Citizenship and Immigration committee  There are 300,000 permanent residents coming into the country each year. We don't know what jobs they do. There are 280,000 plus people who come in the international mobility program with open permits. We don't know what jobs they do. There are 312,000 plus international students

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Permanent residency ensures rights. If people want to leave, they can leave. It's not about whether you can stay; it's the only way for people to get basic rights. That's how our system is structured. We're not saying let everyone stay. We're saying PR is the only way for people

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think the important thing is that's the announcement, but we haven't actually seen the forms. We haven't seen the details. The government's announced sectoral permits. We support sectoral permits as an interim step to permanent residency on arrival. What was said earlier was t

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I would say specifically it's granting landed status upon arrival. Migration is a permanent need; we need a permanent solution.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The system is 53 years old. It should have happened 53 years ago.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think first and foremost the whole notion of temporary migration needs to be removed from the system. We need a single-tier immigration system. In a polarized environment, it's when you create these various sectors that you hear that “these people are stealing jobs” or “those p

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Just in addition, on the caregiver program, right now the interim program that has been created excludes workers who are undocumented. It requires one year of work experience, which many caregivers will not be able to get. As currently defined, it's actually going to shut out a l

Citizenship and Immigration committee  In Ontario a few years ago, we did research and saw that, in an eight-month period, farm workers paid $350 million into EI, which they did not access. If you look at all HST, municipal taxes and federal taxes, migrant workers are actually subsidizing the social welfare system of

Citizenship and Immigration committee  There are a couple of things here. First, we're talking about different programs right now. The gentleman who was speaking before is in a high-wage program where people can come here with their families and have access to permanent residency. Most temporary foreign workers do not

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The interim program needs to be changed so that it includes all the workers. There's more to say, but I will leave it at that, and I look forward to your questions.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Good afternoon. As you introduced me, I am the co-founder and coordinator of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, and also of Migrant Rights Network. Together, we aim to represent all of the self-organized migrant and refugee groups in the country. Today, on behalf of our gr

Citizenship and Immigration committee  It's not the workers who put pressure on wages. It's the laws that reduce minimum wage. It's the fact that you've created a temporary system where people are tied to the employer and can get deported if they speak up. Have you ever—

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm saying a few different things. One, there should be streams for permanent immigration for low-wage and so-called low-skilled workers. I don't believe they're low-skilled; they're deemed low-skilled. Two, there should be an increase in minimum wage laws. Three, there should b

Citizenship and Immigration committee  It's important to understand that Canada has more responsibility because it's profited from the displacement of those people. When we talk about the conditions here being better, it's because they are worse there. We say we are here because you are there. This is what we have to

Citizenship and Immigration committee  We have members who've been coming into the seasonal agriculture program for 35-plus years. They've come every year for 35 years. They are not temporary workers. They've spent more than the majority of their lives here. They want to be here with their families. At the least, they