Call to Regularize Status of Essential WorkersOn the front lines with our seniors in CHSLDs [residential and long-term care centres] or behind the scenes in our grocery stores and food processing plants, these essential workers have played, are playing and will continue to play a crucial role in the proper functioning of our lives in society. We believe that it is time for their contribution to be recognized and call upon the federal government to quickly regularize their immigration status. Indeed, at a time when the risks have increased and when it has never been so dangerous to get to work, they have not given up and are demonstrating each and every day their loyalty, courage and unwavering love for their land of refuge. They actually watch over us at all hours of the day and night and are fighting with us to defeat this adversary that recognizes no borders. Far removed from the limelight, they represent a key component in the often already precarious equilibrium of our institutions, notably in the area of health care, and take on an often unenviable job, without knowing for how long their own security and that of their family can be ensured. It is actually without any guarantee of their future in Canada that day in, day out, they prove their essential role in our society. These workers risk their lives for us without knowing whether they'll be able to remain in the country with their children fully integrated in our schools, developing and forming a Canadian identity for themselves with their friends and teachers. Every day they end their shifts not knowing if they will be forced to abandon their family and friends, with whom they have developed strong ties in Canada, often under very difficult conditions. They contribute, day after day, to the betterment of our society without knowing whether or not the lives they have built here will go up in smoke. Without knowing whether they themselves will remain safe for long in Canada, they go off to work to save lives, our lives. This hell of uncertainty may last for years, during which the risk of being deported becomes more and more difficult to bear and dignity slowly evaporates as a result of feeling invisible and nonexistent. Every day that weight on their shoulders becomes heavier, until their psychological distress is palpable. Is it not high time that we show them our gratitude, by regularizing their status and formally recognizing their contribution to our society? Is it not time that we extricate our guardian angels from the hell caused by the uncertainty of their future and that of their children? It is now our turn to ensure that they are protected. (La Presse, May 21, 2020. Translated from original French by TML.)
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