News
Trudeau Told to Act Swiftly To Implement Fair Immigration Rules to Ensure Equal Rights for 1.7 Million People
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Cross-Country Migrant Coalition & Major Civil Society Groups Organizing Protests in 12 cities on September 18
Ottawa, September 14, 2022 — For the first time in half a century, Canada is moving forward on a regularization programme for undocumented migrants. A cross-country coalition of migrants has united with Canada’s largest human rights, climate, health, legal and labour organizations to call on the government to ensure permanent residency for all 1.7 million migrants with precarious status, including regularization of all 500,000 undocumented migrants. Actions in support of full regularization will take place in 12 cities across the country on Sunday, September 18, 2022 (see below for list of all the actions). Over 480 civil society organizations have already endorsed this call for immigration justice.
Joining an online briefing today, Caroline Michael, an undocumented healthcare worker, Nigerian refugee in Toronto, and member of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change explained, “Undocumented people like me are underpaid and unfairly treated by our employers and we can’t be bold enough to report them to appropriate authorities for fear of being picked up by the police. All of us migrants should be given the right to live a human-like life and shouldn’t be treated like animals, that means permanent resident status for all, no one left out, no exemptions, no conditions. The next Parliament must make our demands their number one priority.”
Lauren Ravon, Executive Director, Oxfam Canada, emphasized that, “A regularization program that provides status to all in Canada is a triple win, it advances gender justice, reduces inequality and has numerous benefits for the economy. Canada benefits so much from the contributions of migrants and undocumented workers. The time is now to provide hundreds of thousands of people in Canada with access to rights and services for a dignified life.”
Caroline Brouillette, National Policy Manager, Climate Action Network – Canada’s largest Climate Coalition – added, “As the climate crisis forces more and more people from their homes, ensuring equal rights for migrants is fundamental to climate justice. Transforming our unequal, exploitative system into one that ensures dignity and safety for all is a key step towards addressing Canada’s climate debt, and we urge the federal government to seize this opportunity.”
Danilo De Leon, an undocumented former temporary foreign worker, and chairperson of Migrante Canada, from Edmonton, said, “We came here to work because you need workers. We are more than just workers that feed your economy. We are human beings who have the right to live in Canada with dignity and we need a regularization program that does not discriminate.”
The Migrant Rights Network estimates that regularizing 500,000 undocumented workers will increase employer contributions by at least $1.1billion per year.
Many undocumented people are unable to afford expensive healthcare, ending up sicker and impacting public health explained Pénélope Boudreault, director of national operations at Doctors of the World. “The Doctors of the World’s Medical Clinic’s team can testify to this. A safe, comprehensive and inclusive regularization program is an essential tool to guarantee the fundamental rights and health of migrants with precarious status and to promote the well-being of society as a whole”.
There are at least 500,000 undocumented people in Canada. The vast majority are racialized. They entered on temporary work or study permits or as refugee claimants but were not able to get permanent residency because of Canadian immigration rules, which favour people with high wages. Most others are turned away.
Nina Gonzalez, coordinator of the Regularization Campaign of the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC), active member of the IWC’s Women’s Committee, and non-status migrant explains, “The immigration system systematically creates people without immigration status, either as a result of the refugee application being refused or because the employer has refused to extend the work permit and it expires. Loss of status is an administrative problem imposed by the system, it is not a criminal act.”
Without full immigration status, many migrants face exploitation, even as they are deemed essential. This includes farmworkers who characterize their work as “systematic slavery”. Laurence Guénette, Coordinator of the Ligue des droits et libertés joined the call today for fair rights for all reminding Prime Minister Trudeau that, “All human rights are universal: this universality means that all human beings enjoy the same fundamental rights regardless of their status. The Canadian government must put in place a regularization program granting full and permanent status to all persons with precarious immigration status in Quebec and Canada. A universal regularization program that leaves no one behind.”
Syed Hussan from the Migrant Rights Network Secretariat added, “Prime Minister Trudeau has a choice right now: either finally ensure historic equal rights for 1.7 million people who have been oppressed and exploited by bad bosses, institutions and landlords because of Canadian immigration rules by guaranteeing permanent resident status to all, or continue to make partial, temporary changes that continue exploitation for most. Migrants and our supporters are united in our expectations that Prime Minister Trudeau will do what he knows is right.”
Actions across Canada and Media Contacts for Sunday, September 18, 2022
TORONTO, ON: Rally & March for Rights, Regularization & Status For All
Sep 18, 2:00pm, Christie Pits Park, March to Deputy PM’s Office
Contact: Rajean Hoilett, 289-923-3534, Migrant Rights Network – Ontario
MONTREAL, QC: Rally & March – Un Statut pour tous et toutes – on ne laisse personne pour compte / #StatusForAll: No One Left Behind
Sep 18, 2:00pm, Place du Canada (corner of René-Lévesque and Peel)
Media Contact: Hady Anne (En/Fr), 514 358 8836, Solidarity Across Borders
VANCOUVER, BC: Rally – Rights, Regularization, Status For All
Sep 18, 2:30 PM, Grandview Park. 1657 Charles St, Vancouver
Media Contact: Byron Cruz, Sanctuary Health, (604) 315-7725
EDMONTON, AB: Rights, Regularization, Status for All!
Sep 18, 12:00 PM, Sir Winston Churchill Square. 10404 104 Ave NW.
Media Contact: Clarizze Truscott, 780-998-2885, Migrante Alberta
OTTAWA, ON: Migrant Regularization March – Status For All!
Sep 18, 2:00 PM, Confederation Park. Elgin St and Laurier Ave W, Ottawa
Contact: Aimee Beboso, 613-255-1921, Migrante Ottawa
SUDBURY, ON: Sudbury & Region: Status For ALL – Community Gathering
Sep 18, 1:30pm, Flour Mills Community Farm. 736 Bruce Ave.
Contact: Tt Scott, communications@sudburyworkerscentre.ca, Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre
CHARLOTTETOWN, PE: Status for All: Reimagining PEI
Sep 18, 1pm, Victoria Park Pavilion, 36 Victoria Park Driveway
Media Contact: Ryan MacRae, ryan@cooperinstitute.ca, Cooper Institute
MIRAMICHI, NB: Rights, Regularization, Status for All
Sep 18, 2pm, Queen Elizabeth Park Town Square. 141 rue Henry Street
Contact: Sonia Aviles, 289 990 1349, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
FREDERICTON, NB: Status for All Day of Action Fredericton – Madhu Centre Organization Launch
Sep 18, 1pm, 577 Hillcrest Drive
Media Contact: Kalum Ng, info@madhucentre.ca, Madhu Centre
GUELPH, ON: Public Meeting: Immigration: Who Benefits? Who Suffers?
Sep 18, 3:00 PM, 10C. 42 Carden St. , 3rd Floor, Activity Room.
Media Contact: Susan Rosenthal, Guelph Justice for Workers, guelph@Justice4workers.org
CLARKSBURG, ON: Rights, Regularization, Status for All
Sep 18, 10am, Clark Street and Main Street Media Contact: Amaris Terner, 416 417 3520
ST. JOHN’S, NL: Status for All Picnic
Sep 18, 1pm, Bannerman Park
Media Contact: Adi Khaitan, 709-693-6032
Background
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There are at least 1.2 million people in Canada on temporary work, study or refugee claimant permits issued in Canada each year. Most migrants in low-waged work do not have access to permanent residency so eventually they are forced to either leave Canada or stay in the country undocumented. Migrant farm workers recently testified that these temporary migration schemes are “systematic slavery”.
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Many are unable to return to sending countries because of war, discrimination, lack of economic opportunities and/or because they have built relationships in Canada. Today, there are over 500,000 undocumented people in the country.
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As a result, there are at least 1.7 million migrants – 1 in 23 residents in Canada – who do not have equal rights.
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Migrants are excluded from healthcare and social services and cannot unite with their families. Lack of permanent resident status makes it difficult, and often impossible, for migrants to speak up for their rights at work or access services, including those they may be eligible for, because of a well-founded fear of reprisals, termination, eviction and deportation.
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Migrants – mostly low-waged, racialized, working class people – are deemed essential but are excluded from rights. Thousands of migrants lost their lives and livelihoods in COVID-19 while working in farms, long-term care homes, construction, cleaning, and delivery work.
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Comprehensive regularization (a program that includes all 500,000 undocumented people) will address a historic wrong; improve working conditions by giving migrants the power to protects themselvesand; guarantee public health; and add at least $1.1 billion dollars to the public purse per year through contributions by employers who currently don’t pay taxes.
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Canada created the “Guardian Angels” program for some refugee claimants and out-of-status healthcare workers, which expired in August 2020. The Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident (TR to PR) program was created in May 2021, and expired in November. These programs excluded the vast majority of racialized, low-waged migrants. No permanent changes have been made to ensure immigration justice.
Nearly 10,000 people have signed a petition in support of these demands: www.StatusforAll.ca
News
Capital gains tax change draws ire from some Canadian entrepreneurs worried it will worsen brain drain – CBC.ca
A chorus of Canadian entrepreneurs and investors is blasting the federal government’s budget for expanding a tax on the rich. They say it will lead to brain drain and further degrade Canada’s already poor productivity.
In the 2024 budget unveiled Tuesday, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government would increase the inclusion rate of the capital gains tax from 50 per cent to 67 per cent for businesses and trusts, generating an estimated $19 billion in new revenue.
Capital gains are the profits that individuals or businesses make from selling an asset — like a stock or a second home. Individuals are subject to the new changes on any profits over $250,000.
The government estimates that the changes would impact 40,000 individuals (or 0.13 per cent of Canadians in any given year) and 307,000 companies in Canada.
However, some members of the business community say that expanding the taxable amount will devastate productivity, investment and entrepreneurship in Canada, and might even compel some of the country’s talent and startups to take their business elsewhere.
Benjamin Bergen, president of the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), said the capital gains tax has overshadowed parts of the federal budget that the business community would otherwise be excited about.
“There were definitely some other stars in the budget that were interesting,” he said. “However, the … capital gains piece really is the sun, and it’s daylight. So this is really the only thing that innovators can see.”
The CCI has written and is circulating an open letter signed by more than 1,000 people in the Canadian business community to Trudeau’s government asking it to scrap the tax change.
Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke and president Harley Finkelstein also weighed in on the proposed hike on X, formerly known as Twitter.
We need to be doing everything we can to turn Canada into the best place for entrepreneurs to build 🇨🇦<br><br>What’s proposed in the federal budget will do the complete opposite. Innovators and entrepreneurs will suffer and their success will be penalized — this is not a wealth tax,…
—@harleyf
Former finance minister Bill Morneau said his successor’s budget disincentivizes businesses from investing in the country’s innovation sector: “It’s probably very troubling for many investors.”
Canada’s productivity — a measure that compares economic output to hours worked — has been relatively poor for decades. It underperforms against the OECD average and against several other G7 countries, including the U.S., Germany, U.K. and Japan, on the measure.
Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers sounded the alarm on Canada’s lagging productivity in a speech last month, saying the country’s need to increase the rate had reached emergency levels, following one of the weakest years for the economy in recent memory.
The government said it was proposing the tax change to make life more affordable for younger generations and fund efforts to boost housing supply — and that it would support productivity growth.
A challenge for investors, founders and workers
The change could have a chilling effect for several reasons, with companies already struggling to access funding in a high interest rate environment, said Bergen.
He questioned whether investors will want to fund Canadian companies if the government’s taxation policies make it difficult for those firms to grow — and whether founders might just pack up.
The expanded inclusion rate “is just one of the other potential concerns that firms are going to have as they’re looking to grow their companies.”
He said the rejigged tax is also an affront to high-skilled workers from low-innovation sectors who might have taken the risk of joining a startup for the opportunity, even taking a lower wage on the chance that a firm’s stock options grow in value.
But Lindsay Tedds, an associate economics professor at the University of Calgary, said the tax change is one of the most misunderstood parts of the federal budget — and that its impact on the country’s talent has been overstated.
“This is not a major innovation-biting tax change treatment,” Tedds said. “In fact, when you talk to real grassroots entrepreneurs that are setting up businesses, tax rates do not come into their decision.”
As for productivity, Tedds said Canadians might see improvements in the long run “to the degree that some of our productivity problems are driven by stresses like housing affordability, access to child care, things like that.”
‘One foot on the gas, one foot on the brake’
Some say the government is sending mixed messages to entrepreneurs by touting tailored tax breaks — like the Canada Entrepreneurs’ Incentive, which reduces the capital gains inclusion rate to 33 per cent on a lifetime maximum of $2 million — while introducing measures they say would dampen investment and innovation.
“They seem to have one foot on the gas, one foot on the brake on the very same file,” said Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
A founder may be able to sell their successful company with a lower capital gains treatment than otherwise possible, he said.
“At the same time, though, big chunks of it may be subject to a higher rate of capital gains inclusion.”
Selling a company can fund an individual’s retirement, he said, which is why it’s one of the first things founders consider when they think about capital gains.
Mainstreet NS7:03Ottawa is proposing a hike to capital gains tax. What does that mean?
Dennis Darby, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, says he was disappointed by the change — and that it sends the wrong message to Canadian industries like his own.
He wants to see the government commit to more tax credit proposals like the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses, which he said would incentivize business owners to stay and help make Canada competitive with the U.S.
“We’ve had a lot of difficulties attracting investment over the years. I don’t think this will make it any better.”
Tech titan says change will only impact richest of the rich
Toronto tech entrepreneur Ali Asaria will be one of those subject to the expanded capital gains inclusion rate — but he says it’s only fair.
“It’s going to really affect the richest of the rich people,” Asaria, CEO of open source platform Transformer Lab and founder of well.ca, told CBC News.
“The capital gains exemption is probably the largest tax break that I’ve ever received in my life,” he said. “So I know a lot about what that benefit can look like, but I’ve also always felt like it was probably one of the most unfair parts of the tax code today.”
While Asaria said Canada needs to continue encouraging talent to take risks and build companies in the country, taxation policies aren’t the most major problem.
“I think that the biggest central issue to the reason why people will leave Canada is bigger issues, like housing,” he said.
“How do we make it easier to live in Canada so that we can all invest in ourselves and invest in our companies? That’s a more important question than, ‘How do we help the top 0.13 per cent of Canadians make more money?'”
News
Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday | CTV News – CTV News Toronto
More money will land in the pockets of Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit (CCB) installment.
The federal government program helps low and middle-income families struggling with the soaring cost of raising a child.
Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or refugees who are the primary caregivers for children under 18 years old are eligible for the program, introduced in 2016.
The non-taxable monthly payments are based on a family’s net income and how many children they have. Families that have an adjusted net income under $34,863 will receive the maximum amount per child.
For a child under six years old, an applicant can annually receive up to $7,437 per child, and up to $6,275 per child for kids between the ages of six through 17.
That translates to up to $619.75 per month for the younger cohort and $522.91 per month for the older group.
The benefit is recalculated every July and most recently increased 6.3 per cent in order to adjust to the rate of inflation, and cost of living.
To apply, an applicant can submit through a child’s birth registration, complete an online form or mail in an application to a tax centre.
The next payment date will take place on May 17.
News
Ontario Legislature keffiyeh ban remains in place – CBC.ca
Keffiyehs remain banned in the Ontario Legislature after a unanimous consent motion that would have allowed the scarf to be worn failed to pass at Queen’s Park Thursday.
That vote, brought forth by NDP Leader Marit Stiles, failed despite Premier Doug Ford and the leaders of the province’s opposition parties all stating they want to see the ban overturned. Complete agreement from all MPPs is required for a motion like this to pass, and there were a smattering of “nos” after it was read into the record.
In an email on Wednesday, Speaker Ted Arnott said the legislature has previously restricted the wearing of clothing that is intended to make an “overt political statement” because it upholds a “standard practice of decorum.”
“The Speaker cannot be aware of the meaning of every symbol or pattern but when items are drawn to my attention, there is a responsibility to respond. After extensive research, I concluded that the wearing of keffiyehs at the present time in our Assembly is intended to be a political statement. So, as Speaker, I cannot authorize the wearing of keffiyehs based on our longstanding conventions,” Arnott said in an email.
Speaking at Queen’s Park Thursday, Arnott said he would reconsider the ban with unanimous consent from MPPs.
“If the house believes that the wearing of the keffiyeh in this house, at the present time, is not a political statement, I would certainly and unequivocally accept the express will of the house with no ifs, ands or buts,” he said.
Keffiyehs are a commonly worn scarf among Arabs, but hold special significance to Palestinian people. They have been a frequent sight among pro-Palestinian protesters calling for an end to the violence in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas war continues.
Premier calls for reversal
Ford said Thursday he’s hopeful Arnott will reverse the ban, but he didn’t say if he would instruct his caucus to support the NDP’s motion.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Ford said the decision was made by the speaker and nobody else.
“I do not support his decision as it needlessly divides the people of our province. I call on the speaker to reverse his decision immediately,” Ford said.
PC Party MPP Robin Martin, who represents Eglinton–Lawrence, voted against the unanimous consent motion Thursday and told reporters she believes the speaker’s initial ruling was the correct one.
“We have to follow the rules of the legislature, otherwise we politicize the entire debate inside the legislature, and that’s not what it’s about. What it’s about is we come there and use our words to persuade, not items of clothing.”
When asked if she had defied a directive from the premier, Martin said, “It has nothing to do with the premier, it’s a decision of the speaker of the legislative assembly.”
Stiles told reporters Thursday she’s happy Ford is on her side on this issue, but added she is disappointed the motion didn’t pass.
“The premier needs to talk to his people and make sure they do the right thing,” she said.
Stiles first urged Arnott to reconsider the ban in an April 12 letter. She said concerns over the directive first surfaced after being flagged by members of her staff, however they have gained prominence after Sarah Jama, Independent MPP for Hamilton Centre, posted about the issue on X, formerly Twitter.
Jama was removed from the NDP caucus for her social media comments on the Israel-Hamas war shortly after Oct. 7.
Jama has said she believes she was kicked out of the party because she called for a ceasefire in Gaza “too early” and because she called Israel an “apartheid state.”
Arnott told reporters Thursday that he began examining a ban on the Keffiyeh after one MPP made a complaint about another MPP, who he believes was Jama, who was wearing one.
Liberals also call for reversal
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie also called for a reversal of the ban on Wednesday night.
“Here in Ontario, we are home to a diverse group of people from so many backgrounds. This is a time when leaders should be looking for ways to bring people together, not to further divide us. I urge Speaker Arnott to immediately reconsider this move to ban the keffiyeh,” Crombie said.
Stiles said MPPs have worn kilts, kirpans, vyshyvankas and chubas in the legislature, saying such items of clothing not only have national and cultural associations, but have also been considered at times as “political symbols in need of suppression.”
She said Indigenous and non-Indigenous members have also dressed in traditional regalia and these items cannot be separated from their historical and political significance.
“The wearing of these important cultural and national clothing items in our Assembly is something we should be proud of. It is part of the story of who we are as a province,” she said.
“Palestinians are part of that story, and the keffiyeh is a traditional clothing item that is significant not only to them but to many members of Arab and Muslim communities. That includes members of my staff who have been asked to remove their keffiyehs in order to come to work. This is unacceptable.”
Stiles added that House of Commons and other provincial legislatures allow the wearing of keffiyehs in their chambers and the ban makes Ontario an “outlier.”
Suppression of cultural symbols part of genocide: MPP
Jama said on X that the ban is “unsurprising” but “nonetheless concerning” in a country that has a legacy of colonialism. “Part of committing genocide is the forceful suppression of cultural identity and cultural symbols,” she said in part.
“Seeing those in power in this country at all levels of government, from federal all the way down to school boards, aid Israel’s colonial regime with these tactics in the oppression of Palestinian people proves that reconciliation is nothing but a word when spoken by state powers,” she said.
Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, said on X that it is “deeply ironic” on that keffiyehs were banned in the Ontario legislature on the 42nd anniversary of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“This is wrong and dangerous as we have already seen violence and exclusion impact Canadians, including Muslims of Palestinian descent, who choose to wear this traditional Palestinian clothing,” Elghawaby said.
Arnott said the keffiyeh was not considered a “form of protest” in the legislature prior to statements and debates that happened in the House last fall.
“These items are not absolutes and are not judged in a vacuum,” he said.
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