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Non-status

Access to services for temporary residents

Resolution number
4
Whereas
  1. Canada relies on the labour of migrant workers including those with closed work permits under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and their family members, international students (“workers with temporary and precarious status”);
  2. The number of workers with temporary and precarious status in Canada has been increasing steadily for two decades;
  3. IRCC-funded services currently exclude workers with temporary and precarious status;
  4. Workers with temporary and precarious status are not eligible for the vast majority of government-subsidized legal services;
  5. Issues of exploitation and abuse of workers with temporary and precarious status are documented and systemic;
  6. Systemic abuse in the recruitment and migration processes creates vulnerabilities for many workers with temporary and precarious status, and lack of access to services exacerbates vulnerabilities they may experience;
  7. Workers with temporary and precarious status have limited to no access to subsidized legal services which they require when seeking recourse for abuse and exploitation;
  8. The support needs of workers with temporary and precarious status vary according to a diversity of identities, including gender and sexual identity;
  9. Economic and Social Development Canada is responsible jointly with IRCC for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and funds the Migrant Worker Support Program;
  10. IRCC is responsible for issuing work permits under Canada’s temporary migration work and study programs;
  11. CCR has long advocated for access to adequate services for refugees and migrants, including access to legal aid from competent legal professionals; (See Resolution 2 May 01 1999; Res. 1 June 01 2019).

 

Therefore be it resolved

that:

  1. All workers with temporary and precarious status in Canada have access to IRCC-funded settlement services;
  2. ESDC funding for support services for migrant workers must be renewed and increased on an ongoing basis;
  3. Federal and provincial governments fund access to legal aid services for workers with temporary and precarious status seeking access to justice;
  4. These services must be adapted to meet the intersectional needs of this population.

 

Backlog Earned Regularization

Resolution number
3
Whereas
  1. It is estimated that the backlog of refugee claims at the IRB will be approximately 38,000 at the time Bill C 31 comes into effect,
  2. This backlog will severely hamper the functioning of the new system,
  3. These individuals will be denied access to the Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) and to consideration on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds solely due to delays in processing their claims at the Immigration and Refugee Board, and
  4. Canada and other jurisdictions have implemented regularization programs to eliminate backlogs prior to changes in the refugee determination system
Therefore be it resolved

that the CCR advocate for the establishment of an “earned regularization program” for refugee claimants whose claims have not been determined by the date of the coming into force of Bill C-31 and that participation in the program be voluntary and not result in the cancellation of the refugee protection claim.

Working Group
Subject

Access to social and health services for Canadian children of parents waiting for status

Resolution number
2
Whereas
  1. Some provincial governments are refusing to provide social services, health services and benefits for Canadian children born to parents waiting for status;
  2. These Canadian children face discriminatory and arbitrary treatment that is counter to their fundamental rights;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR:

  1. Document the policies and practices of the different provinces in this area through its regional contacts;
  2. File complaints with the appropriate Human Rights Commissions (federal/provincial) to denounce these discriminatory practices of the provinces towards these Canadian children;
  3. In addition investigate possible international recourses with regard to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in order to file a complaint.

People without status

Resolution number
15
Whereas

The CCR has adopted Resolution 12 of May 2001;

Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR:

  1. Adopt the principal demand of the Comité d’action des sans statut [Action Committee of the People without Status] which calls on the Canadian government to grant automatic landing to those persons refused refugee status who are from one of the five moratorium countries (Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda) three years after they made their refugee claim in Canada. This is a way of regularizing the status of people who currently are without status.
  2. Undertake to advocate for and promote this position to the Canadian government authorities in order to urge them to adopt a policy on the lines of the above demand.
Working Group

Status

Resolution number
1
Whereas
  1. Immigrants and refugees with and without status have contributed to Canada's economic and social well-being throughout this country's history;
  2. Canada is home to many immigrants and refugees who do not have permanent resident status;
  3. These immigrants and refugees have come to Canada for a variety of reasons, including social problems, war, political persecution, family reunification and economic dislocation, often as a result of globalization and trade liberalization;
  4. An increasingly restrictive Canadian immigration policy screens out all but a select few;
  5. The Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement could create more non-status persons by forcing refugee claimants to turn to desperate measures in an attempt to reach their destinations;
  6. Organizations such as the Vancouver Association of Chinese Canadians (VACC), le Comité d'action des sans statut, the Greater Toronto Home Builders' Association and STATUS (Campaign to regularize Non-Status Immigrants) recognize the struggles persons without status face here in Canada;
  7. As members of the CCR, we are part of a progressive organization that is committed to the rights and protection of refugees in Canada and to the settlement of refugees and immigrants in Canada;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR:

  1. Continue to raise the level of awareness of the needs of non-status immigrants and refugees living in Canada through CCR networks and consultations;
  2. Advocate for the rights of non-status immigrants and refugees in Canada;
  3. Raise with the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration the regularization of non-status immigrants and refugees living in Canada;
  4. Endorse and support campaigns working for the rights of non-status immigrants and refugees in Canada which are consistent with CCR policies.
Subject

Non-status immigrants

Resolution number
1
Whereas
  1. Undocumented/non-status immigrants and refugees who have been living without status in Canada have made and continue to make vital contributions to our society;
  2. They have been denied access to basic social supports, health services and educational opportunities;
  3. They are exploited and marginalized because of lack of status;
  4. The rights of the children of undocumented/non-status immigrants and refugees, including those who are Canadian-born, are often violated and they and their parents have no recourse because they are fearful of being deported;
  5. An increasingly restrictive Canadian immigration policy serves as a prohibitive barrier to equitable access to immigration to Canada;
  6. In the past the Canadian Government has instituted special programs to regularize the status of such persons without status;
  7. A just and humane solution must be sought to address the problem of the large numbers of undocumented/non-status immigrants and refugees in the country;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR, together with other organizations and coalitions working for the rights of undocumented/non-status immigrants and refugees, advocate with CIC to develop a process that will allow those without status the opportunity to have their status regularized in Canada.

Subject

Proposal for the regularization of individuals and families without status

Resolution number
4
Whereas
  1. The CCR is committed by Resolution 1, May 2003 to working for a process of regularization of people without status;
  2. The CCR has been working for many months on a proposal for regularization;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR adopt as policy the Proposal for the regularization of individuals and families without status, as approved by the Working Group on Inland Protection, including the call to:

  1. Provide an opportunity for seasonal agricultural workers to apply for permanent residence, similar to the opportunity provided under the Live-In Caregiver Program;
  2. Introduce an adjustment of status program similar to that introduced in 1972, whereby anyone who was already in Canada by a date (e.g. two years prior) may apply for status.
  3. Eliminate processing fees for humanitarian cases.
Working Group
Subject

Detention of non-status persons

Resolution number
10
Whereas
  1. There are a large number of persons without status who have submitted different forms of requests to regularize their situation;
  2. The main way to ask for a decision on humanitarian grounds or other grounds while a person is underground and the subject of an arrest warrant is to present themselves to the Canadian authorities;
  3. People without status who present themselves to the Canadian authorities in order to regularize their status are often detained;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR advocate with the Minister of Public Safety, CBSA, and the Immigration and Refugee Board that persons presenting themselves voluntarily for regularization should benefit from a favourable presumption that they do not normally represent a flight risk and that they therefore should not be detained.

Working Group

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy

Resolution number
2
Whereas
  1. Law enforcement agencies have been widely known to engage in the practice of asking for the immigration status of detained and non-detained individuals;
  2. There has been a CBSA presence during and after police raids;
  3. It is widely known that racial profiling is an established practice of law enforcement agencies;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR:

  1. Call for all relevant law enforcement agencies to adopt a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy;
  2. Denounce racial profiling during raids in geographic areas that house immigrant and refugee communities.
Working Group
Subject