Abstract
Although domestic and international human migration is known to occur within and across
Canadian borders, the legal rights of migrants (both legal and illegal) are poorly defined and
unclear. The experiences of migrants with precarious status, as well as the Canadian
communities in which they integrate into, remains largely unstudied despite growing
concentrations of the undocumented population in various major Canadian cities, such as
Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. Issues regarding acts of citizenship by politicized groups of
non-status persons and the normative and political challenges they pose to Canadian national
security, Canadian immigration laws and labour regulations.
Cities all over the world are addressing issues associated with their “undocumented” populations
by implementing “sanctuary” or “amnesty pathway” policies; if adopted by all Canadian
municipalities and/or the federal government, these sanctuary policies will address migrant rights
and their ability to access basic social services. Current Canadian regulations and administrative
policies concerning the access to public health and social services by undocumented persons are
in opposition with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as well as universal human
rights guarantees set out by the United Nations organization. Policy recommendations to address
ethical and medical issues concerning non-status persons can be made to all branches of the
Canadian government. This report suggests prioritizing the study of the long-term costs and
public health consequences associated with recent migratory populations in Canada, specifically
their entry into Canada via the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). Due to the
economic and demographic importance of immigration to the future of Canadian prosperity,
reform of the TFWP is necessary in order to address border security issues related to
undocumented labourers/human trafficking, increasing need to appropriately streamline legal
immigration for talent retention purposes, and update the Canadian worker’s visa system.
It is important to address the fundamental inequity and insecurity within the TFWP that exists
due to deficiencies within our current legal structure and immigration system. Failure to address
the long-standing concerns about mistreatment of migrant workers with temporary status enables
the acceptance of a second-tier worker program which normalizes human rights abuses—should
these deficiencies within our legal and immigration systems fail to be addressed our society will
further allow foreign nationals to be dehumanized, exploited and commoditized for expendable
labour purposes. The common notion that certain communities are somehow exempt from the
threat of labour abuses fails to take into account how complex the issue is and how widespread
the attitudes that justify it are.
Refereed
Yes
