Open Letter to Federal Government from Migrant Rights Network
Toronto action for Status for All!, August 23, 2020.
On September 14, the Migrant Rights Network held a press conference and
issued an open letter calling on the federal government to normalize
the status of all migrants and undocumented workers, refugees and
foreign students. Already more than 280 groups and organizations --
including provincial federations of labour, trade unions, faith
organizations, student unions and others -- had signed on in support
and more have joined since.
The open letter states: "We, the undersigned, join the Migrant
Rights Network in calling for full and permanent immigration status for
all, without exclusions. [...] We call for a single-tier immigration
system, where everyone in the country has the same rights. All
migrants, refugees and undocumented people in the country must be
regularized
and given full immigration status now without exception. All migrants
arriving in the future must do so with full and permanent immigration
status."
 The
open letter holds the federal immigration system responsible for the
unacceptable working and living conditions of the 1.6 million
undocumented and migrant workers, refugees and foreign students.
Discriminatory immigration status, it says, is a tool which serves
"to divide and pit workers against each other -- citizens against
non-citizens -- to keep wages low and profits high." Full immigration
status for all is necessary, it says, for global justice; for racial
justice; and "an essential step towards eliminating inequalities in the
workplace and necessary for a transition to a just and sustainable
economy of care."
Joining the Migrant Rights Network at the press conference were
Patty Coates, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour; Catherine
Abreu of the Climate Action Network which represents over 100 climate
organizations; Jennifer Henry, Executive Director of KAIROS, an
ecumenical program comprised of ten participating member
denominations and religious organizations; and Lindsey Bacigal on behalf
of Indigenous Climate Action. Workers' Forum attended the virtual press conference.
Among the 280 plus organizations endorsing the open letter and
calling for full immigration Status for All are the federations of
labour in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Yukon and the
Northwest Territories; public and private sector unions including the
Canadian Union of Public Employees, National Union of Public and
General Employees, the Service Employees International Union, Unifor,
the United Steelworkers; as well as civil liberties organizations,
student unions, faith-based organizations, the Communist Party of
Canada (Marxist-Leninist) and others.
For the full text of the open letter and to add your name in support of the demand of Status for All visit migrantrights.ca.
This article was published in
Number 62 - September 17, 2020
Article Link:
Open Letter to Federal Government from Migrant Rights Network
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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