Status For All
Let No One Be Left Behind!
- Diane Johnston -
On Saturday, January 30, Solidarity Across
Borders organized a
dance-protest in Montreal to demand status for
all without exception. The event was held
outside federal government
offices at Complexe Guy-Favreau on a cold winter
day.
 Speakers pointed
out that the pandemic's first and
second
wave have created enormous hardship for migrants
without status. Now, the 8:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew imposed in
Quebec by the Legault government
since January 9,
has placed them in a
"disastrous situation."
Some have lost their jobs, others have left
their jobs because of
the risk of being stopped by the police, which
could result in their
deportation. Others arrive at work hours before their shift
commences or remain there much later to avoid
being intercepted by the
police.
Participants learned that during police checks,
an employer's
authorization letter does not suffice for
persons presumed to have
committed an infraction. They are required to
identify themselves and
those without valid documentation are in danger of being deported. In 2019 alone,
Montreal police
officers contacted the Canada Border Services
Agency 3,500 times, even
though
their mandate does not include immigration
matters. The loophole here
is that the police can detain people if an
arrest warrant has
been issued against them.
Even though these workers are considered
frontline essential
workers, they are denied the right to health
care or daycare for their
children, and to the Canadian Emergency Response
Benefit. As well, in
refusing to allow them to be part of the recent
temporary
regularization program, both the Trudeau
Liberals and the Legault
government are
saying that the work they do is not as valuable
as those who provide
direct care to patients with COVID-19.
 "We
have people in this country who are treated like slaves. There are
people here during the pandemic with no health coverage! They can't even
get a COVID test," said one participant. "What happens if they come
down with the virus and spread it to others? As these workers are
repeatedly told that they are essential, it is high time they are
provided the conditions essential for their survival."
Demonstrators demanded that the federal government expand the criteria
for income replacement benefits so that they are also covered, otherwise
they are without any means of subsistence if they contract COVID-19.
"We want our status, we want our residency! Now
is the time to
mobilize as it is only through struggle that we
will free ourselves.
And so the fight goes on."
All out to demand that this injustice,
discrimination, and
exploitation of the most vulnerable be brought
to an end, once and for
all!
Only through our unity in action will we be
able to guarantee permanent residency status for all, without exception.
Only through ensuring the security of migrant workers will we be able
to ensure the security of all.
This article was published in
Number 4 - February 10, 2021
Article Link:
Status For All
Let No One Be Left Behind! - Diane Johnston
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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