Advocates urge MP’s to not exclude migrant workers

Advocates urge MP’s to not exclude migrant workers

Migrant groups, including Migrante B.C. and Sanctuary Health, help prepare relief goods for migrant workers who were affected by floods in B.C. recently.
(Photo by Migrante B.C.)

In the wake of B.C. floods

By Veronica Silva Cusi
LJI Reporter
The Philippine Reporter

With the opening of the 44th Parliament on November 22, migrant rights advocates are once more calling on the government to include migrant workers in their agenda.

Days before the Throne Speech that traditionally marks the opening of a new Parliament, Migrants Rights Networks (MRN), a Canada-wide alliance fighting for migrant justice, urged parliamentarians to consider the plight of migrant works in precarious working conditions, brought further into light due to the recent heavy floods in B.C.

MRN said hundreds of migrant farm workers have lost their jobs due to heavy floods and mudslides in B.C. But these migrant workers are not allowed to work for other employers due to their restrictive work permits.

“Some have been forced to continue to work through the rain and flooding,” said MRN in a statement.

“We cannot let migrants continue to be put in such precarious and dangerous situations,” added the statement. The group once more called for full and permanent status for all, saying “it is the only mechanism to ensure migrants have equal rights and protections.”

“Many farm workers are concerned that they would be returning home sooner rather than later because there may be no work for them. The priority is ensuring that they are able to get employment insurance (EI) even if they leave the country,” said Syed Hussan, executive director, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, a member of MRN, in an interview with The Philippine Reporter.

Last November 21, the federal government said some requirements will be waived to allow those affected by the floods in B.C. to have access to EI.

“We are asking for guarantees that that [EI] is available to migrant farm workers even if they go home because they have lost work before the completion of their contract,” Hussan added.

Merritt, B.C. Flooding. Photo taken on November 17, 2021.
Photo by Stepan; https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=112607531
https://commons.wikimedia.org

On Sunday, November 28, on Twitter, @MigrantRightsCA posted: “Migrant farm workers are calling on @JustinTrudeau to ensure #OpenWorkPermits and #StatusforAll. The season is almost over, workers have lost income & aren’t allowed to find other work. The government is only offering Band Aid solutions like transfers and extending tied permits.”

Sanctuary Health in B.C., a member of the network, have launched a fundraising campaign to help the flood victims. According to the fundraising website, Action Network.org, Sanctuary Health are distributing supplies and $100 prepaid cards. The original fundraising target was exceeded, so now they have set a new target. As of press time (Nov 29), they have raised more than $597,000.

Migrante B.C., a member of MRN, is working with Sanctuary Health to locate migrant Filipino workers who may have been affected by the floods.

In an interview with The Philippine Reporter last week, Chris Sorio of Migrante B.C. said they are organizing drop-off locations and schedules to collect much-needed resources for migrant workers. Among the help needed are food and clothing.
Sorio said they are seeking migrant workers to help refer them to groups, such as Sanctuary Health, that are providing aid. “Kailangan (They have to be) migrant worker because citizens have EI,” he said.

“Gusto naming ma-ensure na di sila – migrant workers — magipit dahil di nila alam ang kanilang karapatan and to ensure na may access sila sa services kung di nila alam na may services. (We want to ensure that they are not in dire straits, that they know their rights, and that they have access to services if they don’t know that there are such services),” Sorio added.

With the floods, migrant groups are urging Members of Parliament to address the climate emergency as the country focuses on rebuilding from COVID-19.

“This new government … seems to be wanting to focus on rebuilding from COVID. We’re saying that to rebuild from COVID, everyone in the country has to have equal rights, and the only way to ensure they have equal rights is that everyone has full and permanent immigration status,” said Hussan. “It’s clear that migrant communities are still in crisis. The effects of COVID continue either because of job loss or people still having COVID, they continue having difficulty accessing basic services, and all the people stuck in the backlog. We’re calling on MP across the country to make migrant justice a priority in this coming mandate.”

To get their message across, MRN members are organizing meetings with MPs across the country this weekend of December 3 to December 5. Some Filipino groups, including Migrante B.C., are organizing to meet with MPs this weekend.

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Veronica Silva Cusi is Local Journalism Initiative reporter.