Check out my recent article for the Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL) entitled “Canada’s growing temporary workforce: a worrying trend”. Denying workers a route to permanent residency makes them more vulnerable to abuse. Does Canada treat Mexicans arriving to Canada as nation builders or as economic units? Judging by the number of temporary foreign [...]
Temporary Foreign Workers
December 6, 2010 Ms. Olivia Chow (Trinity—Spadina, NDP): It’s holiday season. Families want to be together, especially parents with their grandkids. New immigrants get lonely. They want their parents here. I saw the backlog list. I think Mr. Yeates told me and confirmed the number, there are 145,000 parents waiting. In Beijing you have to wait [...]
Mr. Speaker, Canada brings in 200,000 temporary foreign workers and the government does nothing while their right to join unions is denied. The United Nations has just ruled on a complaint filed by the UFCW that Canada is trampling on the human rights of these migrant workers.
November 19, 2009 Ms. Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I move that the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, presented on Wednesday, June 10, be concurred in. This report on migrant workers and immigration consultants deals with several issues that are interconnected, one of which is immigration consultants, [...]
November 16, 2009 Dear friends and colleagues interested in immigration and refugee issues, The 2009 Citizenship and Immigration annual report was published recently. I am very disturbed by the decline of the target number of families that will be approved next year. With a lower target number, and overseas offices buried in paper, families will [...]
November 3, 2009 Ms. Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is rushing in hundreds and thousands of temporary foreign workers only to leave them completely vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Most have no hope of a future in Canada. The government has no idea or even cares if the workers are mistreated [...]
Dear friends, We just won the right to have more meetings at the Standing Committee on Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism dealing with the rights of live-in care givers and other temporary foreign workers. The committee will also be reviewing the nine recommendations from last year’s committee report on to regulate consultants.
Click below to download the booklets. Arabic – Olivia Chow’s Immigration Policy Roadmap Chinese – Olivia Chow’s Immigration Policy Roadmap French – Olivia Chow’s Immigration Policy Roadmap Portuguese – Olivia Chow’s Immigration Policy Roadmap
…The recommendations follow a Toronto Star investigation into widespread abuse and exploitation of foreign caregivers by unscrupulous recruiters and employers. Olivia Chow, the NDP’s immigration critic, said granting caregivers landed status upon arrival is “huge” and will go a long way to addressing exploitation…. source
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 6, 2009 OTTAWA –New Democrat Citizenship and Immigration Critic Olivia Chow called on the Immigration Minister to implement the recommendations tabled in the report on the Temporary Foreign Worker program by the Standing Committee on Citizenship.
Dear friends, We just won the right to have more meetings at the Standing Committee on Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism dealing with the rights of live-in care givers and other temporary foreign workers. The committee will also be reviewing the nine recommendations from last year’s committee report on to regulate consultants. We need you to [...]
May 05, 2009 Ms. Olivia Chow (Trinity—Spadina, NDP): Mr. Speaker, countless temporary foreign workers, live-in caregivers and undocumented workers are exploited by their bosses because of their precarious status in Canada. Almost 1,000 Canadians took to the streets of Toronto last weekend, urging the government to crack down on those who prey on the most [...]
Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration UNEDITED COPY Tuesday, March 10, 2009 Ms. Olivia Chow (Trinity—Spadina, NDP): I have three questions which I will give to you at one shot. If they get too long I have them written out and I will pass the notes to you and you can respond in writing.
Community meeting to respond to attack on immigrants and migrants and draft recommendations on the Temporary Foreign Workers Program WHEN: Wednesday February 18 from 2pm to 4pm WHERE: Steelworkers Hall , 25 Cecil St. (South of College off Spadina)
November 28, 2008 Dear Minister Kenney, Listed below are elements that any immigration system which builds Canada, and treats immigrants as people, not just basic economic units, needs to have. We hope that during your term as Minister of Immigration, you will take action in the following six areas:
