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May 14,2006 - May 21,2006 |
Opposing deportation for illegal workers
Thousands rally at Queen's Park to ask for revised rules on immigration
By Francesco Veronesi
Originally Published: 2006-04-30
Stop deporting illegal workers, was the request voiced Saturday by thousands of immigrants during the second and final day of protest at Queen's Park. "Our position," said Patrizia, an Italian-Argentine woman with a temporary residence visa who asked us to be mentioned by first name only, "is clear and simple: we ask that the position of anyone who's been living in Canada for at least three years be regularized. We are talking of people who work, pay for services, respect the law, but at the same time are forced to live on the edge of legality."
The kind of shortsightedness exhibited by Federal and Provincial institutions does not allow politicians to realize how important - necessary, even - illegal workers are to numerous industries, construction first and foremost. According to recent statistics, at least 200,000 illegal workers are living in Canada, and 40,000 of them in the GTA alone.
The previous Liberal government had considered the possibility of granting an amnesty to all those who had committed no crime during their stay in Canada, but this idea was discarded by the new Tory cabinet. The government led by Stephen Harper, on the contrary, tightened the enforcement of the law that mandates illegal workers to be deported, thus reversing the approach of the Martin cabinet, when minister of Immigration Joe Volpe had repeatedly tried to enact 'softer' solutions.
Saturday's rally saw the immigrants joined by many union officials - including the top ranks of the Universal Workers Union - and members of the Hispanic and Portuguese communities, those most penalized by the new 'zero tolerance' policy. "Should the situation remain unchanged," continued Patrizia, "the weaker among us will suffer. I'm thinking of the children who have been living here for years, who speak good English and are completely integrated. I'm thinking of their trauma when they will be forced to leave everything behind to be deported to a country which they no longer belong to. I think that these people should be offered an opportunity: those who contribute to the economy, who work, who don't break the law, who have truly integrated in this society, should be allowed to stay in Canada. Let's at least give them a temporary residence visa, so that they may come out of illegality."
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