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!
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
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”.
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.
As a result, there are at least 1.7 million migrants – 1 in 23 residents in Canada – who do not have equal rights.
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.
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.
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.
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
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Victor Hedman as the team captain on Wednesday as training camp opened, making the big defenseman the successor to Steven Stamkos.
Hedman, who is going into his 16th season with Tampa Bay, was considered the obvious choice to get the “C” after the Lightning did not re-sign Stamkos and their longtime captain left to join Nashville.
“Victor is a cornerstone player that is extremely well respected by his teammates, coaches and peers across the NHL,” general manager Julien BriseBois said. “Over the past 15 seasons, he has been a world-class representative for our organization both on and off the ice. Victor embodies what it means to be a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and is more than ready for this exciting opportunity. We are looking forward to watching him flourish in his new role as we continue to work towards our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”
The 33-year-old from Sweden was a key contributor in the Lightning hoisting the Cup back to back in 2020 and ’21, including playoff MVP honors on the first of those championship runs. Hedman also took home the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2018 and finished in the top three in voting five other seasons.
Ryan McDonagh, who was reacquired early in the offseason in a trade with the Predators, and MVP finalist Nikita Kucherov will serve as alternate captains with the Lightning moving on to the post-Stamkos era.
TORONTO – While Toronto FC is looking to improve its position on the pitch, general manager Jason Hernandez is trying to do the same off it.
That has been easier said than done this season.
Sending winger Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty to CF Montreal for up to $1.3 million (all dollar figures in U.S. funds) in general allocation money before the secondary transfer window closed in early August helped set the stage for future moves.
But there have been plenty of obstacles, which Hernandez has been working to clear.
“We feel a lot more confident going into this upcoming off-season that we did the one prior,” said Hernandez. “There’s a level of what I would say booby-traps that were uncovered when I first got the (GM) role at the end of last summer.”
The club is paying off departed forwards Adam Diomande and Ayo Akinola as well as a $500,000 payment due in 2024 to Belgium’s Anderlecht for Jamaican international defender Kemar Lawrence. That payment was part of the transfer fee for Lawrence, who joined TFC from Anderlecht in May 2021 and was traded to Minnesota United in March 2022.
Diomande was waived while Akinola’s contract was terminated by mutual agreement.
“That comes to an end in ’25, which is nice,” said Hernandez. “We had to suffer from a salary cap perspective this season. But those things coming off, the Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty money coming in, we’re going to be in a position to make some good additions, which is positive.”
While MLS clubs are allowed one contract buyout per year, Toronto had already used its on former captain Michel Bradley, who retired after last season. Bradley had previously restructured his contract, deferring money.
TFC’s only other move during the summer transfer window was the signing of free-agent defender Henry Wingo. Hernandez said the club knew going into the window that it was likely limited to the one acquisition “unless other business happened”
“We knew we had this bucket of money and we knew we were going to go get Henry,” said Hernandez.
While the sale of the highly touted Marshall-Rutty opened up other possibilities, it came on the eve of the transfer window closing. And the team did not like what it saw in the free-agent market.
“A lot of the opportunities we were presented in the free agency space felt more like a short-term, Band-Aid decision versus what actually the club probably needs.”
Hernandez was not willing to take in players who came with a “club-friendly” salary cap charge in 2024 and a much bigger number in 2025.
Instead, Toronto promoted forward Charlie Sharp and wingback Nate Edwards to the first team from TFC 2 ahead of last Friday’s roster freeze.
MLS teams are operating on a salary budget of $5.47 million this season, which covers up to 20 players on the senior roster (clubs can elect to spread that number across 18 players). But the league has several mechanisms that allow those funds to go further, including using allocation money (both general and targeted) to buy down salaries.
Designated players only count $683,750 — the maximum salary charge — against the cap no matter their actual pay. Toronto’s Lorenzo Insigne is actually earning $15.4 million with fellow Italian Federico Bernardeschi collecting $6.295 million and Canadian Richie Laryea $1.208 million.
Hernandez says Laryea’s contract can — and “very likely” will — be restructured so as to remove the designated player status.
There are benefits in going with just two designated players rather than three.
Teams that elect to go with two DPs can sign up to four players as part of the league’s “U22 Initiative.” The pluses of that structure include a reduced salary cap charge for the young players and up to an extra $2 million in general allocation money.
Hernandez says the club is currently pondering whether that is the way to go.
Captain Jonathan Osorio who is earning $836,370 this season, restructured his deal to allow the team to sign Laryea as a DP. In doing so, Osorio had his option year guaranteed so his contact runs through 2026.
Hernandez and coach John Herdman will have decisions to make come the end of the year.
The contracts of goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh ($94,200), defenders Kevin Long ($277,500), Shane O’Neill ($413,000) and Kobe Franklin ($100,520), midfielder Alonso Coello ($94,050) and Brandon Servania ($602,710), and forward Prince Owusu ($807,500) — all on the club’s senior roster — expire at the end of 2024 with club options to follow.
While there is more work to do, Hernandez believes TFC is on the right road.
Toronto, which finished last in the league at 4-20-10 in 2023, went into Wednesday’s game against visiting Columbus in a playoff position at eighth in the East at 11-15-3.
“By every metric, we are miles ahead of where we were at this point last year,” said Hernandez.
“That’s a low bar, so that’s not saying much,” he added.
But he believes TFC is “quite competitive” when it has all its players at its disposal.
“To get results in this final stretch, we’re going to need our prominent players to really show up and have big performances, and be supported by the rest of the cast.”
After Columbus, TFC plays at Colorado and Chicago and hosts the New York Red Bulls and Inter Miami. The club also travels to Vancouver for the Canadian Championship final.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024
Mackenzie Hughes might just be what the International team needs as this year’s Presidents Cup.
Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., is one of three Canadians on the squad competing in the match-play event at Royal Montreal Golf Club next week.
His putting skills, cool demeanour under pressure, pre-existing connections with teammates and clubhouse leadership could help the team — made up of non-American players outside Europe — end a nine-tournament losing skid to the United States at the biennial event.
“I’ve had this one circled on the calendar for a few years now,” said Hughes on joining fellow Canadians Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners as captain’s picks on the 12-player International team. “I pretty much knew that when it was announced the tournament would be in Canada and that Mike Weir was going to be the captain, you pretty much knew where that was going to go.
“To get that call from (Weir) is really special because he’s the guy that I looked up to, we all looked up to, as Canadian golfers.”
Pendrith and Conners are returning to the team after a disappointing 17 1/2 to 12 1/2 loss to the United States at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. in 2022.
Hughes was ranked 14th on the International team standings in 2022 and could have easily been included on that squad after Australia’s Cameron Smith and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann were ruled ineligible after jumping ship to the rival LIV Golf circuit.
However, captain Trevor Immelman of South Africa instead chose the lower ranked Christiaan Bezuidenhout (16th) of South Africa, Pendrith (18th), South Korea’s Kim Si-woo (20th) and Australia’s Cameron Davis (25th).
“I certainly wanted to be on that team but also I understood the picks,” said Hughes, who lives in Charlotte and plays at Quail Hollow regularly. “I think that like a lot of guys that don’t get picked you more so look back on your own play and I wish I had made that selection easier for them.
“I didn’t do myself any favours in the six weeks leading up to it and that’s a hard pill to swallow.”
It may have been a costly oversight on Immelman’s part, as finishing holes was an issue for the International team in 2022 and Hughes is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour. This season he’s third in shots gained around the green and fifth in shots gained from putting.
“It doesn’t mean that just because I was there it would have turned the tide, but I’d like to think maybe I could have helped,” said Hughes. “That’s why you play the matches. You have to get out there and do it.”
This year Hughes made it easier for Weir, the Canadian golf legend from Brights Grove, Ont., to choose him. Hughes is 51st in the FedEx Cup Fall standings and has made the cut seven tournaments in a row, including a tie for fourth at last week’s Procore Championship.
“Mac played very solidly all year. Really like his short game, an all-around short game,” said Weir on Sept. 3 after announcing his captain’s picks. “He’s one of the elite and best short game guys on the PGA Tour
“I also love Mac’s grit. So that was the reason I picked him.”
Hughes’s intangible qualities go beyond grit.
He, Pendrith and Conners will arrive at Royal Montreal as a unit within the International squad, having become close friends while playing on Kent State University’s men’s golf team before turning pro. They’re also part of a group of Canadians, including Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., that regularly practice together before PGA Tour events.
“To have those guys with me is really icing on the cake, it’s very special,” said Hughes. “Opportunities like this don’t come around very often: to play this kind of team competition, which is already hard to do, but to play with some of your best friends, it almost seems scripted.”
An 11-year professional, Hughes has also been a member of the PGA Tour’s player advisory council the past two years and has been an outspoken advocate for making professional golf more accessible to fans.
Although Weir relied heavily on analytics to make his captain’s selections, Hughes’s character came up again and again when asked why he was named to the team.
“I just have a gut feeling with Mac that he has what it takes in these big moments,” said Weir. “They’re big pressure moments, and I have a feeling he’s going to do great in those moments.”
DP WORLD TOUR — Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., continues his chase for a spot in the Europe-based DP World Tour’s playoffs. The top 50 players on the Race to Dubai standings make the DP World Tour Championship and Cockerill moved eight spots up to 39th in the rankings after tying for ninth at last week’s Irish Open. He’ll be back at it on Thursday at the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.
KORN FERRY TOUR — Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., is ranked 38th on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour’s points list. He leads the Canadian contingent into this week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. He’ll be joined at Ohio State University Golf Club — Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio by Edmonton’s Wil Bateman (53rd), Etienne Papineau (65th) of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., and Sudarshan Yellamaraju (99th) of Mississauga, Ont.
CHAMPIONS TOUR — Calgary’s Stephen Ames is the lone Canadian at this week’s Pure Insurance Championship. He’s No. 2 on the senior circuit’s points list. The event will start Friday and be played at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Monterey, Calif.
LPGA TOUR — There are four Canadians in this week’s Kroger City Championship. Savannah Grewal (97th in the Race to CME Globe Rankings) of Mississauga, Ont., Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (115th), and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (142nd) of Sherbrooke, Que., will all tee it up at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio.
EPSON TOUR — Vancouver’s Leah John is the low Canadian heading into the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout. She’s 54th in the second-tier tour’s points list. She’ll be joined by Maddie Szeryk (118th) of London, Ont., and Brigitte Thibault (119th) of Rosemere, Que., at Mystic Creek Golf Club in El Dorado, Ark.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
