Today, actions are taking place across the country to call for full and permanent immigration status for all. In the early hours of the morning, migrant justice group No One is Illegal – Halifax/K’jipuktuk (NOII-Hfx) attached a banner to the Halifax Regional Municipality’s welcome sign on Highway 102, which reads “Status for All: No one is illegal.”
Not quite a Labour Day march, but a rally earlier today in support of 10 paid sick days in Nova Scotia drew close to 100 people to downtown Halifax.
Members and allies of No One Is Illegal – Halifax/K’jipuktuk (NOII-Hfx) will be gathering at several locations on the peninsula for a coordinated citywide postering action. The poster action highlights that migrants are an important part of communities in Nova Scotia, and supports growing demands across the country for status for all.
On July 22, 2020, the Federal Court of Canada ruled the so-called Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) to be unconstitutional and in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom. Civil society groups across Canada are hailing the ruling as an important victory, while highlighting that more work needs to be done to ensure that Canada respects refugee rights.
Stacey Gomez, Asaf Rashid, Jessica Tellez and Wanda Thomas explain how racist immigration policies keep migrant workers temporary. “In Nova Scotia, approximately 2000 migrant workers arrive each year through Temporary Foreign Worker Programs, to plant and harvest crops, and to process our agriculture, as well as seafood products. Abuse of migrant workers is rampant in Nova Scotia and across Canada. The recently released report Unheeded Warnings includes accounts from migrant workers in Nova Scotia about being coerced into speaking positively of their employers during a government inspection under threat of deportation. Other workers report having racist slurs used against them when they spoke out about poor conditions. We’ve also received reports of migrant workers being unlawfully prevented from leaving Nova Scotia farms.”
“We’ve seen migrant workers being impacted by COVID-19 from coast to coast, and that highlights that this is a systemic issue. It’s not a coincidence that so many migrant workers are becoming ill.” We speak with Stacey Gomez of No One Is Illegal – Halifax/K’jipuktuk about migrant workers in Nova Scotia, their exposure to both Covid-19 and xenophobia, and what the province should do.
Saturday, July 4th marks the cross-Canada Day of Action for Status for All, with events taking place in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. As part of these actions, the migrant justice group No One is Illegal – Halifax/K’jipuktuk (NOII-Hfx) has launched a local poster campaign calling for full immigration status, as well as access to public healthcare for all migrants.
Media release: Sunday June 14, Massive Digital Rally and Caravan for Full Immigration Status for All
Press release: At a moment of public health crisis in Canada due to COVID-19, the Healthcare for All National Coalition is calling on the federal government to work closely with provincial and territorial governments to ensure access to healthcare for all people living in Canada.
News release: 56 elected provincial and municipal representatives have issued a statement calling on the federal government to extend income supports to all migrant and undocumented workers. Claudia Chender (MLA Dartmouth South), Gary Burrill (MLA Halifax Chebucto) and Lisa Roberts (MLA Halifax Needham) are among the signatories to the letter which calls for “emergency income supports as well as all other social programs and rights ” for all essential workers regardless of immigration status.