October 21 and 22

Quebec Days of Action for Regularization of People Without Status

Enough exploitation and abuse –
regularize the status of undocumented migrants now!

Since the December 2021 announcement of the federal government’s intention to set up a regularization program for undocumented people, nothing concrete has been put forward. Despite ongoing pressure from labour and community groups to urgently call for an inclusive and permanent program, tens of thousands of undocumented people in this country still live with uncertainty about their future, the precariousness of their jobs and lives, and the constant fear of deportation and detention.

Organizers of the days of action point out that the vast majority of undocumented people entered the country legally and subsequently lost their status, many because they fell through the cracks in Canada’s immigration system. These people entered Canada as asylum seekers, on visitor visas or on study and/or work permits, but some eventually lost their status because their asylum claims were unjustly denied, others after fleeing violence in the course of being employed through a closed permit or, even more ridiculously, for simple administrative reasons. Organizers are demanding an inclusive and renewable regularization program from the Canadian government to put an end to their suffering.

At the same time, the organizers are calling for the abolition of closed work permits, which are one of the main causes of loss of migratory status. With this type of permit, workers are denied the fundamental right to change jobs and subjected to conditions of modern-day slavery by their employers. The links between closed permits and psychological, physical, sexual and financial abuse, as well as human trafficking, have been amply demonstrated, activists and specialists in the field point out. The danger of modern-day slavery posed by the Temporary Foreign Worker Program was even reaffirmed by a United Nations representative in September 2023. In Quebec, a number of academic researchers, the four largest trade union federations (the CSN, FTQ, CSD and CSQ) and numerous community and feminist groups are joining forces to call for their abolition.

These rallies are part of a Quebec-Wide Day of Action organized by the Quebec Campaign for the Regularization of People without Immigration Status, in which some 30 organizations are involved.

Montreal

Rally and Cultural Performances for Regularization
Saturday, October 21
2:00 pm
Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s constituency office,
3175 rue Saint-Jacques (Métro Lionel Groulx)
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Quebec City

Rally for Regularization of Undocumented Persons and the Abolition of Closed Work Permits
Saturday, October 21
11:00 am
Place de l’Université du Québec
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Rimouski

Workshop on Regularization of Undocumented Persons and the Abolition of Closed Work Permits
Sunday, October 22
2:00 pm
Centre communautaire Ste-Agnès sud, 383 Rue Lachance
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