Madam Speaker, Canada was built by immigrants, from the Irish refugees fleeing the potato famine at the turn of the century to the Chinese workers who helped build the Canadian railway that united Canada.
These immigrants built Canada because they were able to establish roots in Canada, they were able to stay here permanently. Some got married, had children and grandchildren. They had a future in Canada. They built the nation.
Now, in 2009, the Conservatives treat migrant workers as economic units, not as nation builders. Here and now, across the country, we have over 364,000 temporary foreign workers who have little future in Canada. Last year alone, 192,519 were brought into Canada as migrant workers. They toil year after year but most of their children and their parents will not have a chance to come to Canada and join them. This is unfair, unjust and un-Canadian. If foreign workers are good enough to work here, these workers should be good enough to stay here permanently.
Through the exploitation of tens of thousands of migrant workers and their families, the Conservative government is driving down wages and working conditions for Canadian workers.
The Conservatives promised to fix it, but they did not deliver. They said they would fix the live-in caregivers program, yet today no action. There is nothing temporary about live-in caregivers. As long as we do not have a national universal child care program or a home care program for seniors, these caregivers are needed in Canada permanently.
By offering the chance of permanent status to these workers, we can eliminate unfair conditions and wages, just as the rest of Canadians expect for themselves.
All workers should have access to employment insurance and Canada pension plan since they contribute to it, but right now migrant workers cannot get it. They should have access to the health care system because they pay for it through their taxes, but most of them cannot get it in the first few months. The same holds true for all health and safety protection and workers compensation if they are injured at the job. They should have the right to join a union. Temporary foreign workers deserve the same rights as Canadians take advantage of every day.
Families are the foundation for healthy and strong communities and every individual should be afforded the same rights.
The citizenship and immigration committee spent two years and formulated two reports with many recommendations to stop the exploitation of temporary foreign workers and welcome them as nation builders, not just economic units.
When will the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism heed the call of his colleagues and stem the flow of migrant workers into this country, improve the working conditions for those who are here, provide them with hope so they can stay here permanently to help build communities that are harmonious, healthy, diverse and vibrant?