Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada

End Canada’s legal discrimination against people with disabilities

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Image of Josarie Danieles and quote from her on what it has been like to spend years away from her daughter.

Josarie Danieles has been separated from her daughter Precious Ann for seven years. Seven painful years of missed birthdays, family holidays, and touching screens rather than hugging her child.

Josarie came to Canada and worked as a Caregiver. She has fulfilled all the requirements, and should have been granted permanent residency. But she is being denied because Immigration Canada believes her daughter would cause an ‘excessive demand’ on the health care system.

Many Caregivers provide highly-skilled support for Canadians with disabilities, and yet they cannot bring their own children with disabilities to join them in Canada. Likewise, Caregivers who become ill or injured on the job in Canada while they are in the qualification period to become permanent residency can be denied permanent residency under the ‘excessive demand’ clause.

A Federal Parliamentary Committee is currently looking into this issue. Add your name right now to an Open Letter from the Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada and urge them to end ableist laws. When you add your name, the letter below will be emailed the appropriate Members of Parliament.

Organizations and individuals can also make written submissions to the committee via email cimm@parl.gc.ca by November 15th. 

Thank you for acting in solidarity with Arthur Lorenzo

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Thank-you message to supporters for sending letters of solidarity for Arthur Lorenzo, calling for his deportation to be cancelled.Thank you for acting in solidarity with migrant activist Arthur Lorenzo. Within 24 hours, at least 303 people took the time to write letters to Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale calling for him to cancel Arthur’s deportation order. The CBC published also published an article yesterday about the heartbreaking deportation of this migrant justice whistleblower.

Unfortunately, last night Arthur was told by the federal government that the request to stop his removal was denied (see CBC coverage of the deportation here). He left for the Philippines last night. Before his departure, Arthur thanked everyone who phoned their MP, wrote letters to the Minister of Public Safety and stood in solidarity with him. His final message to us was: don’t give up fighting for myself and all the other temporary foreign workers in Canada.

With Arthur’s message in mind, please join us in continuing to support rights and dignity with migrant workers. The Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada has launched a campaign to urge open work permits and permanent status upon arrival.

Please email Ministers Hajdu and Hussen before 30th January: http://migrantrights.ca/en/take-action/#email

Once again, thank you for supporting Arthur Lorenzo, and for supporting our previous campaigns such as successfully halting the deportation of migrant activist Gina Bahiwal. Justice for Migrant Workers will be issuing additional call to actions in the weeks ahead.

Let’s continue this collective struggle in demanding justice for all migrant workers.

We have until Jan 30th: Demand open work permits for all migrant workers

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We have until January 30th! Demand open work permits for all migrant workers. Email the minister: migrantrights.caAmong all of the indignities low-wage migrant workers face, being ‘tied’ to one’s boss is among the worst.

Because of tied work permits, workers hired under low-wage streams of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (including the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program) are only permitted to work for a single employer at a single location. If low-wage migrant workers encounter an abusive employment relationship, if their job or housing makes them sick, or if a frost destroys the crop for which they were hired to harvest, then changing employers is often extremely difficult in practice.

We have a key opportunity to end the injustice of tied work permits. The federal government is scheduled to announce new policies for migrant workers on  January 30th. Please take action right now by emailing Employment Minister Patricia Hajdu and Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen at this link: http://migrantrights.ca/en/take-action/#email

If you’re on Twitter, you can also tweet at the Ministers here.

As evidenced by Gina Bahiwal’s recent victory, we know that organized grassroots power can make a difference in the struggle for migrant justice. Let’s ensure an end to tied work permits today.