Migrant workers in Sudbury to demand 'status for all' as part of Canada-wide rallies

Migrant workers and supportersin Sudbury, Ont., andother Canadian cities will gather on Saturday to mark International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The Status for All ralliesfor migrants, refugees and international students areslatedto also be held inToronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton andNiagara Falls, Ont., and willhighlight personal stories about injustice and discrimination while living in Canada.

Migrant workers can be hired under the federal Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), which was established in 1966. Temporary foreign workers can also be hired under the agricultural stream of a federal immigration pilot project for occupations requiring lower levels of formal training.

Canada is increasingly becoming reliant on temporary foreign workers to fill labour shortage gaps, with the number of workersincreasingfrom about 111,000in2000, to777,000in2021, according to Statistics Canada.

"We will be joining thousands of migrants all across Canada who are holding rallies and events to bring awareness to the need for status for all," said Scott Florence, executive director for the Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre (SWEAC).

The organization is behind the local Saturday afternoon eventat the main branch of the Greater Sudbury Public Library.

According to Florence, many migrant workers face racism.

"Let's say your employer is abusive or exploitativeand you decide that you'd like to quit. You now have 10 days inwhich you are required to exit the country, so it doesn't really give you any access to justice or any stability," he said.

Florence said many migrant workers, undocumented workersorinternational students who want to work part time, are too afraid to seek accountabilityfroman exploitative employer.

Saturday's events across Canada are meant to raise awareness about those injusticesand call on the federal government to put in place a regularization program, something advocates have been calling on for years.

In December 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked his minister of Immigration, refugee and citizenship "to build on existing pilot programs to further explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities."

Florence said some peoplewithout status end up workingunder the table and risk deportationto make ends meet.

"Everybody that comes to Canada, currently in today's age, comes for the same reason that all of our ancestors did: to make better lives for themselves," Florence said. "It's only fair they have the same access to services and support that our grandparents did, our great-grandparents didand that we ourselves have."

He said "the pressure, the struggles and the stress" that puts on people is "fundamentally unfair from a human rights perspective."

Immigration minister has met with migrants, IRCC says

In an email toCBC News, Immigration, Refugees andCitizenship Canada (IRCC)said work to deliver the mandate commitment from the prime minister is underway.

The email also saidImmigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser has met with around 100 undocumented migrants from around the country.

In January,it was announcedIRCC is expanding the Out-of-Status Construction Workers Pilot program, doubling its scope and extending the initiative until January 2024. About 1,000 individuals are to be accepted through this initiative over the next year.