One of the places where systemic racism is the most apparent in our immigration system is in its treatment of domestic and migrant workers.

It is my firm belief that if you’re good enough to work, you’re good enough to stay.

For caregivers and domestic workers, justice means PR status upon arrival. Domestic workers, who are mostly women of colour from developing nations, are the only class of economic immigrants who are not given PR status upon arrival. Instead, they must endure precarious working conditions with uncertain immigration status and futures as they navigate pilot program after pilot program. As they care for Canadian families, the lack of PR status separates the workers from their own families.

For temporary migrant workers, it is long known that employer specific work permits put them in highly vulnerable situations where abuse and exploitation by employers are rampant.

The Canadian immigration must treat workers with justice and respect. No more abuse of migrant workers! Landed status now!

FINA#147: Bill C-69 on Concerns Around Expanding Immigration Detention into Federal Prisons

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I will speak to it very briefly.

As I was indicating, on March 13, over 80 civil societies, settlement agencies and religious organizations wrote a strongly worded letter to the Prime Minister with their concerns around expanding immigration detention into federal prisons.

Earlier today, the provisions around setting up this format were passed, but with that being said, this amendment is an attempt by the NDP to at least try to put some parameters within that framework, to have “high risk” clearly defined in legislation rather than leaving it up to regulation and having it be defined behind closed doors.

To that end, Mr. Chair, that's what the amendment seeks to do. The definition of “high risk” is really meant to provide some limitations around what would be deemed as high risk in this instance.

Mr. Chair, I just want to highlight a couple of elements within that. I won't, of course, read the entire amendment into the record here.

Really, we attempted to put some parameters there as to the nature and level of danger to the public the person poses related to, for example, any conviction to do with sexual offences or an offence involving violence or weapons and for the same conviction outside of Canada. As well, there are provisions with regard to pending charges for these offences. Also, we wanted to put parameters around engagement with terrorism or gang activities and such.

Mr. Chair, I think these are some of the provisions for declaring what is deemed to be “high risk” in that context.

The other thing worth noting here is that we're also adding to this with an amendment around mental health; when considering these matters, the mental health aspect of the individual should also be taken into consideration. That's written within the amendment here.

Of course, there are some accountability measures related to it, which means that when someone is to be detained, there has to be some level of accountability with respect to written notice advising the individual as such and then, of course, allowing the individual to undertake representation if they seek to do so.

That's a quick summary of where it is at in terms of trying to put these parameters in place.

Hill Times: ‘Structural solutions not inflammatory conclusions’ required to fix foreign worker program: Senator Omidvar

NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.), her party’s immigration critic, said the UN report should come as no surprise to the government, as it echoes “what migrant workers and labour advocates have been saying for a very long time.”


NDP MP Jenny Kwan says the power imbalance that leads to abuse is structural to the temporary foreign worker program, not just its low-wage stream. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
“The way the program is set up exposes workers to exploitation and abuse because they’re reliant on their employer to retain their status in Canada,” Kwan explained. “If they face abuse and exploitation and complain about it, they stand to lose their job, and—in the worst-case scenario—they stand to be deported back to their country of origin.”

Kwan said the government has taken a “haphazard approach” to addressing problems with the TFWP to date, focused almost solely on the low-wage stream, but—while misuse of that stream is “particularly deplorable”—she said the root of the problem is structural to the entire program.

“The government has to address the main structural issue, and that is the power imbalance that exists between the temporary foreign worker and the employer,” Kwan said. “The only way to do that is to ensure that the temporary foreign workers actually have landed status on arrival, then they are not dependent on the employer, and would not have to suffer potential abuses and exploitation.”

“It doesn’t matter what stream it is, all the temporary foreign workers programs subject migrant workers to potential exploitation because of that power imbalance,” Kwan said, adding, though, that the NDP supports calls to end the program’s low-wage stream.

While the government and groups like the Canadian Chamber of Commerce may reject the UN rapporteur’s characterization of the program, the recent Senate report found similar abuses within the program.

Globe: Employer fines for abuse of temporary foreign worker program rose by more than a third last year

The NDP has warned that closed work permits can make migrants tied to a single employer vulnerable to abuse.

“These migrant workers are often underpaid and their immigration status is tied to their employer through a closed work permit, making it virtually impossible for them to change employment or exercise their rights,” immigration critic Jenny Kwan said in an e-mail, calling for them to be given permanent status.

“Their precarious status immigration status lead to severe power imbalances, abuse and a fear to speak out.”

 

Asian Pacific Post: CANADA OFFERS PR ON ARRIVAL STATUS FOR FOREIGN CAREGIVERS

 

Jenny Kwan, the NDP immigration critic, said she is thrilled that the government is finally honouring caregivers and treating them with the respect and dignity they deserve by granting them permanent residence status on arrival.

“This is a significant victory for the caregiver community. It means that they will no longer be subject to exploitation and abuse. It means they can have their rights protected as they contribute to Canada's economic, social and cultural fabric,” Kwan posted on Facebook.

The Vancouver East MP said there are 9,000 caregiver PR applications in the backlog. The average processing time is 3 years.

“The government must ensure adequate resources and immigration levels numbers are allocated to process these applications expeditiously so that they do not further languish in the backlog,” she said.

According to Statistics Canada in 2022, 13.4 million Canadians aged 15 years and older (42%)—over  two in five people in this age group—provided unpaid care in the previous 12 months to children younger than 15 years old or to youth aged 15 years and older and adults with a long-term condition or disability.

Of these unpaid caregivers, 13% provided care to both of these care-dependent groups, meaning that 1.8 million Canadians older than 15 years were "sandwiched" between multiple care responsibilities, said a report from McGill University.

 

 

Globe: Caregivers from abroad to be given permanent residence on arrival under new pilot programs

To qualify for the new enhanced pilot programs, foreign caregivers will need to have an offer for a full-time home-care job, meet the language requirements, hold the equivalent of a Canadian high-school diploma, and have recent and relevant work experience.

“This new pathway means that caregivers can more easily find proper work with reliable employers and have a clear, straightforward access to permanent-resident status as soon as they arrive in Canada,” IRCC said in a statement.

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said there is a shortage of caregivers in Canada while those who come here from abroad to fill jobs are too often exploited and abused. She said their precarious immigration status makes them more vulnerable to poor treatment by employers.

She said Canada should stop classifying caregivers, who help many Canadians, as “low-skill” workers.

In an interview, Ms. Kwan said current language and education standards that caregivers must meet to gain permanent residence – brought in by the Conservatives before Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister – are unnecessarily stringent and have until now acted as a “roadblock” to caregivers settling in Canada.

 

 

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