Migrant Workers/Caregivers

Hill Times: Feds’ communication over permanent residency plans gave temporary workers ‘false hope,’ says NDP MP Kwan

The federal government’s plans to fast-track permanent residence applications for temporary workers in limbo failed to meet the expectations created by what one opposition MP and immigration experts called “misleading” messaging from the minister.

On May 4, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that it would fast-track permanent residence applications for up to 33,000 temporary workers already living in Canada as part of a one-time initiative—first announced in the 2025 budget—supporting the government’s efforts to reduce the number of temporary residents to less than five per cent of the population by the end of 2027.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.), her party’s immigration critic, told The Hill Times in a May 5 email that the language used in the government’s announcement was “misleading and outright deceptive.”

“What they have done is create confusion and fuel opportunities for those who are angling to exploit temporary foreign workers who have been negatively impacted by the drastic changes to Canada’s immigration policies. It is giving false hope to temporary foreign workers,” she said.

*Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.hilltimes.com/2026/05/07/feds-communication-over-permanent-residency-plans-gave-temporary-workers-false-hope-says-ndp-mp-kwan/503085/

MEDIA RELEASE: NDP Immigration Critic Jenny Kwan’s statement in response to government announcement on accelerating permanent residence for 33,000 workers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NDP Immigration Critic Jenny Kwan’s statement in response to government announcement on accelerating permanent residence for 33,000 workers

The language used in the announcement by the Carney Liberals is misleading and outright deceptive. What they have done is create confusion and fuel opportunities for those who are angling to exploit temporary foreign workers who have been negatively impacted by the drastic changes to Canada's immigration policies.  It is giving false hope to temporary foreign workers. 

To be clear, this is not a new program.  The immigration levels plan is not increasing.  Intake for the argi-foods and caregiver programs have been closed since last year.  They will not be eligible for PR through this program.  All that the Carney Liberals are doing is "accelerating" the processing of 33,000 temporary foreign workers who have been working in the community for 2 or more years and have already applied for PR under the PNP, Atlantic, Rural and Francophone streams.  In other words, they are announcing that IRCC will just do their job to processing these applications in a timely fashion - nothing more.

Successive Liberal and Conservative governments have heavily relied on migrant workers to support Canada’s economy.  The last time Pierre Poilievre was in government, Conservatives doubled the TFW program —dramatically helping corporate chains treat migrant workers as cheap and disposable. 

Then in 2022, Justin Trudeau expanded the use of temporary foreign workers, allowing big businesses to use temporary foreign workers for up to 30 per cent of their workforce, regardless of local unemployment rates. Both the Liberals and Conservatives have turned the TFWP into an ongoing business model that tramples on worker’s rights while suppressing wages in Canada. 

Under the constant threat of deportation, workers are often unable to leave their jobs or challenge unfair and unsafe labour practices. They often endure poor and dangerous working conditions, racism, discrimination, wage theft, and are denied fundamental human and labour rights, trapping them in involuntary servitude. 

The Liberals say they want to regularize them since 2021, it was even in the former Minister of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship’s mandate letter.  But despite this commitment, not only have the Liberals reneged on their promise, they began proactively blame migrant workers, international students and new comers for their failed housing policy and abruptly changed immigration policies that further negatively impacted these workers.

As a result, many of the temporary foreign workers are now finding themselves falling out of status.  This is wrong.  They are not responsible for the failures of Canada's housing policy. 

The NDP is calling for the Liberals to adopt a broad and comprehensive regularization initiative for the workers that are already in Canada so that they have a clear and accessible pathway to permanent residency.  New Democrats strongly believe in the principle that if you are good enough to work and study in Canada, you are good enough to stay. 

The NDP is also calling for the Liberals to invest in domestic labour and return to a standard of landed status for the full spectrum of workers.

HANSARD: Caregivers should not be treated as second class or a footnote in Canada's immigration policy

Householder Fall 2025

The new Parliament met from May 26 to June 20, 2025. In that time the new Liberal minority government presented a Throne speech and introduced eight Bills.

The Throne Speech is supposed to lay out the government’s priorities in a new Session of Parliament. But it was notable not so much for what was in it as for what was missing.

During the election campaign, of course, people were talking about their concerns with respect to President Donald Trump, his tariff threats and anti-immigrant actions. While people said Canada should absolutely take action together in dealing with the United States, there were also so many other top priority issues that the government ignored in their throne speech.

There was no mention of renters. In the midst of a housing crisis - there was no discussion of building the social housing or co-op housing that is so desperately needed. What’s even more concerning is the fact that, when asked if housing process need to go down, the Minister of Housing - Gregor Robinson said “No.”(link: https://www.jennykwanndp.ca/ctv_new_housing_minister_says_he_ll_leverage_his_past_as_vancouver_mayor_in_new_role?recruiter_id=111).

There was no mention of funding for public transit, nor any mention of desperately needed support for mental health or action to help people secure a family doctor. There was no mention of action to mitigate and fight wildfires or provide relief for affected people. No mention of foreign interference. No mention of peace and resolving conflict. No mention of the devastating crisis in Gaza. Seniors and their concerns were not mentioned in the throne speech.

Women were not mentioned in the throne speech. Issues surrounding gender equality and equality for people with disabilities were not mentioned in the throne speech.

You can see my response to the throne speech at this link: https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/45-1/house/sitting-6/hansard#Int-13081121

Despite not having party status, I was able to successfully move a sub-amendment to the Throne speech by ensuring that the rights of Indigenous Peoples are respected. New Democrats will keep pressing the government – and all opposition parties – to live up to this promise.

Hill Times: IRCC forecasts 30 per cent spending cut by 2028 amid lower immigration targets

‘It’s a giant mess,’ says MP Kwan

Earlier this year, IRCC announced its plans to cut 3,300 jobs from its workforce, citing Canada’s reduced immigration targets.

In November 2024, then-immigration minister Marc Miller (Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, Que.) announced drastic cuts to the targeted number of permanent residents admitted to Canada in the next two years, and tighter rules around temporary worker permits.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.) said the Liberals are “plowing ahead” with cuts despite persistent and prolonged delays in processing immigration cases.

“As it stands in the system, the backlog is unbelievable,” said Kwan, the NDP’s immigration critic. “Families are separated, people are being persecuted, and it can’t be processed in an expeditious way. It’s a giant mess.”

Wait times for spousal sponsorship applications outside Quebec have jumped from 12 to 24 months, she said, and applications for parents and grandparents have been frozen for two years.

Refugees who are fleeing persecution, who are “in dire straits” and are privately sponsored by Canadian citizens, can face wait times of over three years.

“This is just a snapshot of some of the problems that exist within our system,” she said. “Cuts to IRCC staff will only further delay the processing, and create greater pain and anguish for the people stuck in the system.”

Maclean's: Why Canada’s New Border Policy Could Screw Over Refugees

In June, Mark Carney tabled the Strong Borders Act to combat organized crime, fentanyl trafficking and illegal firearms at the border. As with many border-related issues these days, it largely stems from the Trump administration. “There were a number of elements in the bill that have been irritants for the U.S., so we are addressing some of those issues,” said public safety minister Gary Anandasangaree.
While Bill C-2 cleared its first reading in the House of Commons, many aren’t sold on the legislation. Immigration experts say it dramatically rolls back long-standing protections for refugees and migrants, and civil rights advocates say it gives Ottawa sweeping new surveillance powers that infringe on Canadians’ Charter rights.

What are the privacy implications of these expanded powers?

They’re expanding the ability for police and spy agencies to demand information without a warrant—based merely on “reasonable suspicion.” Canada Post, for example, could open your mail. Public service providers like doctors could be compelled to hand over private details. The bill would also enable information to be shared with foreign entities just with the consent of a minister. Some experts, including member of Parliament and NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan, have raised concerns that American anti-abortion states could use the provision to request information from Canadian abortion clinics.

CBC: $68M project to secure, revamp Canada's asylum system shut down unexpectedly, documents show

A $68-million project led by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that was meant to revamp Canada's outdated asylum system and enhance the integrity of the country's borders was quietly shut down last year — an "unexpected" move for some in the government because it was only partly completed, internal documents show.

Now, some critics fear the outcomes that were achieved may be more harmful than beneficial for people seeking protection in Canada.

IRCC's "asylum interoperability project" began in 2019 and was supposed to wrap up by 2022. It came during a surge of asylum seekers entering Canada, putting pressure on an already struggling system that relied heavily on paper files. Its launch followed calls for major reform.

The Guardian: With his immigration bill, Canada’s prime minister is bowing to Trump

Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, is bucking all of that lore after pressure from the US in the form of Donald Trump’s “concerns” about undocumented migrants and fentanyl moving across the US-Canada border. In response, the recently elected Liberal PM put forward a 127-page bill that includes, among other worrying provisions, sweeping changes to immigration policy that would make the process much more precarious for refugees and could pave the way for mass deportations.

If passed, Carney’s Strong Borders Act (or Bill C-2) would bar anyone who has been in the country for more than a year from receiving refugee hearings. That would apply retroactively to anyone who entered the country after June 2020. If they arrived on foot between official ports of entry, meanwhile, they’d have to apply for asylum within 14 days of entering Canada – a disastrous outcome for people fleeing Trump’s persecution. The bill also gives the immigration minister’s office the authority to cancel immigration documents en masse.

This bill has been widely condemned by politicians and advocacy groups such as Amnesty International and the Migrants Rights Network, who are rightly worried about just how much havoc a change like this could wreak. Jenny Wai Ching Kwan, a member of Parliament for Vancouver East, told reporters the bill would breach civil liberties and basic rights.

McGill Daily: The Continental Mosaic Immigration Sparks Unrest and Policy Shifts Across North America

However, the Strong Borders Act has faced immediate backlash. Critics, including MP Jenny Kwan, the Migrant Rights Network, and refugee advocates, say the bill mimics Trump-era US tactics and risks violating Canada’s international obligations to protect refugees.

“It’s an alarming shift,” Kwan said, describing the bill as a “massive rollback of rights” that can erode Canada’s long-standing humanitarian commitments.

The US factor looms large. President Trump has repeatedly accused Canada of failing to stop the movement of illicit fentanyl and irregular migration across the northern frontier. In February, Trump threatened and implemented short-lived tariffs on certain Canadian exports, rattling Ottawa and adding impetus for Carney’s government to show it can police its own borders more strictly.

“There are items in the bill that have been irritants for the US, so we’re addressing some of those issues,” Anandasangaree acknowledged, even as he insisted the bill is about Canadian security first.

The Strong Borders Act has already sparked protests and is mounting legal challenges in Ottawa and in major cities like Montreal and Toronto. Critics argue that Canada, long seen as a beacon of openness, is at risk of abandoning that tradition in the name of security. For Carney’s government, the challenge remains how to reassure a skeptical public that the system is both secure and fair without sacrificing the country’s humanitarian identity.

 

Hill Times: Government’s border security bill draws heavy criticism from civil rights groups

Since Bill C-2’s introduction, vocal critics of the legislation in the House have included NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.), her party’s critic for public safety, immigration, and citizenship. On June 11, Kwan told the House that the “so-called stronger borders act makes Harper’s Bill C-51 look like child’s play.”

“Bill C-2 is a sweeping attack on Canadian civil liberties. It would allow the RCMP and CSIS to make information demands from internet providers, banks, doctors, landlords and even therapists, without judicial oversight. This is not about border security. It is about government overreach and Big Brother tactics, plain and simple. It is a violation of our privacy, and it will be challenged in court,” she said in the House.

In response to Kwan, Anandasangaree defended the bill, saying the Strong Borders Act would help keep Canadians safe.