Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
720 Spadina Avenue, Suite 223 M5S2T9 Toronto, ON, Canada

Please share and re-post widely! The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change has produced multilingual materials providing clear information about vaccine access in Ontario for migrants, including people without health cards. In this post you will find information in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Farsi, Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Urdu, Amharic, Tigrinya, Somali, Tagalog & Vietnamese. You can also consult the following weblink: http://migrantworkersalliance.org/COVAX/ Share this info widely with groups and publications likely to reach migrant populations without health cards who want to access COVID-19 vaccines in Ontario for free.

It's unacceptable how our coworkers keep dying on Justin Trudeau's watch! In addition to investigations of all worker deaths, we continue to call for immediate compensation for families & permanent Status For All so we can protect ourselves! Join us on June 20 to take action: https://migrantrights.ca/june20 https://www.cbc.ca//fausto-farm-worker-covid-death-1.60394

This [policy] was a massive victory won by migrant students, but there are still gaps, says Sarom Rho, an organizer with the Toronto-based Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. "[A] number of international graduates have taken up work in warehouses and grocery stores to earn money but working in jobs considered low-skilled and high-risk doesn’t bring them closer to their dream of settling permanently in Canada. None of this work counts toward permanent residency, because ...it's not valued, says Rho. But this is the work that, as we have seen through COVID-19, sustains our communities and keeps the economy moving. Essential work that migrant and undocumented people do isn’t valued toward PR because it is low-waged and deemed low-skilled. That’s not fair! ++ If you are a current / former international student, take this 2 minute survey to have your say on the next stage of our work! https://migrantworkersalliance.org/msu2021survey/ https://www.tvo.org//what-its-like-for-international-stude

Solidarity with Gig Workers United / Justice for Foodora Couriers who launched their campaign today to fix the gig economy and fight for better wages and rights for all workers! Migrant and undocumented people are couriers, delivery workers and foodworkers. Bad labour laws and an immigration system based on temporariness and exploitation makes it easy for multinational app-based corporations to reap massive profits while misclassifying workers and pushing down our working conditions and wages. All workers deserve equal rights, full and permanent immigration status, and dignity. We will continue to organize so all of us win the changes we deserve! #GigWorkersUnited #Justice4Couriers #StatusforAll

Migrant & undocumented people are at the frontlines of #COVID19 crisis but many are afraid to access #COVID19Vaccine. None of us are protected until all of us are. Everyone regardless of immigration status must be guaranteed #COVID19Vaccine. Today 270+ groups are calling on Provinces & Feds to ensure safe and dignified access to #VaccinesforAll without fear. Sign: https://migrantrights.ca/vaccinesforall/

#MigrantsFeedUs and without permanent status, they don’t have the tools they need to protect themselves from unsafe living & working conditions. Celebrate #CdnAgDay by supporting their demand for full immigration #StatusForAll!

Did you know? Ontario’s agri-food sector is responsible for about $47.3 BILLION in GDP. #MigrantsFeedUs, yet farmworkers are shut out of the most basic labour standards such as overtime pay, limits on hours of work, & rest periods. This #CdnAgDay join the call for #StatusForAll!

ORGANIZING WORKS! For months, migrant student workers shared our stories, signed petitions, called MPs, and organized public actions. And WE WON. We stopped mass deportations of tens of thousands of people! The federal government has made post graduate work permits (PGWPs) renewable, for the first time ever in Canadian history. Read and share our blog post on how we won renewable work permits and stopped mass deportations: ... https://migrantworkersalliance.org/we-stopped-mass-deporta/

All we are asking is for the chance to be treated fairly, and permanent status gives us that chance, says Nick, a farm worker leader from Trinidad. Join Nick this #CdnAgDay in raising the call for full #StatusForAll! #MigrantsFeedUs

Ontario cabinet meets today to respond to rising #COVID19 cases. It is crucial that measures are created that focus on the site of largest outbreaks: congregate living and working sites. Long term care homes, farms with migrant workers, manufacturing sites, warehouses, bakeries, prisons are the centres of crisis. Many of the workers, and those housed or imprisoned there, are low-waged, racialized and migrant. We deserve immediate changes. We need #PaidSickDays and #NoEviction...s. ALL workers deserve higher wages, emergency income support, and universal access to healthcare - migrants must not be left behind. Just as one example: We proposed specific changes to stop outbreaks in farms in June of 2020. Over 6 months later, nothing has been done but outbreaks continue TODAY. We urge Premier FordNation to ensure worker and migrant justice, instead of ensuring profit for the few.

At least 125 migrant workers are infected with #COVID19 in Ontario right now! They are jointly releasing this statement. Please share and tell PM @JustinTrudeau to ensure #StatusforAll so migrants can protect themselves & to stop the deaths: https://migrantrights.ca/status-for-all/

"Shiva, an international student from Iran, came to Canada two years ago. I could not find a full time job, my husband has been laid off due to the pandemic and I’ve been away from my family since 2 years now and I may face deportation if the government doesn’t change their immigration policies, she said. The students’ are demanding that Mendicino and prime minister Justin Trudeau provide full immigration status to all migrants who are working in Canada, regardless of what ...their wage status may be." ++ ADD YOUR VOICE: Let’s flood Minister Mendicino's phone lines and demand that he make work permits renewable, value all work, and ensure full and permanent #StatusForAll! Call Minister Mendicino at 416-781-5583 or 613-992-6361. Script in comments. ++ SIGN THE PETITION: www.MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/FixPGWP https://www.omnitv.ca//international-students-rally-for-ch

Yesterday, migrant students delivered 16K petitions to Minister of Immigration Marco Mendicino’s office. Thousands face deportation if their work permits aren't renewed before the Dec 31st deadline. ADD YOUR VOICE: Let’s flood his phone lines to stop mass deportations of thousands of migrant student workers. Demand that he make work permits renewable, value all work, and ensure full and permanent #StatusForAll! Call Minister Mendicino at 416-781-5583 or 613-992-6361. Scrip...t in comments. SIGN THE PETITION: www.MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/FixPGWP

BREAKING: Today, we put up hundreds of posters in Minister of Immigration Marco Mendicino’s riding and on the windows of his constituency office in advance of our action next Tuesday Nov 24th to stop mass deportations! Our message was crystal clear: migrant students should not be punished for this pandemic. Thousands face deportation if their work permits are not made renewable immediately. We need real access to PR now. #LeaveNoOneBehind #MigrantStudentsUnited #RenewPGW...P TAKE ACTION NOW TO STOP MASS DEPORTATIONS: 1 RALLY WITH US: Join our action in Toronto on Nov 24th, 12 PM, Minister Mendicino’s office (511 Lawrence Ave W): https://www.facebook.com/events/735291933751467 2 CALL MINISTER MENDICINO: Take action digitally by calling Minister Mendicino (script in comments), or tweet at him! 3 SIGN & SHARE THE PETITION: bit.ly/MigrantStudentsUnited 4SHARE THIS POST!

YOUR VOICE IS NEEDED: Yesterday, we delivered 16K petitions to Minister of Immigration Marco Mendicino’s office. Now, let’s flood his phone lines to stop mass deportations of thousands of migrant student workers. Demand that he make work permits renewable, value all work, and ensure full and permanent #StatusForAll! Call Minister Mendicino at 416-781-5583 or 613-992-6361. Script in comments. SIGN THE PETITION: www.MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/FixPGWP

We are eight months into a pandemic and yet it feels like we are back at the beginning. Yet again, there are COVID-19 outbreaks affecting migrant workers on farms. Yet again, migrant and undocumented people are losing jobs as regions shut down. And still no action to save lives and livelihoods. Any day now, the federal government will release its ‘fiscal update’, a sort of mini-budget which will outline the government’s plan to ensure a just recovery. We already know their ...priorities: all parties this week voted against an NDP motion to create a 1% tax on individual wealth over $20 million. It is crucial that decision makers hear from you that there can be no just recovery without full and permanent immigration status for all. SIGN: https://migrantrights.ca/status-for-all/ CALL PM TRUDEAU: https://migrantrights.ca/callforstatus/

BREAKING: Migrant students deliver 16K petitions to Immigration Minister. Stop Mass Deportations & Make Work Permits Renewable NOW! COVID-19 has changed everything, but unfair immigration rules stay the same. Current and former international students are running out of time. Thousands face deportation after December 31st if we don’t fulfill requirements for permanent residency that are out of our control. Migrant student workers must complete 12-24 months of high-waged work ...to qualify for permanent residency. However, with COVID-19 related job losses worsening again in the second wave, most do not have access to these jobs and yet our permits remain non-renewable and are set to expire. Time has been stolen from us, and the consequences of inaction will be devastating. Minister Mendicino: Make work permits renewable. Value all work for permanent residency. Ensure full and permanent status for all. Don’t punish migrant workers for the pandemic. MAKE SURE HE HEARS US! Call Minister Mendicino at 416-781-5583 or 613-992-6361 and demand that he make work permits renewable and ensure #StatusForAll. Script here: https://www.facebook.com/MigrantWorkersAlliance/posts/3559842924095415 SIGN THE PETITION: www.MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/FixPGWP

DAY OF THE DEAD CELEBRATIONS FOR STATUS FOR ALL! Join actions across Canada to honour migrants that have lost their lives during COVID-19 and to call for full and permanent immigration status for all! You can take action in person and online. * MONTREAL, 5pm, Radio-Canada, 1400, Boul. René-Lévesque est (métro Beaudry) https://www.facebook.com/events/346779576575471/ * NIAGARA, 7:30pm, Facebook Live... https://www.facebook.com/events/335022477573937 * SHERBROOKE, 2pm, 175 Rue Queen, Sherbrooke, QC. https://www.facebook.com/events/1222782494775500/ * SUDBURY, 2pm, Bell Park Miner’s Monument. https://www.facebook.com/events/1244758565894883/ * TORONTO, 5pm-6:30, Dufferin Grove https://www.facebook.com/events/346102000173983 * VANCOUVER, 1pm, Grandview Park https://www.facebook.com/events/374320803713323/ * NOV 2, HALIFAX, 6:30pm, St. George’s Round Church Hall (2221 Maitland St.) https://www.facebook.com/events/3598203616907689 See more

ALL OUT ON NOV 24th! Next Tuesday, hundreds of current and former migrant students, as well as allies, are coming together in person and online to unite and p...ush for the changes we deserve: Renewable work permits Real access to PR Lower tuition & universal services All work to be valued Family Unity Status for all TORONTO: NOV 24, 12 PM, Minister Marco Mendicino’s office at 511 Lawrence Ave W. Join us as we deliver thousands of signed petitions to Minister Mendicino’s office! NOT IN TORONTO? Take action online! Call Minister Mendicino and tweet at him to make migrant students' voices louder! See the comments for a phone script and numbers. SIGN THE PETITION: bit.ly/MigrantStudentsUnited SHARE WIDELY!

We are in a crisis and the clock is ticking, say Migrant Students United members who are calling on Marco Mendicino to renew work permits, value all work, & ensure full immigration #StatusForAll to prevent massive deportations. https://www.thestar.com//theyve-graduated-in-canada-but-th

Read our report, watch our video and join us in our call for full and permanent STATUS FOR ALL! "Dans ce rapport intitulé <> (disponible en anglais seulement), ces femmes racontent leurs histoires d'abus : le travail quotidien sans interruption, des milliers de dollars en salaire impayé, des employeurs qui demandent de rester à la maison pendant des mois, des expulsions pendant la pandémie et les conséquences de la séparation avec leurs familles."... ++ Watch, read and take action: www.MigrantRights.ca/BehindClosedDoors. ++ NOVEMBER 1ST, JOIN US FOR DAY OF ACTION FOR STATUS FOR ALL: https://www.facebook.com/events/1025481547913684 https://ici.radio-canada.ca//travailleuses-migrantes-domes

SHARE & TAKE ACTION WITH US! "Workers were barred from meeting with friends or partners, the study says. The racism underpinning this denial of freedom is clear: even as employers went in and out, workers primarily South-East Asian, as well as Caribbean, African and South Asian women were treated as vectors of disease. "One worker in the report said she was fired because she brought home food from the outside. The consequences, the study said, can be dire: since many ...caregivers live with their employers, losing a job also effectively means eviction." ++ Watch, read and take action: www.MigrantRights.ca/BehindClosedDoors. ++ NOVEMBER 1ST, JOIN US FOR A DAY OF ACTION FOR STATUS FOR ALL: https://www.facebook.com/events/1025481547913684 https://www.thestar.com//migrant-caregivers-in-canada-are-

WATCH LIVE: RALLY TO STOP MASS DEPORTATIONS! Migrant students and allies are currently gathered in front of Minister of Immigration Marco Mendicino’s office to deliver 16,000 petitions that call for equal rights for migrant students in crisis. Thousands face deportation because their work permits are expiring or have already expired. COVID-19 has changed everything, but unfair immigration rules stay the same. Minister Marco Mendicino & PM Justin Trudeau: don’t punish migrant workers for the pandemic. Make work permits renewable immediately. Value all work for permanent residence. Ensure status for all. SHARE WIDELY!

Join us in supporting Amador - a migrant farmworker who was made to leave Canada by his employer Scotlynn Farm after his uncle Juan died of COVID-19. Amador's family has faced multiple crises but he still stood up and spoke out against Scotlynn. Now he needs our support. Please give whatever you can!

Equal status means equal rights! "For those who kept working during the pandemic, nearly one in two reported longer hours of work, said the Migrant Rights Network. More than 40 per cent of respondents also said they were not paid for any extra hours of work, averaging $6,552 in unpaid wages per worker over the last six months, according to the report. "The network says lack of permanent resident status makes it difficult for workers to assert their rights. Permanent residency... would give workers "the ability to leave a bad job and make a complaint without fear of reprisals," the report says." ++ Watch, read and take action: www.MigrantRights.ca/BehindClosedDoors. ++ JOIN US FOR DAY OF ACTION FOR STATUS FOR ALL ON NOVEMBER 1st: https://www.facebook.com/events/1025481547913684 https://www.cbc.ca//report-migrant-care-workers-exploitati

SHARE and AMPLIFY the report & video migrant careworkers released and take action with us to call for full and permanent immigration status for all! ++ Watch, read and take action: www.MigrantRights.ca/BehindClosedDoors. ++ JOIN US FOR DAY OF ACTION FOR STATUS FOR ALL ON NOVEMBER 1st: https://www.facebook.com/events/1025481547913684

Read the report migrant careworkers just released and amplify our calls for change! We need full and permanent immigration STATUS FOR ALL so we can take care of ourselves. "Restrictive immigration laws have produced conditions for exploitation and abuse that care workers are facing now and have faced for decades," said Diana Da Silva, an organizer with Caregivers Action Centre, a member of Migrant Rights Network. ++ Watch, read and take action: www.MigrantRights.ca/BehindClos...edDoors. ++ JOIN US FOR DAY OF ACTION FOR STATUS FOR ALL ON NOVEMBER 1st: https://www.facebook.com/events/1025481547913684 https://ca.finance.yahoo.com//advocates-call-migrant-care-

SHARE WIDELY! Migrant careworkers across Canada just released a report to share stories of abuse and calls for change! "While most are live-in employees, many rent shared apartments where they live on the weekends. More than a third of the survey’s respondents said they were no longer allowed to leave their employer’s house to buy groceries, go to the bank or visit doctors." ++ Watch, read and take action: www.MigrantRights.ca/BehindClosedDoors. ... ++ JOIN US FOR DAY OF ACTION FOR STATUS FOR ALL ON NOVEMBER 1st: https://www.facebook.com/events/1025481547913684 https://www.theglobeandmail.com/.../article-covid-19.../

BREAKING!!! Migrant care workers across Canada are sharing stories of abuse and calling for full and permanent immigration status for all in this new report and video. .. Watch, read and take action: www.MigrantRights.ca/BehindClosedDoors. .. JOIN US FOR DAY OF ACTION FOR STATUS FOR ALL ON NOVEMBER 1st: https://www.facebook.com/events/1025481547913684... .. ADD YOUR VOICE: www.StatusforAll.ca .. Authored by Caregivers Action Centre, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Worker and Caregiver Rights, Caregiver Connection Education and Support Organization and Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, the report is endorsed by Alberta Careworkers Association, PINAY Quebec, Migrante Canada, Migrante Alberta, and Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers (ADDPD/ARHW). A joint project of the Landed Status Now Working Group of Migrant Rights Network. See more

Migrant student workers are running out of time. We need renewable work permits & all jobs to count towards our PR applications. And we need these changes NOW! SIGN THE PETITION: https://MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/FixPGWP "Millions of people in Canada lost work and wages during COVID-19, but for migrant students, there's an added cost, said Sarom Rho, national co-ordinator for Migrant Students United. Because without jobs, migrant students can't apply for permanent residen...cy. To protest that point, Rho, Pryzbyl and other migrant worker and student activists installed a three-metre-high postgraduate work permit at a downtown Toronto immigration office on Sunday. [...] I feel like I'm completely detached from reality and there is someone making up weird immigration rules that don’t work for me and definitely don't work for Canada, [Alina] said."" https://www.nationalobserver.com//postgrad-work-permits-in

LISTEN: Our action in front of Immigration Offices in Toronto yesterday was featured on the 6-o-clock news! So many people across the country have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. But because migrant student workers need specific high-wage jobs to qualify for PR, the pandemic has hit us especially hard. That means thousands of us could be deported in the coming months. Renewing our work permits would make a world of difference so that we are not punished for something that we had no control over. SHARE & SIGN THE PETITION: https://migrantworkersalliance.org/FixPGWP

Yesterday, we gave a powerful message to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau & Minister Marco Mendicino: Thousands face deportation if work permits are not renewed before Dec 31, 2020. Migrant students should not be punished for this pandemic. Make work permits renewable! Thanks to all for joining us on a chilly day, where we installed this large work permit with "RENEW PGWP"! Our solidarity and support for one another as we push for our rights as #MigrantStudentsUnited is what keeps us warm! SIGN THE PETITION: https://migrantworkersalliance.org/FixPGWP

Migrant students and allies: are you ready to unite for our rights? Join us this Sunday October 25, 2pm, at the Immigration Offices in Toronto (74 Victoria Street)! ***Sanitizer and masks ON, music and posters UP*** Current or former international students: come out! COVID-19 has changed everything, but unfair immigration rules stay the same. We pay high tuition fees, face restrictions on when, where and how we can work, and now risk deportation or becoming undocumented becau...se our work permits are expiring. We should not be punished for the pandemic! We have the power to improve the rules if we raise our voices and show up. We are calling on our governments to: Fix Work Permits Real Access to PR Lower Tuition Universal Services Unite Families Status for All Join us! ------------------- Sign & share the petition: https://MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/FixPGWP https://www.facebook.com/events/1468965066631091/

COVID-19 was not in our hands. So why are migrant students being punished for it? SIGN THE PETITION: https://migrantworkersalliance.org/FixPGWP/ "It was literally do or die for me to pay that months’ rent, or how I would get my next meal, said Ashwath Param, a University of Ottawa international student discussing the months following the outbreak of COVID-19. ... Param, who is a third-year international development and globalization student, received an emotional call in mid-March from his parents in Dubai, asking him to come home. They had just lost their jobs and could no longer support him with his $40,000 annual tuition and costly rent. [...] Not wanting to worry his parents, Param went on a desperate job hunt in Ottawa; it wasn’t easy given the struggling job market, and without any prior work experience. He was given a chance by a hiring manager at his local Domino’s pizza but the six hours or so a week at minimum wage was barely enough to cover rent. For two months straight in the summer, the only meals Param could afford were instant ramen noodles, which he allowed himself to eat once every other day." https://thefulcrum.ca//rising-debt-no-food-and-midnight-c/