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.
Mother’s Day is here, and many of us migrant caregivers will be spending it alone without our families. We are worried that we will not be reunited with them if the caregiver pathway programs end in June 2024. This is not fair!
Join us and other migrant caregivers like you this Sunday, May 12 at 12pm for an in-person action planning meeting to make decisions about how we want to raise our voices for justice and permanent residency status for all!
By becoming a member, you will learn more about your rights as a worker, have access to support, build your leadership skills and be part of our movement to ensure rights and justice for all. Members participate in monthly meetings, as well as online and in-person activities and become part of a supportive community of workers & friends.
Members believe in building our collective power and being in solidarity with workers speaking up for justice anywhere in the world. See below for the list of responsibilities and benefits of becoming a member!
Member Responsibilities
Member Benefits
The federal government is asking Temporary Foreign Workers to share their opinions. This is a great opportunity to speak up for your rights.
Click this link to start: Government Survey for Migrant Workers and Speak Up for Your Rights!
Section 1
Questions 1 to 5
These first five questions are personal questions such as: Have you ever been a temporary foreign worker in Canada? The year you worked in Canada, the type of job you did, and where you worked (province and city).
Section 2
Question 6
Asks you if you are in a union.
Section 3
Questions 7 to 24
In this section you will find questions about your experiences in Canada, such as infomation about your rights as a migrant worker you know, where did you find said information. Were you able to exercise your rights, living and working conditions, send a report to ESDC, open work permit for vulnerable workers.
Remember to think of your worst experience in Canada when answering these questions. When you find a box use that opportunity to say why you want permanent resident status because it protects you from exploitation. Give examples of where you were mistreated.
Section 4
Questions 25 to 35
This section asks demographic information such as level of education, country of origin, language you speak, gender. Please respond acordingly.
Section 5
Question 36 to 39
This part is about your interest in coming back to Canada, and if you would apply for Permanent Residency.
Use this section to reiterate why you want permanent residency for all and why you cannot apply, because there are no access to PR for some groups of migrant workers such as Farmworkers.
Section 6
Send the survey – This is where you will find the Submit button for the survey.
Let’s unite together and make sure Canada does the right thing and grants Permanent Status For All – including people without papers and those who arrive in the future. Sign the petition
Do you want to stay informed about upcoming changes, events, and actions send us a WhatsApp message now and save our number in your phone contacts (This is a private and confidential list, and will not risk your job or status in any way):
Farmworkers (ENG): 905-324-2840
Trabajadores Agrícolas: 647-807-4722
Care workers: 647-782-6633
Fishery workers (English and Spanish): 506-251-7467
Media Contact: Syed Hussan, 416-453-3632, hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org
Migrant Welcome UN Slavery Rapporteur Call for Permanent Resident Status for All
Toronto, September 6, 2023 – The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC) welcomes the statement in Ottawa from United Nations Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery Professor Tomoya Obokata today in which he called for “paths to longterm or permanent residency be open to all migrant workers”.
The UN Rapporteur was in Canada on a country mission where he met with migrants including 40 members of (MWAC), Indigenous people, people with disability and incarcerated people, persons of African descent and other groups facing exploitation. In his End of Mission press conference today, Professor Obokata said that was “disturbed” that “certain categories of migrant workers are made vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery in Canada by the policies that regulate their immigration status, employment, and housing in Canada, and he is particularly concerned that this workforce is disproportionately racialized, attesting to deep-rooted racism and xenophobia entrenched in Canada’s immigration system”.
He also reiterated that “Newcomers who enter Canada outside of TFWP experience similar precarity. International students who work in excess of the permitted 20 hours per week, asylum-seekers awaiting their work permits, undocumented migrant workers, and those that have lost status are vulnerable to many of the same abusive practices, as they may not report abuses for fear of deportation. Employers who are aware of their status may exploit them under threat of denouncing them to immigration authorities.”
The UN Rapporteur also echoed a call for regularization of all undocumented people, a call that was also made in June 2023 by the UN Rapporteur on Migration.
“The United Nations Rapporteur has yet again stated what we all know, and migrants have been saying for decades – a two-tier system of immigration where over 1.2 million new temporary permits are being issued each year breeds exploitation, exclusion and violence. All migrants, including undocumented people, migrant students, workers and refugees, must have permanent resident status to protect themselves and ensure a fair society,” said Syed Hussan, executive director, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
Prime Minister Trudeau promised regularization of undocumented people and permanent resident status for migrant students, workers and families in a mandate letter commitment in December 2021, 20 months later, migrants continue to suffer.
Background:
Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
Migrant Workers Alliance for Change is a migrant-led, membership based organization of farmworkers, fishery workers, careworkers, undocumented people and current and former international students uniting for immigration and labour justice.
This information is up to date as for June 27, 2023. Please check back for updates
What was announced?
Temporary foreign workers with a “work permit” (see below for who may be excluded) that is valid on June 7, 2023, or temporary foreign workers with an expired work permit but who applied for an extension June 7, 2023, may be able to study for up to three years without a study permit.
What changed exactly?
Until now, if you were on a work permit, you could only study for a course of up to 6 months. For courses longer than 6 months, you would have to apply for a study permit. Now you will be able to study without a study permit until your work permit expires.
Does this change apply to refugees, post-graduate work permit holders or humanitarian applicants with valid work permits?
It is not clear at this time. Please fill in your information below and we will let you know when more information is provided by the federal government.
Can I study full-time?
Yes, you are allowed to study full time.
But the work experience you get while studying full time cannot be used for future immigration applications under Express Entry programs. If you study part-time, you will be able to count the full time work for your Express Entry applications.
If you are applying under the HCCP or HSWP or for the Agri-Food Immigraiton Pilot, it is not clear if you can count work while you are studying full time (but you can count work while you are studying part time). Please fill in your information below and we will let you know when more information is provided by the federal government.
What is part-time study?
Schools have different definitions. Usually anything less than 4 or 5 courses per semester is considered part-time. Check with the school before enrolling.
Can I start a full-year course if my work permit expires during the course?
We don’t know if you can start a course in September for one year (until September 2024), if your work permit expires in the middle (for example in November 2023). Please fill in your information below and we will let you know when more information is provided by the federal government.
Can I get accreditation for high-school equivalency or one-year post-secondary education in this way without applying for a study permit?
It is possible. However, you must make sure that the school you are applying to will provide you a certification that you can use. You must make sure that you choose part-time or full-time based on whether you need to count the work experience, and when your work permit expires.
Can I study online?
Yes, you can study online.
Do I have to pay international tuition fees?
Yes, you will have to pay international tuition fees, which is 3-4 times higher than domestic tuition fees.
What are the requirements to enroll at a college or university or to get a high school diploma?
Every college and university has different requirements. You should read their websites carefully to apply. Only trust the information that you read yourself. Do not trust the advice of education agents without checking yourself.
Fill Out This Form For More Information
The Home Child Care Worker Pilot (HCCP) and Home Support Worker Pilot (HSWP) programs will expire in June 2024. Many of us are still struggling to apply for permanent resident because of English test and education credential requirements that are excluding many. On top of that, many are still in the backlog waiting for years to be reunited with their families.
But we have an opportunity to win immigration changes for all of us care workers. This is why current and former care workers like you are meeting up to connect, talk about our struggles and what can we do to improve our lives for the better.
The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC) is an organization for and by migrants. We are current and former care workers, international students, health care, farm and fishery workers across Canada uniting to win rights at work and immigration justice. Get involved and join us to win fair rules, equal rights and PR status for all of us!
We at Migrant Workers Alliance for Change wants to make sure that we have a safe space for us to talk about the issues that affects our lives while being away from our families. We are a community, we are a family that supports each other to fight for equal rights and fair immigration rules. That is why we encourage you to come to our meetings that happens every month to meet others like you.
Event : Caregivers Monthly Online Meeting
Date: Sep 26, 2023 , Tuesday
Time: 8PM Toronto, 5PM BC, 6PM AB
Are you a member of MWAC?
Join us in Toronto on July 9 as we gather together to
Re-ignite the fire. Celebrate our victories. Decide the future. Unite for power.
To register, fill out the form below:
In June 2024, Home Child Care Pilot (HCCP) and Home Support Worker Pilot (HSWP) programs will expire. We don’t know what program will replace it. This is a crucial moment to meet and put our heads together and make plans to win changes and fairness to immigration rules for care workers.
Join us on Sunday, June 18 at 11am in Toronto (720 Spadina Ave, Suite 202, M5S 2T9) for a meeting to discuss our demands to the government and plan for actions. All former and current care workers are welcome to join. Bring your care worker friends especially those who haven’t applied for PR or those who can’t because they are not eligible. You can also tell us what your major concerns are and what you want to be changed. We are all in this together.
Register below so that we know how many of you are coming in order for us to determine if we have enough space for everyone.
Media Contact: Sarom Rho, 416-887-8315, sarom@migrantworkersalliance.org
Migrant Workers Alliance For Change Reiterates Calls For Regularization And Permanent Resident Status Following New Immigration Criteria
Categories of “high-need” industries highlight the urgent need for permanent residency in low-wage sectors occupied by migrants, including undocumented workers.
Toronto, May 31, 2023 — Canada’s first-ever launch of category-based immigration selection today highlights the ongoing exclusion of migrants and undocumented people from permanent residency. Many of the occupations announced today as priorities for permanent resident status are currently filled by temporary foreign workers, international students, recent graduates, and undocumented workers. But most of them will be unable to apply due to parallel rules. Undocumented people are excluded based on their lack of immigration status; while other migrants are excluded because of language tests that do not correspond to their ability to communicate, excessively high educational accreditation requirements, and being labeled as low-skilled by employers despite performing highly skilled work. Additionally, aging migrants are subjected to punitive measures through point reductions.
The newly selected occupations for priority consideration include nurse aides, orderlies, patient service associates, as well as other low-wage health providers, contractors, supervisors, construction trades, installers, repairers, servicers, truck drivers, and agricultural workers.
“Migrants in low-wage sectors, including undocumented people, are essential to our communities and deserve the rights and protections that permanent resident status provides, irrespective of their employment status. However, this latest attempt to connect workers to jobs highlights the overwhelming evidence that jobs that need to be filled are being done by racialized working class migrants, and they are being excluded from equal rights only possible through permanent residency. We call upon Prime Minister Trudeau to acknowledge the facts, fulfill his promise, regularize undocumented individuals, and ensure permanent resident status for migrant students and workers.”
– Sarom Rho, Organizer, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
Background
Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
Migrant Workers Alliance for Change is a migrant-led, membership based organization of farmworkers, fishery workers, careworkers, undocumented people and current and former international students uniting for immigration and labour justice.
