A coalition for migrant rights is calling on Ottawa to give permanent residency to undocumented foreign residents of Canada, claiming anything less is discrimination.Six members of the Migrant Rights Network shared their views from the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa Monday morning. Spokesperson Syed Hussan said more than 500 organizations are represented in his network."Regularization is a litmus test of Prime Minister Trudeau's commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. He came promising support for immigrants, refugees, queer and trans people, women and the vulnerable," Hussan said."Most undocumented people arrive as refugees, as students and workers, who fall through the cracks of an unfair and uncaring immigration system that does not provide them protections. It is a system that is stacked against them and leaves them open to exploitation and abuse. Many lose their permits when they speak up against bad bosses."Hussan said if the undocumented received citizenship, they would "buy fridges and cars" and seek post-secondary education and spur $28 million of economic growth. He also claimed not a single Canadian believed in systemic racism."No one, not a single person in this country, believes that queer people, women, trans people, precarious people should be made more vulnerable by government policies. There is a simple solution here: regularization."However, Siobhan Vipond, executive vice-president of the Canadian Labour Congress, said "growing racism and xenophobia" were making the undocumented "even more vulnerable" to those who hired them."We urge the Prime Minister and all cabinet ministers to support and implement the comprehensive regularization program, as already developed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and recommended by the Minister of Immigration," she said.Frederique Chabot, Executive Director of Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, supports the rights of the undocumented and sex workers."Last April, an undocumented women named Perla Estrada was denied an emergency C-section at an Edmonton hospital. She was asked to pay $5,000 upfront for the procedure and was told that no doctor would see her until she paid. This is not an isolated incident. Over half of the people action Canada's support through our emergency abortion fund are undocumented or uninsured," Chabot said."The choice over what happens to our bodies and the ability to give birth safely and keep our babies safe should not be a privilege. These are fundamental rights."Jane Kirabira shared her story of fleeing her husband in Uganda who beat her up after discovering she was lesbian. Canada denied her refugee status in 2017. She also failed on appeal, and lost in federal court. Depsite being ordered deported in 2019, she remained in Canada."As an undocumented person, I'm treated unfairly at work, unable to access basic needs, and live every day with fear of deportation," she said.On behalf of the United Church, Emily Dwyer said, "All Canadian churches and faith-based organizations know that regularization of undocumented peoples is not only the moral thing to do, it is a recognition of our existing diverse communities."Hussan said the undocumented number anywhere from 20,000 to half a million."We believe that for this reason, a program should be brought in inclusive, to allow people to come out from the shadows and enter the family of rights by applying for permanent residency, instead of trying to determine caps at this point," he said."It is crucial that that we understand that this is about equality and fairness. If there's some people who are excluded, then that's not equality. That's just discrimination."
A coalition for migrant rights is calling on Ottawa to give permanent residency to undocumented foreign residents of Canada, claiming anything less is discrimination.Six members of the Migrant Rights Network shared their views from the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa Monday morning. Spokesperson Syed Hussan said more than 500 organizations are represented in his network."Regularization is a litmus test of Prime Minister Trudeau's commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. He came promising support for immigrants, refugees, queer and trans people, women and the vulnerable," Hussan said."Most undocumented people arrive as refugees, as students and workers, who fall through the cracks of an unfair and uncaring immigration system that does not provide them protections. It is a system that is stacked against them and leaves them open to exploitation and abuse. Many lose their permits when they speak up against bad bosses."Hussan said if the undocumented received citizenship, they would "buy fridges and cars" and seek post-secondary education and spur $28 million of economic growth. He also claimed not a single Canadian believed in systemic racism."No one, not a single person in this country, believes that queer people, women, trans people, precarious people should be made more vulnerable by government policies. There is a simple solution here: regularization."However, Siobhan Vipond, executive vice-president of the Canadian Labour Congress, said "growing racism and xenophobia" were making the undocumented "even more vulnerable" to those who hired them."We urge the Prime Minister and all cabinet ministers to support and implement the comprehensive regularization program, as already developed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and recommended by the Minister of Immigration," she said.Frederique Chabot, Executive Director of Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, supports the rights of the undocumented and sex workers."Last April, an undocumented women named Perla Estrada was denied an emergency C-section at an Edmonton hospital. She was asked to pay $5,000 upfront for the procedure and was told that no doctor would see her until she paid. This is not an isolated incident. Over half of the people action Canada's support through our emergency abortion fund are undocumented or uninsured," Chabot said."The choice over what happens to our bodies and the ability to give birth safely and keep our babies safe should not be a privilege. These are fundamental rights."Jane Kirabira shared her story of fleeing her husband in Uganda who beat her up after discovering she was lesbian. Canada denied her refugee status in 2017. She also failed on appeal, and lost in federal court. Depsite being ordered deported in 2019, she remained in Canada."As an undocumented person, I'm treated unfairly at work, unable to access basic needs, and live every day with fear of deportation," she said.On behalf of the United Church, Emily Dwyer said, "All Canadian churches and faith-based organizations know that regularization of undocumented peoples is not only the moral thing to do, it is a recognition of our existing diverse communities."Hussan said the undocumented number anywhere from 20,000 to half a million."We believe that for this reason, a program should be brought in inclusive, to allow people to come out from the shadows and enter the family of rights by applying for permanent residency, instead of trying to determine caps at this point," he said."It is crucial that that we understand that this is about equality and fairness. If there's some people who are excluded, then that's not equality. That's just discrimination."
