Jan 24

Migrant Voices podcasts: IWC Radio! The first installment

The Immigrant Workers’ Centre presents the story of a Filipino machinist who came to Canada through the temporary foreign worker (TFW) program.

His identity is confidential due to the precarity of his status and the threat of retribution by employers.

He agreed to share his story with us, from working as a machinist in a “free trade” (militarized) zone in the Philippines with a “no unions, no strikes” policy, to working as a TFW during the graveyard shift at an aerospace factory just outside of Montreal.

This is the first in a series of migrant workers’ life stories.

Download here Migrant Voices Podcast #1

More information on the Migrant Voices project

Related Posts

Canada’s Deportation Machine Is Punishing Migrants for Government Failures

Mark Carney’s government is accelerating Canada’s deportation machine while blaming migrants and refugees for the housing crisis, rising living costs and deteriorating public services. But migrants did not create these crises. They were produced by governments that abandoned social housing, expanded precarious temporary migration programs and allowed employers and educational institutions to exploit migrant workers and international students. In 2025, the Canada Border Services Agency deported 23,160 people—the highest annual... Read more →

Mostafa Henaway Exposes Migrant Worker Exploitation and Calls for Collective Resistance

Around 50 people gathered Wednesday evening at Un livre à soi bookstore in Montreal to celebrate the release of the updated French edition of Travail essentiel, travailleurs jetables, a book by Mostafa Henaway, a community organizer at the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC). More than a book launch, the event offered an opportunity to confront an economic system that depends on migrant labour while denying migrant workers their rights and exposing... Read more →

Racism in the Montreal Police Is Not an “Isolated Incident”

What the racism crisis within the Montreal police reveals cannot be reduced to a few officers who overstepped their authority. The dismantling of an entire 16-officer team at neighbourhood station 39 in Montréal-Nord following allegations of racism and hateful conduct raises a much deeper question: what structures allow such practices to develop within an institution that is supposed to protect everyone? Following the revelations, community organizations and advocates demanded concrete... Read more →

Stop Making Refugees Pay for Canada’s Health-Care Crisis

The Carney government has partially reversed cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) after months of pressure from refugees, health-care workers, and community organizations. While the change will help some families, it leaves intact a cruel policy that forces some of Canada’s poorest and most vulnerable residents to pay for essential care they cannot afford. The IFHP provides temporary coverage to resettled refugees and asylum seekers waiting to qualify... Read more →