Vaccines for All Campaign
Uphold the Rights of Migrant and Undocumented Residents
Anxiety and a great deal of acrimony have been created by
governments, cartel parties and media across the country over
vaccinations protocols and who gets vaccinated when. Because Canada's
economy is not based on self-reliance and caters to global
pharmaceutical oligopolies to receive vaccines to deal with the COVID-19
pandemic,
Canada is way behind other countries in protecting its people. And,
within this, the situation in which migrant workers, including
undocumented workers, are facing discrimination and exclusion from
vaccination programs is beyond unacceptable. Because of their
designation by a racist state as people who can be mistreated and
abused, thousands of
people in Canada working in essential jobs but living in fear of
deportation, are unable to access basic health care including
vaccinations. They are even unable to walk safely in the streets for
fear of being stopped by the police and deported.
 The
Migrant Rights Network issued a statement on February 24 on this matter
entitled "Migrant Rights and Health Experts call for Safe and Dignified
Access Without Fear to COVID-19 Vaccines for Migrant and Undocumented
Residents."
The statement points out that one in 23 people in Canada don't have
permanent resident status, including many workers in healthcare,
cleaning, construction, delivery and agriculture, and that many
migrants in Canada don't have health cards because they are
undocumented or their work or study permits have expired due to
government
processing delays during the pandemic.
On the one hand workers are threatened by employers that they must
be vaccinated and on the other hand workers live with the threat that
if their personal information is shared with federal immigration
enforcement they will be detained and deported.
It is unconscionable that in a crisis that impacts everyone racist
division of the people into categories designed to permit
discrimination and denial of basic human rights to some is still
presented by the elite and their governments as modern and humane. The
only solution is the immediate recognition of the legitimacy of all
human beings in
Canada, providing vaccinations to all without question, and the
granting of permanent resident status to all migrant workers and
students who are here and want to stay.
Excerpts of the statement follow:
 "The
Migrant Rights Network along with leading doctors, health policy
experts, and labour leaders, is calling for immediate action to ensure
that all migrant and undocumented residents of Canada are able to be
vaccinated. A letter signed by 270 organizations outlines specific
measures that must be implemented in order to make government
assurances about universal vaccine access a reality. For the COVID
vaccine to be accessible to migrants in a safe and non-coercive manner,
the following must be implemented:
- Vaccination must be provided free of charge;
- Vaccination must not require a health card or health coverage;
- Names, addresses or other identifying information should not be
required for vaccination because migrant and undocumented people are
fearful of sharing this information;
- No ID information should be shared with federal immigration enforcement;
- Vaccine must be accessible (available in rural communities, to
those who don't speak English or French, don't have access to a
computer, telephone, etc);
- COVID-19 vaccination should not be coercive or mandatory. To
protect against this, anti-reprisal protections and permanent resident
status must be ensured for migrants that speak up about workplace
issues;
- Vaccine providers must be trained so that they don't turn away
people who don't have health coverage or are fearful of sharing their
ID;
- Anti-racist public education is necessary to address vaccine
hesitancy. Migrants have well-founded reasons to distrust medical
systems because of histories of violence and coercion;
- Universal healthcare for all; and
- Full and permanent immigration status for all."
This article was published in
February 26, 2021 - No. 11
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08111.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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