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 them to exploitation and the constant threat of deportation.
The discussion was moderated by Laura Doyle Péan, an artist and coordinator of the IWC’s legal information clinic. Henaway and Amel Zaazaa, co-founder and executive director of the Observatory for Migrant Justice, shared their experiences organizing for migrant justice and emphasized the importance of building movements led by migrants themselves.
At the heart of the book is a fundamental question: How can an economy that depends on migrant workers treat them as interchangeable and disposable?
From Amazon and Dollarama warehouses to agriculture, food production and delivery services, Henaway reveals how temporary worker programs, closed work permits and precarious immigration status create a workforce that is underpaid, vulnerable and harder to organize.
The discussion also addressed the financialization of migrant labour and the “Uberization of immigration,” a model in which businesses recruit migrants according to their needs and discard them once their labour is no longer required. The speakers denounced the administrative violence of Canada’s immigration system and the gap between official celebrations of diversity and the reality faced by thousands living under the threat of instability and deportation.
They also examined the structural causes of forced migration, including Canadian imperialism and the role of Canadian mining companies in destroying land and displacing communities around the world. These realities expose the connection between the plunder of the Global South and the exploitation of people forced to migrate.
Ongoing resistance was another central theme, particularly opposition to Bill C-12 and the creation of neighbourhood assemblies in Montreal to collectively fight deportations.
The audience, which included members of the IWC and the Observatory, allied community organizations, activists, students and readers, raised questions about building solidarity between migrants and Indigenous peoples, the regionalization of immigration and the myth of Canadian exceptionalism.
Participants also challenged white saviourism and narratives that portray migrants as powerless victims. As the discussion made clear, migrant workers are not only essential to the global economy; they are a collective force capable of confronting exploitation, racism and repressive immigration policies.
Another book launch will take place in Quebec City in September. Follow Éditions Écosociété and the Immigrant Workers Centre on social media for details.
The book is available in Canada through Les libraires and will be available in Europe on September 18 through Place des Libraires.
Comments are closed.