Migrant Spring is the theme of an outdoor protest led by The Migrant Rights Network this Saturday in Toronto.
Organizations across Canada make up the Migrant Rights Network, such as Unifor, Solidarity Across Borders, Association of Mexicans in Calgary, Butterfly Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Project, FCJ Refugee Centre, and No One is Illegal.
Immigrant workers, international students, and undocumented people bound together to develop a campaign for full immigration status for all since the pandemic.
Driven by how COVID-19 drastically impacted racialized and immigrant communities, Migrant Rights sent its first significant letter in 2020 to the federal government pushing for vaccine access, opening up the borders for estranged Canadian migrants or those visiting family, and housing services to be granted to all undocumented people.
The petition received over 37,000 signatures. The government responded by granting 85,000 people special permanent residency status.
Over the past few years, the organization has taken collective action before and after Parliament meetings to receive any response from the government, including handwriting 338 letters to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the renewal of post graduation work permits.
The protests were successful in diminishing the 20-hour work week limit for international students. However, it’s expiring on April 30 and the government hasn’t specified if it will continue to follow this request.
“Most migrants come here on work and study permits, but eventually are unable to renew their permits. That’s how they become undocumented. It’s not possible to not work because you can’t get health care or social assistance. You can’t put your kids in school. You can’t go to a shelter. Undocumented people aren’t working one job, they’re working multiple jobs,” Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC) Executive Director Syed Hussan told Now Toronto.
MWAC is one of the organizations part of the Migrant Rights Network and has 40,000 members of care workers, support workers, farmers, students, and other migrants across the country.
“We function as a democratic union so members come together and make decisions to implement action,” he said.
Migrant members put up posters with information about this weekend’s protest in their own neighborhoods and in their own languages all across Toronto.
Following the rise of asylum claims, the government announced Mexican citizens will need to receive electronic travel authorizations when applying for work permits, if they have a U.S. non-immigrant visa, or have had a Canadian visa in the past ten years.
“Canada stands to save billions with Mexican visa requirements,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller posted on X.
Thousands of care workers will also become undocumented after their programs expire on June 27, CityNews reports.
“In Dec. 2021, Trudeau promised status for regularization for undocumented people. This has been promised many times and now it’s being brought to cabinet in the spring, so we are going to the streets to say ‘It’s spring. We want the regularization program,’” Hussan said.
Parliament is set to meet on March 18 and spring begins the following day.
Other organizations supporting migrant rights have been popping up in Ontario, like the Healthcare For All Coalition.
Protesters will be gathering in Toronto, Charlottetown, Fredericton, Montreal, Ottawa, St. John, Vancouver, Victoria for the entire weekend.
Toronto’s protest will take place Saturday at 12 p.m. in Christie Pits Park and is open to both immigrants and any allies from all backgrounds.
