Thousands of migrants and their supporters were planning demonstrations across Canadian cities on Sunday to call on Ottawa to extend permanent status to undocumented people.
There will also be calls to quickly implement an inclusive regularization program for undocumented migrants, a long-standing demand that advocates say seems closer than ever to becoming a reality.
Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, said the time is right for Ottawa to heed his group’s calls for more access to basic rights for undocumented people in Canada.
“We have a historic opportunity right now to right a wrong that’s been going on for many, many years,” he said by phone before heading to a planned afternoon rally in Toronto.
“We want to make sure that Parliament is not delayed in any way.”
Ottawa launched a regularization program during the COVID-19 pandemic for asylum seekers working in the health sector. Since then, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed interest in expanding the initiative.
A December 2021 mandate letter called on Trudeau’s immigration and citizenship minister to “build on existing pilot programs to further explore ways to regularize the status of undocumented workers who contribute to Canadian communities.”
Speakers address the crowd at the Status for All rally in Toronto. (Patrick Swadden/CBC)
Hussan said the program should include all undocumented people and argued it should be a focus for the government as Parliament prepares to return next week.
“Prime Minister Trudeau has already indicated that he wants to do the right thing. The question now is, just, will everyone be included,” Hussan said.
“We believe that equality is equality, any exclusion is discrimination, which is why each and every migrant or refugee worker, student and undocumented worker should be included.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of an expanded regularization program for undocumented workers.
Hussan said he expects thousands of people to attend demonstrations and marches planned in 13 cities, including Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Vancouver, Fredericton and St. John’s, NL.
Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, says the group wants the federal government to implement a regularization program for the 500,000 undocumented people in Canada and guarantee permanent resident status for the 1.2 millions of migrants with temporary status. (Krystalle Ramlakhan/CBC)
Similar national days of protest have been held on the issue of migrant status, but Hussan said Sunday’s event is expected to be bigger as momentum for the cause has grown in recent years. .
That’s due in part to a growing number of undocumented people organizing for more rights, he said, as well as a renewed focus on the inequities they faced in essential jobs during the pandemic.
He said calls for status and regularization would give undocumented workers in Canada the right to advocate for better working, studying and living conditions, as well as access to universal health care.
The measures will also give people more job mobility and improve working conditions, he said.
Caroline Michael, an undocumented health worker in Toronto, joined the calls for permanent status at a press conference organized by the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change earlier this week.
She shared the challenges she has faced as a refugee seeking to remain in Canada, having multiple applications denied and being asked to pay for health services. He said his struggles have taken a toll on his mental health, but he can’t take time off from the hospital where he works because of his condition.
“I feel mentally trapped … I’m tied up like someone in a prison,” she said. She called on parliament to extend the status to all migrants, including herself and others who have been working on the front lines during COVID-19.
“I and others were out during all the waves of the pandemic and we were still working for the development of Canada. But we are not robots. We are human, we are all human beings.”