On Wednesday March 4, the constituency office of Finance Minister Joe Oliver was picketed as part of the beginning of a nationwide “Campaign Against the 4 Year Limit on Migrant Workers.” Organised by the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC), “a coalition that includes migrant workers, allies, workers’ centres, legal aid clinics, and unions,” protesters …
by Yumna Siddiqi Immigrant workers are the first to experience the shift in the labour market towards an increase in temporary work, and the reduction of permanent jobs with benefits and legally enforceable health, safety and labour standards. Many immigrant workers obtain temporary jobs through agencies that are unregulated and fly-by-night. R’s experiences shed light …
by Yumna Siddiqi As changes are being considered to the Live-In Caregiver Program that would increase eligibility requirements for participants, decrease the number of applicants accepted, and make it more difficult for participants to obtain permanent residency, it seems timely to reflect on the experiences of caregivers who are presently in the program. B’s story, …
Connecting the Old Canada with the New Canada: a legacy of Racism By Tascha Shahriari-Parsa On May 23rd, 1914, the Komagata Maru steamship arrived in Vancouver with 376 passengers who were fleeing India. There were already over 2000 Indians living in Canada, primarily Punjabis, who faced blatant discrimination. Due to racist government policies to keep …
by Muriam Salman Over 80,000 migrants, including children, have been jailed without charge or trial under the Harper government. Many of these people end up detained in maximum security jails while immigration officials decide whether or not to release them. It is no wonder then, that undocumented residents in Toronto live under immense stress, faced …
by Aiyanas Ormond Reproduced with permission from author and The Mainlander: Vancouver’s Place for Progressive Politics AUTHOR’S NOTE | This article emerges from 5 years of working as a community organizer for the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU). Thank you to the VANDU Board for allowing me to lean on their community organizing work and …
by Martha Roberts The following content derives from a speech delivered by Martha Roberts, a practicing Registered Midwife in Vancouver and a member of the Alliance for People’s Health, at the 3rd Annual Day of Action for Refugee Health Care in Vancouver on June 16, 2014. The title of the original speech is “End Medical Profiteering! Demand Health …
By Daniel Tseghay Lynval Daley has been in immigration hold for three years while Canada attempts to deport him to Jamaica. As a refugee claimant who came from Nigeria more than nine years ago, Azuka Abagbodi was detained upon attending his monthly visit with immigration enforcement in August 2012. He’s since been deported. “What am …
By M. Cooke At 77 years old, most people are concerned with spending time with their family and having enough money for their retirement. In July, 2013, the Canadian government gave Djaber Kalibi and his family something worse. Upon returning from a trip to France, the Canadian government confiscated his passport and gave him a …
An Op-Ed by Joyce Valbuena (Centre d’appui aux Philippines/Centre for Philippine Concerns) First appearing at Montreal Serai and reproduced with permission Montreal | One of the biggest challenges of migrating to another country is leaving your family behind. In most cases the reason is economics. If you are from a developing country, it becomes inevitable for …
