Since September 3, governments at the federal and provincial level have restricted the ability of certain temporary migrant workers to renew their work authorization on Canadian and Quebec soil. This decision comes in a context where, for several months already, these same governments have been unfairly accusing temporary residents of all ills (the housing crisis, the rise in inflation or the decline of French in Quebec, among others). , rather than evaluating their own government policies in these respects. Although many agree that the regulatory framework surrounding labor migration in Canada needs to be changed, one question remains following recent announcements: what about the migrant workers already among us?
Indeed, due to these unilateral and sudden reorientations, thousands of workers already present in the territory find themselves unable to renew their status or simply risk losing their jobs. Recent decisions specifically target low-wage people, who have often had to go into considerable debt to come and work here and who, despite everything, contribute greatly to the development of our communities. They are specialized educators, medical assistants, cleaning men and women in hotels or even employees of McDonald’s or Tim Hortons, often considered “rare gems” by their employers.
The very people who were praised during COVID as being essential to our society today find themselves relegated to the rank of “disposable merchandise”. These workers came to Canada after being invited, most of them leaving their families behind to contribute to the development of our economy, and overnight, their conditions of stay are changed without notice.
In their rush to make drastic changes, decision-makers too often forget that any abrupt decision on immigration, no matter how small, always significantly affects human lives. There is no shortage of examples, such as the imposition of the “four-year maximum rule” under the Harper era, and invariably reveal the same trend: a considerable increase in the precariousness of migrants and a significant risk that they go underground.
By obstructing the renewal of work permits, government policymakers are therefore not solving the long-term problems associated with the temporary foreign worker program, and above all they are creating new related problems, both for the workers themselves and for members of the general population, who risk finding themselves without educators for their children or even without employees for their restaurants.
In this context, it is urgent that governments adopt exceptional measures for temporary workers already present: that they allow them to continue working in the country under the same conditions as when they arrived and that they offer, upon expiry , the possibility of accessing permanent residence as a transitional measure.
Even if an in-depth reform of the temporary work system under employer-linked status proves more than necessary, nothing justifies the fact that this change is once again being carried out to the detriment of workers, their health and their physical and emotional safety, as well as their families. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
*Also co-signed this text: Eugénie Depatie-Pelletier, associate professor in the Department of Geography, Laval University; Edward Dunsworth, professor of history, McGill University; Aline Lechaume, Department of Industrial Relations, Université Laval; Danièle Bélanger, Department of Geography, Université Laval; Luin Goldring, Professor, Department of Sociology, York University; Adèle Garnier, Department of Geography, Laval University; Ndeye Dieynaba Ndiaye, Department of Legal Sciences, UQAM; Stéphanie Garneau, School of Social Work, University of Ottawa; Guillermo Candiz, professor, Human Plurality center, University of French Ontario; Stéphanie Arsenault, School of social work and criminology, Laval University; Cheolki Yoon, School of Social Communications, Saint Paul University; Christina Clark-Kazak, School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa; Idil Atak, Faculty of Law, Toronto Metropolitan University; Lucille Guibert, Department of Historical Sciences, Laval University; Stéphanie Gaudet, School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, CIRCEM; France Houle, professor, Faculty of Law, University of Montreal; Denise Helly, National Institute of Scientific Research; Marie-Jeanne Blain, associate professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Montreal; Nicole Gallant, National Institute of Scientific Research (INRS); Marie-Laure Dioh, Department of Administrative Sciences, University of Quebec en Outaouais; Denise L. Spitzer, Professor, School of Public Health, University of Alberta; Tatiana Sanhueza M, InterActions Center researcher; Lara Gauthier, professor, School of Public Health, University of Montreal; Martin Gallié, professor of law, Department of Legal Sciences, UQAM; Myriam Gauthier, Faculty of Nursing, Université Laval; Audrey Macklin, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto; Lauriane Palardy, general director, Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers (DTMF); Rosita Vargas Diaz, professor, School of Social Work and Criminology, Université Laval; Mylène Coderre, National Institute of Public Health of Quebec; Jill Hanley, School of Social Work, McGill University; Manuel Salamanca Cardona, Center for Immigrant Workers; Carole Yerochewski, Center for Immigrant Workers; Pablo Madriaza, professor, Department of psychoeducation and social work, University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières; Isabelle-Ann Leclair Mallette, University Institute for Young People in Difficulty; Marie-Pierre Boucher, Department of Industrial Relations, University of Quebec en Outaouais; Vincent Chevarie, responsible for political files and communications, At the bottom of the ladder; Yanick Noiseux, Department of Sociology, University of Montreal; Anta Niang, Frontline University Institute of Health and Social Services; Sid Ahmed SOUSSI, sociology, UQAM; Naïma Bentayeb, SHERPA University Institute; Amel Zaazaa, Observatory for Migrant Justice; Eloy Rivas-Sánchez, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Athabasca University; Yves Le Bouthillier, professor, Common Law section, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa.