Montreal, September 5, 2025— On Friday evening, the Clinic for Migrant Justice was filled with voices of resistance and determination. Dozens of organizations, community members, and allies came together under the banner of Our Common Front to confront one of the most dangerous threats to immigrant, refugee, and workers’ rights in recent years: Bill C-2.
A Canada of Exclusion or a Canada of Dignity?
Bill C-2 is not a technical reform. It is a direct attack on the values we claim to uphold—fairness, equality, privacy, and respect for human dignity. It hands more unchecked power to the state, undermines due process, and reinforces a vision of Canada where immigrants, refugees, and marginalized communities are treated as disposable.
The gathering on Bélanger Street made it clear: we refuse to let this vision become our future. From human rights defenders to refugee advocates, from feminist groups to LGBTQIA+ organizations, from labour militants to health professionals, the message was unanimous: our rights are not negotiable.
Unity in Struggle
The event brought together a powerful coalition, including TCRI, Médecins du Monde Canada, Fédération des femmes du Québec, Amnistie internationale Canada francophone, Ligue des droits et libertés, the Canadian Council for Refugees, The Refugee Centre, Action Réfugiés Montréal, AGIR, Centre communautaire LGBTQ de Montréal, The Observatory for Migrant Justice, and the Immigrant Workers Centre.
Each organization reminded us that Bill C-2 is not just about immigration paperwork. It is about the future of Canada and Quebec—whether we move towards repression and exclusion or towards justice and solidarity.
Building a Wall of Resistance
Participants exchanged information and tools to mobilize in their workplaces, communities, and neighborhoods. We reminded each other that our struggles are interconnected: workers’ rights are immigrant rights, gender justice is migrant justice, and defending privacy is defending freedom.
The choice is ours. Will we allow governments to divide us, scapegoat us, and strip away our rights? Or will we build a society where every person—regardless of origin, status, gender, or orientation—has a real chance to live with dignity?
On September 5th, the answer rang clear in Montreal:
We choose solidarity. We choose resistance. We choose a Canada where human dignity is non-negotiable.
The fight against Bill C-2 has only just begun. The Immigrant Workers Centre calls on all workers, migrants, and allies to join the mobilizations in the weeks ahead. Together, we can defeat this attack and build the just society we deserve.
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