I, Nicole Filion, will be making the presentation for the Ligue des droits et libertés.
The Ligue des droits et libertés is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization whose aim is to make known, to defend and promote the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of the rights recognized in the International Bill of Human Rights. The league is also a member of the Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme.
In these hearings, we will speak more specifically on the question of undocumented workers and temporary foreign workers. We understand that the purpose of the study that the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration intends to prepare following these hearings is to understand the factors involved and to suggest possible policy actions.
The league feels that, to get a clear understanding of the factors involved, we must first of all consider the present causes of migrations, which are often related to situations involving human rights violations. As the Global Commission on International Migration states:
[...] the impact of globalization has been uneven, and growing disparities are to be found in the standard of living and level of human security available to people in different parts of the world. An important result of these rising differentials has been an increase in the scale and scope of international migration.
When you consider the question of undocumented workers and temporary foreign workers, you must bear in mind that many of the world's migrants have fled their home countries as a result of the conflicts, misery and prosecution they suffered there. These unlivable situations are the result of the inequalities between north and south, of the support provided by western governments to regimes that do not respect human rights, the control of transnational corporations over governments and economies, and armed conflicts often supported, if not conducted, by the major powers.
Furthermore, when it comes to suggesting courses of action in the policy area, it is the principle of equality with dignity and rights that must form the foundation of the practices of governments in this area, which therefore compels respect for all the rights protected by the International Bill of Human Rights. This principle of equality requires that the states, including Canada, respect the economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights of all persons, whatever their status, including migrants, immigrants and refugees.
This principle was moreover recognized by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 2006, which emphasized that migrants in irregular situations, to the extent they were often in situations of vulnerability, particularly need their rights to be protected, specifically their civil, political, economic and social rights. If there's one principle that, in our view, should be adopted by your committee as a recommendation to be made in your study, it is that one.
Let us first examine the issue of undocumented workers. According to various assessments, there are between 200,000 and 500,000 individuals in irregular situations in Canada. Canada's immigration policy is increasingly restrictive and has serious consequences for immigrants and refugees. It has resulted in a growing number of individuals living in irregular situations. These persons find themselves in situations where the lack of recognition of their rights and of access to recourse mechanisms is part of their everyday lives.
We would note some deficiencies in the immigration policy: the lack, to date, of a right of appeal for refugee claimants and the evaluation of claims by a single board member; the maintaining of a large number of individuals under moratorium in a legal void; and the narrowness of criteria for granting permanent residence on compassionate grounds.
These deficiencies, and many others, require a thorough reform of our Canadian immigration policy. For the moment, in view of the fact that many undocumented workers have fallen victim to the system's deficiencies and that it is impossible to review the selection processes that were conducted a long time ago, the Ligue requests a temporary moratorium on deportations and the introduction of a program for the regularization of undocumented individuals living in Canada at the time the program is put in place.
Regularization must grant permanent status to persons without status, and the regularization program must have no impact on regular acceptances.
Pending the regularization process, to ensure that the rights of the persons concerned are respected, the Ligue believes access must be provided, in particular, to health services, social services and education.
In view of the time allotted to us, we will now address the issue of temporary foreign workers.
We would mention, first of all, the negative impact of the temporary foreign worker program on the rights of those who are admitted in what are considered unskilled job categories.
Ms. Vaugrante spoke extensively about the conditions of individuals in two categories: domestic workers and agricultural workers.
And now to our recommendations in this area: that all persons selected in a “worker” category, regardless of their recognized qualifications, should obtain permanent residence upon arrival in Canada; that they not be compelled to live at the their employers' homes; that measures be put in place for the government inspection of housing conditions in employers' homes; that work permits not be linked to a single employer, but rather to a specific sector of activity and that this restriction be limited in time; having regard to federal and provincial fields of jurisdiction, that a government mechanism be established to oversee respect for foreign workers' rights, both when they are recruited and when they are employed in Canada, and that that include a recourse mechanism.
As Ms. Vaugrante mentioned, we are asking that Canada join the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.