Immigration Minister Marc Miller has indicated that the Liberal party is split on providing status to undocumented people in Canada.
In an interview with CBC’s The House, Miller said that although he is in favour of the idea, the lack of consensus is causing him to “reflect” on acting.
“I think from a humanitarian perspective it makes sense. From an economic perspective, it makes sense,” he said.
“That said, I don’t think there is a consensus in Canada as to whether to do this or not. I would venture even to say that there isn’t necessarily a consensus in our caucus. That causes me to pause.”
An undocumented migrant is an individual who has no authorization to reside and/or work in Canada.
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While some of them have overstayed their temporary status, others have remained in the country after a rejected asylum claim.
Currently, there are an estimated 20,000 to 500,000 undocumented persons in Canada.
In 2021, the Liberal party pledged to “explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities.”
“There needs to be either a pathway towards regularization and citizenship, which I know the (immigration) minister is working on. In some cases, we need to accelerate deportation proceedings,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in May 2024.
They’re “not Canadians, but for any other purposes, they are Canadians, fully integrated into the society,” said Miller in an interview with the Globe and Mail last year.
“[They’re] not an impact on housing but they’re working in the grey market because for a variety of reasons — and this has been documented over time — they just don’t have the right papers.”
Unions and Organizations In Favour
Different workers’ unions and organizations are arguing in favour of regularization for illegal immigrants.
For example, in a letter to Trudeau and Miller, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers – which represents more than 55,000 postal workers across Canada – said that it is concerned with the expiration of the Migrant Care Worker Program on June 17, 2024, which will put thousands of workers into jeopardy as they become undocumented.
“The Liberals have made promises to create a regularization program and CUPW calls on the Federal Government to provide a clear path for permanent residency status for interested migrant workers and their families,” wrote Jan Simpson, CUPW’s National President, in her April 18 letter.
“A failure to act on this issue in a timely manner will be a gift to the xenophobic forces in our society who are trying to place issues such as the rising cost of housing at the feet of the most vulnerable.”
Simpson, in the same communication, suggested that the Government must create an interim program for migrant caregivers in Canada to apply for PR status without educational accreditation and language test score requirements.
