On December 18, as part of the national day of action “A Day Without Migrants: Nothing Moves Without Us”, we got together with our allies to send letters to the ministers of Quebec and Canada denouncing the latest immigration policies.
In 2024, many government announcements focused almost exclusively on reducing the number of migrants and immigrants, without providing any protection measures for those already on the territory. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people are experiencing immediate changes, without support, and feel abandoned.
Just four years ago, the same people were praised for working in “essential” sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The governments of Canada and Quebec called on migrant workers, because the survival of our society and economy rested (and still rests) in their hands.
Today, migrant workers continue to work in these essential sectors. However, their working conditions are increasingly hard and still poorly paid. Instead of granting migrants the same rights at work and in everyday life, our governments change their rhetoric overnight. Since 2023, migrants have been singled out, accused of being the main cause of unemployment and the housing crisis. This is a racist lie meant to blame migrants for greedy businesses and complicit governments.
With the implementation of restrictive measures in the fall of 2024, migrant workers are finding it harder to renew their work permits or obtain new ones. For example, by limiting the validity of permits to a single year (as is the case with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program for low-wage positions) it is almost impossible to obtain a new permit with a new employer, as the process usually takes more than six months. Recently-arrived international students will find it very hard to obtain work permits after graduating. Asylum seekers are automatically stripped of their work or study permits once a removal order is made enforceable. For all these people, access to permanent residency is even more restricted. Moreover, the Liberal government’s promise of a broad and inclusive regularization program has been broken. Governments are locking migrants into greater precariousness, and trampling on the life projects and future dreams of hundreds of thousands of people.
“We are abused and exploited by our employers because of the c
losed permit: reduced working hours without notice, wages not respected, threats of dismissal if we don’t obey the many new tasks added to the work contract. Not to mention the many frustrations and discriminations! The latest immigration changes add to all these abuses. We can’t take it anymore!”
– Angélique, temporary worker from the Bas-Saint-Laurent region.
Refuse to remain silent in the face of these injustices! Demand a halt to the latest immigration policies for people already on the territory; the implementation of a complete and inclusive regularization program; the immediate suspension of deportations and detentions; the abolition of closed work permits; access to permanent residency for all workers; and real support for francization.
Comments are closed.