their
spouses and for their children. And we shouldn't dismiss that and we
know that this is something [...] that will resonate with the
community. Because there are those who did contribute, who did put
themselves in harm's way, notwithstanding the fact that they are among
the most vulnerable. As I mentioned in my remarks, the asylum seekers
who came to Canada had to overcome great adversity just to get here and
once here, looking around at their community, asked themselves 'How can
I give back?' You know, they may not have had that piece of paper in
their hand that said that they had permanent residence status or are a
Canadian citizen, but they demonstrated a uniquely Canadian quality,
which is that they were prepared to fight back, give back at a time
when we needed them the most. And that's the point of this program.
This is a significant and historic announcement and every person who is
going to be accepted under it will, I think, remember this day for
quite some time to come."
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 32 - August 29, 2020
Article Link:
About the Federal Government's "Historic and Significant" Announcement
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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