Canada Plan for Immigrants Without Work Permits June 2024 Updates
Canada Helps Immigrants Without Valid Work Permits Stay
New Program for Immigrants
On Monday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, his party’s MPs, unions, and community groups asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to start a program. This program will help thousands of immigrants living in Canada without proper papers to stay in the country.
Plan to Help Illegal Residents
Marc Miller, the immigration minister, plans to present a strategy to the cabinet. The cabinet meets on Tuesday and once more before Parliament closes for the summer in June. The plan is to help anyone living in Canada without legal status, especially former foreign students whose study visas have expired. They will have a chance to regularize their status and get permanent residency.
Number of Illegal Immigrants in Canada
Experts estimate that between 20,000 and 500,000 illegal immigrants live in Canada. The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change says that the government might spread the process of giving permanent residency to illegal immigrants over several years. This is to avoid a sudden increase in numbers by first allowing work permits.
No Limit on Applications
The NDP wants the government not to limit the number of applications. In a letter, Mr. Singh and the NDP caucus asked Mr. Trudeau to start “a broad, comprehensive, and uncapped regularizing initiative.” This will give undocumented workers in Canada a clear and easy path to permanent residency.
Benefits of Regularizing Status
A regularizing strategy will meet the mandate from Prime Minister Sean Fraser, the former immigration minister, to “explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers contributing to Canadian communities.” Many countries have adopted plans to help migrants regularize their status. For example, a six-month initiative in Ireland in 2022 allowed anyone who had lived there for four years to seek legal permission to stay.
Support from Organizations and Unions
More than twenty labor organizations, including the Canadian Labour Congress, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, joined faith organizations and community groups to demand a federal regularization program. They say that undocumented workers face abuse and exploitation due to their lack of status. Allowing them to stay legally will help them leave bad jobs and improve working conditions for everyone.
Challenges Faced by Undocumented Workers
Undocumented workers in Canada have limited access to health care, education, and legal protection. They often work in low-paying and unstable jobs and face exploitation. They pay taxes and work hard but are vulnerable due to their temporary status. An example is Jane Kirabira, an undocumented lesbian from Uganda, who fears for her life if she returns home. She and others like her need a path to permanent status to live safely and contribute fully to Canadian society.
Addressing Public Concerns About Immigration
Due to declining public support for immigration, Ottawa set a limit on the number of permanent immigrants for 2026 at 500,000. The government also aims to welcome 500,000 immigrants in 2025 and 485,000 in 2024. Public support has dropped as Canadians link a shortage of affordable housing to the influx of immigrants
