An open letter to:
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau,
Prime Minister, Canada
Dear Prime Minister:
As a faith community, we are troubled to know that thousands of people working or studying here are slipping through the cracks of the temporary foreign workers program (TWFP) through no fault of their own, but because the program is understaffed, overly complex, difficult to navigate and with deadlines impossible to meet.
Your government promised a regularization program for migrant workers this spring. We are given to understand this national social issue, once again, will be pushed to the back burner to simmer some more where, as it stands, it can only continue to create more suffering and injustice.
The TWFP entrenches indentured labour in our country and fosters exploitation and workplace abuses that have been well documented. So much so that the UN's special rapporteur has referred to the TWFP as a "breeding ground" for modern forms of slavery. We are ashamed, but not surprised.
The immigration minister indicates that the federal cabinet and Canadians are split on this issue, with myths circulating about "queue-jumping". Cabinet may be split as to whether the timeliness of the issue is advantageous to you but Canadians simply see its resolution as overdue.
Do not make this another instance of broken political promises from your government.
Agriculture, food processing, human care all represent difficult, demanding work. Canadians do not tend to take these jobs because employers insist on paying minimum wages where at least a living wage is required.
To use a temporary work force made up of the globally desperate is not a solution. It violates our history of immigration, our shared value of willingness to work hard in order to create a better life for ourselves and our family here. It also exposes workers to housing inadequacies, labour standard risks and lack of health and social services that Canadians have always fought against.
Permanent residency and status for all has been the minimum required and requested for decades. If we need their labour, and we do, remove the queue.
Act swiftly and justly, without further delay. And let us know your decision before the coming election.
Outreach, Peace & Justice Working Group
on behalf of the congregation of Knox United Church
Terrace, B.C.
