‘A worker is a worker’: Community discussion urges more cohesive approach to migrant rights advocacy

As the status of migrant workers and international students remain unstable in Canada, the uOttawa Student Christian Movement organized a community discussion about migrant justice advocacy. 

Gathered at St. Albans Church on Feb. 7, members of various Ottawa community organizations, such as Migrante Ottawa and Science for the People, emphasized the importance of collaboration and solidarity to support migrant workers and international students. 

“A worker is a worker regardless of status,” said Aimee Beboso, chairperson at Migrante Ottawa.

Beboso said migrant workers in Canada are treated “like less than human.” Because of closed work permits, which binds migrant workers to their employer for the duration of the work permit, she said migrant workers are put in vulnerable positions without the option of alternatives.

According to a recent report from Amnesty International, migrant workers in the Canadian temporary foreign worker program are vulnerable to abuse. The report stated that workers face gender-based violence, discrimination, labour exploitation and physiological and physical abuse.

On March 7, Minister of Immigration Refugees and Citizenship of Canada (IRCC) Marc Miller announced that 6,000 undocumented construction workers already living in Canada will be able to attain legal status through their work in the housing sector. 

In the same news release, IRCC announced that foreign apprentices in construction programs can now temporarily complete their studies in Canada without a study permit to address the sector’s labour shortage.

Beboso said that because migrant issues are present across the country, organizations must work in solidarity for migrant justice. She added, migrant workers must be represented in the struggle for worker’s rights. 

While Migrante Ottawa primarily functions within the Filipino space, Beboso said communities who are affected by the same issue can collaborate because “we’re stronger together.”

“We all have a role … You all are a leader in your own community, but our communities have to talk to each other,” Beboso told the group, adding communities must find where they align to create a united front for migrants

One of the ways organizations could collaborate would be by having a referral system to direct migrants to other organizations that could provide better support and services to people across the country, Beboso said. 

Summer Ho, member co-ordinator of the Science for the People Ottawa chapter, said international students face a lot of pressure to stay in good academic standing in order to remain in the country while also working part-time jobs to send money back to their families under restricted work hours. 

She added that the government advertised Canada to international students as “the land full of opportunities.” Still, Ho said international students are still blamed when they can’t find a job.

Ho said that more collaboration is important to reach out to incoming students and welcome them into the community. Tangible actions could include offering mutual aid, reaching out to them in their first language to build trust, and encouraging them to form community and collaborate.

“The more people feel like that they are part of a community or society, the more they want to organize and fight for the betterment of the society,” Ho said.

Whenever Canadians’ living and working conditions worsen, migrants are blamed as the cause, Masoumi said. He added this undue attention on vulnerable groups lets economic and political decision-makers “off the hook,”

“I just wish that we could tackle racism in a way that Canadians would understand that they’re never going to get what they want through undermining other people,” Masoumi said.

One way Canadians can advocate for migrants is by putting migrant justice issues on the political agenda, especially during elections, Masoumi said, adding it’sall about keeping discussions alive.

“It’s important that we rely on one another and we’re not exclusively reliant on the state,” Masoumi said. Still, she said the government needs to be held to account for the services and needs it is responsible for providing. 

Ho said that hosting discussions, educating others and people understanding solidarity with everyone, not just Canadians, is important. 

“If we … live by our Canadian multiculturalism, like we truly embrace that, I don’t think that the government could prosecute a strong anti-immigration rhetoric,” Ho said.

Featured Image by Ana Maria Cadena/the Charlatan.