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P.E.I. advocates join call for permanent residency for migrant workers in Canada

P.E.I. advocates are leaping on board with a nationwide name to the federal authorities to grant full residency to multiple million migrants at the moment dwelling in Canada.

Members of the Migrant Rights Community, a bunch of migrant rights advocates and civil society organizations throughout the nation, have known as on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser to grant everlasting residency for over 1.7 million migrants already within the nation.

“About half 1,000,000 of these individuals are right here undocumented, and the opposite 1.2 million are right here on momentary standing,” mentioned Ryan MacRae, a member of the P.E.I. Motion Workforce for Migrant Employee Rights, which has joined in on the decision to motion.

“We really feel the one solution to shield people who’re coming right here to work is to do that. If individuals are ok to come back right here and work, they’re ok to remain and construct a group right here.”

MacRae, a migrant employee program co-ordinator for the Cooper Institute, mentioned as a result of present immigration and momentary international employee packages, migrants trying to change their administrative center or pursue everlasting residency to allow them to entry companies like well being care and even carry their households over will face a number of hurdles.

“All of these points are problems with standing,” he mentioned.

“If folks had been granted everlasting residency, all of these points would sort of be solved. They might have the mobility that each one different Canadians have.”

Lots of the points come from the necessities wanted to qualify for residency, mentioned MacRae. The largest of these points is the necessity for a full-time work contract that lasts a minimum of two years.

For these within the Seasonal Agricultural Employee Program in P.E.I., which grants eight-month work contracts to migrants, it means instantly they don’t qualify, he mentioned.

The opposite difficulty is round language obstacles. MacRae mentioned these looking for residency must take a written check the place they need to rating a 4 on listening, studying, writing and talking. Not solely is it a tough process if their English or French isn’t as much as par, however the testing could be costly, mentioned MacRae.

A rally was held in September in Victoria Park in Charlottetown, where participants were encouraged to write letters to the federal government in support of giving permanent residency to migrants. Contributed
A rally was held in September in Victoria Park in Charlottetown, the place contributors had been inspired to put in writing letters to the federal authorities in assist of giving everlasting residency to migrants. Contributed

The problems round residency don’t finish there both. Erica Stanley, an immigration guide in Charlottetown, mentioned getting residency for a migrant can weigh closely on getting assist from their employer. In some instances, she mentioned these employers can forestall them from qualifying for standing by withdrawing their assist or not providing lengthy sufficient work phrases.

“(Some employers) know that in the event that they assist a employee for everlasting residency, they may probably depart the job as soon as they obtain residency,” mentioned Stanley.

“For some employers, they consider it as a loss for them, and that it is not of their greatest curiosity to assist them for everlasting residency once they can simply get them again on a short lived foundation again and again and be capable of have them working for them longer.”

Stanley mentioned she has seen conditions like this unfold whereas helping migrant staff in P.E.I.

Even when employers do assist their staff in making use of for residency, some will put them on a pathway that may delay the method to get extra work out of their workers, she mentioned.

“For instance, the Atlantic Immigration Program has a sooner processing time than the Provincial Nominee Program,” mentioned Stanley.

“They typically don’t need to put them by means of the AIP; they put them by means of the PNP as a result of they can retain them longer. The shopper has to work in that job till they get their everlasting residency a minimum of.”

On Might 11, Liberal MP Randeep Sarai tabled a movement asking the federal government to launch a plan to broaden financial immigration pathways to residency, assist extra standing transitions and take into account worldwide college students as a key supply of labour.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser speaks in the House of Commons. FILE PHOTO
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser speaks within the Home of Commons. FILE PHOTO

On Sept. 20, Fraser tabled the federal government’s response, which outlined a variety of present pathways to be expanded or adjusted to extend alternatives for standing transition and handle labour wants and shortages.

Nonetheless, for MacRae and plenty of others that isn’t sufficient.

The Migrant Rights Community has known as on Ottawa to regularize the immigration and momentary international employee packages, so they’re inclusive and provide a transparent and barrier-free method for migrants to use and obtain citizenship.

“What we need to see with any packages they put in place is that there aren’t any pathways,” mentioned MacRae.

“We don’t need to take care of pathways anymore as a result of they at all times have necessities which might be laborious for some people to fulfill. There’ll at all times be folks not noted with pathways.”

SaltWire Community requested an interview with Fraser for a response to the group’s name for motion, however a spokesperson mentioned he was not out there to talk.

Whereas most of Canada offers with points round housing, healthcare and inflation, MacRae mentioned the migrants they’re combating to get standing for are struggling by means of the identical issues, however with much less entry to companies and securities.

“I believe we have to deal with the truth that the folks we’re calling for to offer standing to are already right here,” he mentioned.

“We’re calling for 1.7 million folks, that’s one in 23 folks in Canada, who don’t have entry to those companies and safety. They’re already right here, so let’s give them that entry and safety.”



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