Emergency Rallies Denounce Trudeau Government’s Lack of Action on Rights of Migrants and Refugees

Emergency Rallies Denounce Trudeau Government’s Lack of Action on Rights of Migrants and Refugees

Emergency rallies were held June 23-25 in Shediac, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Windsor to denounce the federal government after another session of parliament ended without passing legislation to regularize all migrants and refugees. This was despite the Prime Minister directing the Minister of Immigration in his December 2021 mandate letter to “further explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities” and to “expand pathways to Permanent Residence for international students and temporary foreign workers.” This lack of action means that for over 550 days, undocumented migrants have continued to be shut out of schools, denied health care, exploited at work, separated from their families and detained and deported. Meanwhile migrant workers generally, such as those considered temporary foreign workers, remain vulnerable to abuse as well.

In the callout for the actions organizers stated, “Join us to insist on our equality as human beings, join us to insist on our dignity and worth.” The callout reiterated the demand for a regularization program that gives permanent residence to every single migrant in the country and an immediate end to deportations and detentions.

Montreal

Toronto

Windsor

As part of the action in Windsor Taneeta Doma, lawyer with the Migrant Farmworkers Clinic, discussed experiences of migrant workers with the Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers, a program which the Federal government has claimed protects migrant workers from abuse. We are publishing the video of those remarks below for your information.