A big win and possible win for migrant workers
KAIROS celebrates Canada’s announcement that it will offer permanent residency to migrant caregivers upon arrival in Canada, while holding its breath in anticipation of an announcement of a regularization program for people who are undocumented.
Permanant residency for migrant caregivers is a long time coming. For years, KAIROS has advocated for their rights. Called temporary foreign caregivers, their time in Canada is anything but temporary. They work year long, helping Canadian families with children, the elderly and people with special needs. Many caregivers have worked for years in Canada.
On June 3, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced new caregiver pilot programs to replace existing ones that end this month with the intent to make the caregiver program permanent.
While questions remain, including whether caregivers already in Canada will receive permanent residency and will it expand eventually to all migrant workers, we celebrate this milestone improvement in the rights of these workers.
We hope for another milestone this month. The Canadian government is close to announcing a regularization program for undocumented people.
Approximately half a million people in Canada are without status, many of whom have slipped through the cracks of Canada’s Byzantine Temporary Foreign Workers Program.
For the undocumented, the lack of a pathway to regularization means that they are forced to live and work in the shadows, without access to essential services, labour protections, or legal rights. Without meaningful efforts to address regularization, many migrant workers will continue to live in fear and uncertainty.
It is anticipated that in June, the Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will present a proposal to Cabinet before Parliament takes its summer recess.
However, in this climate of rising xenophobia, the government’s resolve to extend rights to people without status may falter for fear of blowback.
KAIROS has called for Permanent Residency and Status for All for decades. Recently we sent a letter to the government to regularize the undocumented and end indentured labour in our country. Today, we are amplifying the Migrant Rights Network’s advocacy campaign to let Cabinet Ministers know that there is broad support from all corners of society for regularization.
Please join us!
Here is a list of actions we encourage you can take:
- Send an email to Cabinet: Click here to email all Ministers.
- Call Cabinet Ministers: Click here to access the call tool, which includes a script. This tool will connect you with all Cabinet Ministers. Call all or a few. (You will either leave a message or speak to a staff member.
- Share social media posts: Please share regularly from the Migrant Rights Network’s channels over the next few weeks: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Video file if you want to post directly.
Thank you for helping to support people who are undocumented in Canada!
