Category: Uncategorized

Stop Charles’ Deportation to Homophobia & Death! 

My name is Charles Mwangi and I am a bisexual man from Kenya. I fled to Canada in 2019 because I was at risk of being killed back home. Before coming, I was told people like me would be safe in Canada. But now my life is in danger again because I have been asked to buy a ticket to leave the country by July 31 – less than two weeks away. 

Right now, Kenya is considering passing laws similar to Uganda which would allow people like me to be executed. The media is full of news about the targeting of gay people. 

Since coming to Canada in 2019, I’ve worked in the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic as a personal support worker. I took care of elderly people when no one else did. I now work at two shelters for both youth and adults as a housekeeper and personal support worker  in Toronto.

I have been speaking publicly and in the media about my sexuality – including in the Toronto Star, City News and CTV. People in Kenya know who I am, and if I am deported, my life will be in grave danger. 

I’m waiting for a decision on my permanent residency application based on humanitarian grounds. But this application doesn’t stop me from being deported. 

I am reaching out to you for your support! Can you take 30 seconds to email the Immigration and Public Safety Ministers, and your local MP, using this tool below. Please help stop my deportation and the 40 deportations that happen everyday to people like me.

Two years ago, Prime Minister Trudeau promised to regularize the status of hundreds of thousands of undocumented people like Charles. Yet, he is now on the brink of deportation. We must hold the Prime Minister and Ministers accountable to keep this promise and protect people like Charles.

More on Charles’ story:

Toronto Star – He came out as bisexual and undocumented to urge Canada to deliver on overdue plan to grant permanent status to people like him

City News – Undocumented bisexual migrant fighting for status to save his life

City News – Undocumented 2SLGBTQI+ migrants call on PM for more protections

Farm Workers

Support migrant farmworkers affected by Hurricane Beryl: Donate here

Making history as the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record, Hurricane Beryl left a trail of destruction that devastated migrant farmworker communities in the Caribbean. Farmworkers feed you and sustain the Canadian economy – now they are asking for your support to keep food on their families’ tables and rebuild their homes.

40 farmworker members of MWAC and their families in Jamaica and St Vincent have been impacted by the storm and we are seeking $150/member in emergency funds for food, roof repairs, and flood recovery.

  • $10 can buy 10 chicken noodle soup mix packets
  • $58 can purchase a large zinc roofing sheet
Migrant Students

Stop PGWP Injustice: Let workers stay

Migrant workers deserve rights, not punishment. Tens of thousands of graduated international students on post-graduate work permits (PGWP) who completed studies, worked for years and built their homes in Canada are facing mass deportation because their permits are expiring. Send a message below to PM Trudeau, Immigration Minister Miller and your MP to stop PGWP injustice and let workers stay.

If you want to share your own story, add it in the petition text directly below.

Endorsed by: Cooper Institute, the PEI PGWP Holders, the PEI Action Team for Migrant Worker Rights, and BIPOC USHR

2024 MWAC Annual Members Assembly & Memberhip Renewal

On July 28, MWAC Members across the country are gathering in Toronto and Vancouver to celebrate our wins, build unity, and renew our membership! This is our time to connect and recommit to building our power together.

Sign up using the form below:

Win: Lindo family deportation stopped for 1 year! Regularize Everyone Now!

The Lindo family – including George and his wife Jillandre, and their four children, including Tamarri, a rising track and field star and Olympic hopeful, and four-year-old Tameliah, who is a Canadian citizen – have been issued 1 year Temporary Resident Permits as well as work and study permits after a cross-country outcry and sustained media attention. 

Their deportation scheduled for July 10, 2024 was stopped because nearly 2,000 people wrote letters to Prime Minister Trudeau and Immigration Minister Marc Miller (scroll below for the petition), and hundreds of others made phone calls, calling on the federal government to take action. 

Prime Minister Trudeau promised regularization – permanent resident status for undocumented people – in December 2021. Had the promise been kept, this family would not have gone through this crisis.

Take action now: Send an email to PM Trudeau now and demand that he Regularize Everyone!

“After much tribulation and stress, finally receiving a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) from IRCC, allowing my family and me to stay in Canada for a year, feels like a breath of fresh air. While the journey towards permanent residency continues, this TRP is significant and brings renewed hope for the future. I’m grateful to all parties involved for their continued and unwavering support. At the same time, this should not have happened, and should not happen to anyone. I urge the government to keep their promise and regularize all undocumented people.”
– George Lindo.

“Thank you everyone who has supported us. I am grateful the Lindo family is finally securing status—status that should have been granted when the family first arrived in Canada. I also know that there are many others like them who are deported and killed. To stop this from happening again, the government must grant permanent resident status to undocumented people arriving in Canada to make a better life.”

– Aidan Simardone, the family’ immigration lawyer. 

Tamarri is an exceptional athlete with deep ties to his community. He deserves to stay. At the same time, every day at least 40 people are torn away from their families and communities and deported to places of danger and death despite Prime Minister Trudeau promising to ensure equal rights for undocumented people. Every one of them are beloved champions of their communities, each of them deserves life and status.

The Lindo family fled to Canada in 2019 to escape targeted violence in Jamaica. George, a political opposition member, survived three assassination attempts. Despite their desperate situation, their refugee claim was denied due to lack of legal representation. Despite their deep ties to Canada, their humanitarian and compassionate application – the last resort for undocumented people – was also denied. The TRP provides them one year within which to try to gain status again through the humanitarian and compassionate application process – unless a regularization program is implemented by then.

Take action now: Send an email to PM Trudeau now and demand that he Regularize Everyone!

More on the family’s story:

Yes Everything – On Canada Day, a family fights a deportation order

CBC News – Toronto track star with Olympic dreams faces deortation.

The Hill Times – One family’s fight to stay in Canada while feds mull making it easier for undocumented people to gain status.

CTV News- He had dreams of running for Canada in the Olympics, then he learned his family would be deported.

SportsMax – Olympic hopeful Tamarri Lindo faces deportation to Jamaica amidst Olympic dreams.

Care Workers

Migrant Caregivers Picnic

Come and join us on Sunday, July 7 from 12 – 4PM at Dufferin Grove Park, just in front of Dufferin Mall. Let’s talk about the new program and what still needs to be done over food and drinks. We will also  hear from some of the former careworkers and other organizers about the journey on how we got the new program. There will be music, food and drinks and you are encourage to bring your friends and co workers.

Farm Workers

Troubles with Taxes: Caribbean Seasonal Farmworkers

Did you know there are changes to your contract this year that impact your taxes? According to section 7, by signing the contract you are designating the liaison office to submit and file your tax returns. This means you no longer have a choice to file your own taxes or hire a professional!

There are many issues with giving the liaison office responsibility for taxes, including delayed and misplaced tax returns, lack of access to CRA account, and even theft. This isn’t fair!

What problems have you experienced with the liaison filing your taxes? Let us know so that we can collect evidence and show how big this problem is! Together we can unite and win change to benefit all farmworkers and our families.​

Trabajador@s Agrícolas

50 Aniversario de la llegada de trabajador@s Agrícolas Temporales Mexican@s a Canadá

Hoy se marca un hito sombrío: el 50 aniversario del Programa de Trabajador@s Agrícolas Temporales de México (PTAT) en Canadá. Desde su creación el 17 de junio de 1974, miles de trabajador@s mexican@s han viajado a Canadá cada año para trabajar en campos e invernaderos, alimentar a sus familias y contribuir a la economía canadiense.

Leonel Nava, un trabajador agrícola veterano de México y miembro de la Alianza de Trabajadores Migrantes por un Cambio, ha sido parte de este programa durante 13 años. Nava enfatiza: “Este año la conmemoración de los 50 años del PTAT, y repito, es una conmemoración, no es una celebración porque no se pueden celebrar 50 años de injusticia y explotación”.

La Realidad del Trabajo Agrícola de l@s Migrantes en Canadá

L@s trabajador@s agrícolas migrantes desempeñan un papel crucial a la hora de llevar comida a las mesas canadienses, pero se enfrentan a una intensa explotación. Estos incluyen permisos restringidos por l@s empleador@s que limitan su movilidad laboral y hacen imposible hacer valer sus derechos, exclusión de derechos laborales básicos y protecciones como horas máximas de trabajo y pago de horas extras, y condiciones de vida deficientes en viviendas controladas por los empleadores. A menudo, se ven obligados a trabajar en entornos inseguros, son expuestos a pesticidas peligrosos y maquinaria pesada sin el entrenamiento adecuado. Como resultado de estas leyes injustas, trabajadores agrícolas migrantes enfrentan lesiones, abusos y, a veces, incluso la muerte, con poco o ningún recurso para obtener justicia.

Gabriel Camacho, un campesino mexicano de Tlaxcala—el primer estado mexicano en unirse al PTAT—comparte su experiencia: “Hemos soportado mucha explotación por parte de l@s patrones porque siempre nos han visto como máquinas que no se cansan, como robots que no tienen derecho a protestar, no les importan nuestros sentimientos y el dolor de estar lejos de la familia”.

Una industria en crecimiento, una injusticia en aumento

A pesar de su papel esencial, a menudo se pasan por alto las contribuciones de l@s trabajador@s migrantes. Sólo en 2022, la industria agroalimentaria de Canadá generó la asombrosa cifra de 143.800 millones de dólares, lo que representa alrededor del 7% del PIB del país. 

Sin embargo, l@s trabajador@s migrantes que son fundamentales para este éxito son sistemáticamente excluid@s de los programas de residencia permanente, incluido el Piloto de Migración Agroalimentario, que les deja sin los derechos básicos de los que disfruta cualquier otra persona. 

Estatus de residente permanente a la llegada

Luisa Ortiz-Garza, organizadora de la Alianza de Trabajadores Migrantes por un Cambio agrega: “Durante 50 años, l@s trabajador@s agrícolas mexican@s han sacrificado sus vidas, sus cuerpos y sus familias para hacer crecer la economía canadiense, pero han sido excluid@s de los derechos y protecciones que sólo se puede acceder a través del estatus de residente permanente. Hoy, l@s trabajador@s agrícolas mexican@s quieren recordarles a l@s canadienses que son seres humanos que merecen igualdad, justicia y dignidad”.

Trabajador@s agrícolas temporales regresar a Canadá año tras año, a menudo por hasta ocho meses seguidos. Solo en 2023, llegaron 24,772 trabajador@s desde México bajo el PTAT. Si bien pasan una parte importante de sus vidas en Canadá, est@s trabajador@s todavía se ven privad@s de los derechos y la seguridad que conlleva el estatus de residente permanente.

El aniversario del ingreso de México al PTAT no es sólo un momento para reflexionar sobre el pasado, sino una oportunidad crítica para abordar los problemas sistémicos que han plagado el programa durante décadas. Es un llamado a la acción para que Canadá dé prioridad a los derechos y la dignidad de tod@s l@s trabajador@s migrantes. 

Únase a nosotr@s para pedirle al gobierno federal que garantice el estatus de residente permanente para tod@s.

50th Anniversary of Mexican Seasonal Agricultural Workers in Canada

En Español

Today marks a somber milestone: the 50th anniversary of the Mexican Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) in Canada. Since its inception on June 17, 1974, thousands of Mexican workers have traveled to Canada each year to toil in fields and greenhouses, feeding families and contributing to the Canadian economy.

Leonel Nava, a veteran farm worker from Mexico and a member of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, has been part of this program for 13 years. Nava stresses, “This year’s commemoration of the 50 years of the SAWP, and I repeat it is a commemoration, not a celebration because you cannot celebrate 50 years of injustice and exploitation.”

The Reality of Migrant Farm Work in Canada

Migrant agricultural workers play a crucial role in putting food on Canadian tables, yet they face intense exploitation. These include employer-restricted permits that limit their job mobility and makes it impossible to assert their rights, exclusion from basic labor rights and protections such as maximum hours of work and overtime pay, and substandard living conditions in employer-controlled housing. Often, they are forced to work in unsafe environments, have to deal with hazardous pesticides and heavy machinery without proper training. As a result of these unfair laws, migrant agricultural workers face injuries, abuse, and sometimes even death, with little to no recourse for justice.

Gabriel Camacho, a Mexican farm worker from Tlaxcala—the first Mexican state to join the SAWP—shares his experience: “We have endured a lot of exploitation from the bosses because they have always seen us as machines that don’t get tired, like robots that have no right to protest, they do not care about our feelings and pain of being away from the family.”

A Growing Industry, A Growing Injustice

Despite their essential role, the contributions of migrant workers are often overlooked. In 2022 alone, Canada’s agri-food industry generated a staggering $143.8 billion, making up about 7% of the country’s GDP. 

Yet, migrant workers who are fundamental to this success are systematically excluded from permanent residency programs, including the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot, which leaves them without the basic rights enjoyed by anyone else.

Permanent Resident Status on Arrival

Luisa Ortiz-Garza, a staff organizer with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change adds, “For 50 years Mexican farm workers have sacrificed their lives, their bodies, and their families to grow the Canadian economy but have been excluded from rights and protections that are only accessible through permanent resident status. Today, Mexican farm workers want to remind Canadians that they are humans who deserve equality, fairness and dignity.”

Seasonal agricultural workers return to Canada year after year, often for up to eight months at a time. In 2023 alone, 24,772 workers arrived from Mexico under the SAWP. While they spend a significant portion of their lives in Canada, these workers are still deprived of the rights and security that come with permanent resident status.

The anniversary of Mexico’s entry into the SAWP is not just a moment to reflect on the past, but a critical opportunity to address the systemic issues that have plagued the program for decades. It is a call to action for Canada to prioritize the rights and dignity of all migrant workers. 

Join us to call on the federal government to ensure permanent resident status for all.