Demonstrators call for more action toward undocumented worker status regularization in Canada
Dozens gathered in front of the Alberta Legislature on Sunday at a demonstration calling for equal rights and permanent resident status for migrants and refugees in Canada.
Hosted on anti-racism day, the rally was part of a nationwide demonstration calling on Canada's immigration minister to create more programs to regularize the status of undocumented workers.
Marco Luciano, Migrante Alberta director, said that goal was set by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in December 2021 within his mandate letter to Minister Sean Fraser, who oversees the immigration, refugees and citizenship portfolio.
"These undocumented migrants are really in a very precarious situation," Luciano said. "They are our neighbours, they are our friends."
"It's hard for them to live just looking over their shoulders all the time," he added. "They do not have health care, they cannot access housing and they continue to shop in Alberta.
"They continue to help the economy in Alberta, but they do not have access to those services."
Danilo De Leon arrived from the Philippines in 2009 as a temporary foreign worker. After working for years, he lost his status and has not seen his daughters in almost 10 years.
"The reason I came here is to work and give them a better future," De Leon told reporters, adding he hoped one day to bring them here.
"There's no opportunities back home," he added. "It's not so easy."
Luciano estimated there were between 25,000 and 50,000 undocumented workers in Alberta.
"Making ends meet is hard," he said. "We want to see their regularization happen yesterday… They need support for their hard work."
Bahoz Dara Aziz, Fraser's press secretary, told CTV News Edmonton in a statement that the minister continues to progress ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers contributing to the economy.
"We have unveiled various programs, tested new approaches and successfully provided permanent residency to thousands of individuals and their families," Dara Aziz said.
She pointed to an announcement made Friday that expanded post-graduate work permit eligibility or the doubling of spaces for the out-of-status construction workers program.
"Changes like these ensure skilled workers can stay in Canada and continue to meaningfully work," Dara Aziz explained, adding that Fraser continues to meet with undocumented migrants for consultation.
"As we advance our work on further programs, we will continue listening to experts as well as undocumented workers themselves."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.