Demonstrators call for more action toward undocumented worker status regularization in Canada
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.
"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
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston is being questioned by MPs at committee about his role, his report into election meddling, his decision against a public inquiry, and allegations of a conflict of interest.
The number of interactions between killer whales and humans has increased alarmingly in recent years. CTVNews.ca asked an expert to explain the reasons behind the increase in interactions, explore the types of encounters, and examine the implications for both humans and killer whales.
An internal document suggests Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants China kept out of a Pacific Rim trade bloc, despite the Liberals publicly insisting it would welcome anyone who meets the trade deal's standards.
Prince Harry entered a courtroom witness box Tuesday, swearing to tell the truth in testimony against a tabloid publisher he accuses of phone hacking and other unlawful snooping.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Many Canadian parents are stretching themselves thin — even going as far as to postpone their retirement in some cases — in order to help pay for their children’s education, according to a new survey.
Police in Australia are investigating the suspicious death of a woman who used to live in Surrey, BC, after her body was found in her apartment on the outskirts of Sydney.
The wall of a major dam in a part of southern Ukraine that Moscow controls collapsed Tuesday, triggering floods, endangering Europe's largest nuclear power plant and threatening drinking water supplies as both sides in the war rushed to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the emergency.
A huge Soviet-era dam on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine was breached on Tuesday, unleashing floodwaters across the war zone.
Calgary-based Cenovus Energy says it has safely restarted a portion of its production that was shut down because of the threat of wildfires in northern and central Alberta.
While Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) publicly mulled moving its downtown emergency shelter to a location on 20th Street near the city's core, city documents reveal the wellness centre's present Fairhaven area location was heavily favoured early in the process.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
It’s been 79 years since the war effort known as ‘D-Day,’ which eventually led to the liberation of western Europe during World War II. The day was marked with a service in Normandy with the Royal Regina Rifles on hand.
Hammonds Plains Road reopened to traffic early Tuesday morning more than week after wildfires began in the Halifax area. Officials say the fires in the area are contained, though crews continue to deal with hot spots and flare ups.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
A grieving widow whose husband was run over and killed by a speeding OPP officer can't believe the force told her it won't hold a public hearing into the case because it decided the misconduct was 'not serious.'
A 53-year-old man was shot and killed in the Montreal suburb of Dorval on Monday afternoon. A source told CTV News that the victim is Francesco Del Balso, who has links to Montreal's Mafia.
One Quebec city that had been threatened by approaching wildfires has lifted an evacuation order, but other parts of the province continue to deal with out-of-control blazes that are taxing firefighting resources.
A special air quality statement remains in effect for the National Capital Region because of wildfire smoke blowing across the region. Environment Canada's air quality health index is at its highest level of risk.
The wildfire burning at Centennial Lake, about 150 km west of Ottawa is still not under control, but the local mayor says it has been significantly reduced.
The federal government has given an updated deal to a public-service union that signed its collective agreement in the fall in order to match deals reached with the Public Service Alliance of Canada during a strike this spring.
While firefighters get more forest fires under control in northern Ontario, travel restrictions declared under an emergency order are being expanded in several communities.
A 13-year-old male from Elliot Lake in northern Ontario has been charged with sexual assault again, bringing the total to 10, after another survivor came forward.
A grieving widow whose husband was run over and killed by a speeding OPP officer can't believe the force told her it won't hold a public hearing into the case because it decided the misconduct was 'not serious.'
A Ukrainian woman who now lives in Winnipeg is hoping one day she will be able to bring her husband's remains to her new home, a place he hoped one day he too would be able to call home.
The provincial wildfire service is warning British Columbians to have a go-bag and make an evacuation plan with this year's wildfire season off to an alarming start.
Many Canadian parents are stretching themselves thin — even going as far as to postpone their retirement in some cases — in order to help pay for their children’s education, according to a new survey.
Real estate experts say B.C.’s housing market is heating back after cooling off due to rising interest rates but the future is uncertain as several economists expect the Bank of Canada to hike rates again.
The province is revealing its housing cards, as 37 more municipalities have been identified as the next group that will be required to create housing targets in their communities to help combat the ongoing housing shortfall.
A wildfire that has been burning out of control on Vancouver Island since Sunday morning is now estimated to cover approximately 20 hectares of dense forest near Port Alberni.
