Thank you. We'll be sharing the presentation.
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in these consultations. This is a critical moment for discussion on undocumented and temporary workers.
Like many of the other groups this morning who have spoken, we are also very concerned by recently introduced changes to the immigration legislation as part of the federal budget. These changes do limit access to permanent resident status. As we understand it, the minister would have the power to establish categories of applications, the order in which they would be processed, and numerical limits, with the result that some eligible applications would not even be processed. Further restricting access to permanent resident status can be expected to only increase the number of undocumented persons in Canada.
We are also very concerned with projected increases in the number of temporary work permits to be processed relative to applications granting permanent status. Temporary status places workers at increased risk of exploitation, and temporary workers lack voice and vote in our political system.
We believe that Canada should welcome newcomers as fully equal participants in Canadian society, and access to permanent status is key to assuring that equality.
The Mennonite New Life Centre has served newcomers to Canada for the past 25 years. The most vulnerable group of newcomers that we see and accompany and serve are people without status.
We've sent a brief to committee members outlining in further detail our recommendations and concerns, but I'd like to invite you this morning to take a few moments to listen to Mariela as she tells a bit of her story. Mariela is a talented and committed student intern at the Mennonite New Life Centre, and she knows first-hand what it is to live without status.