Good enough to work - Good enough to stay

Hundreds of people participated in a candlelight march along Queen St E in Brampton on Sunday, Oct 27th on day 59 of the encampment by Post-Graduate Work Permit holders who are protesting the "use and throw" policy of the Liberal government. Many of the campers are from the Sikh community and have strong local support in the established Sikh community in Brampton. While the candles marked Diwali - the festival of lights, rather than a celebration, it was a somber procession, without the chants that had energized the previous marches.

 

These are International students who spent tens of thousands of dollars in tuition - paying 4 or 5 times what domestic students pay - to attend Canadian universities and colleges who have now graduated. They came to Canada, lured by promises that they would be welcome to stay, work and be able to become permanent residents. In many cases, their families sold land, family heirlooms or went into debt to support their new life here. Overall these graduates have contributed $31 billion to the Canadian economy.

 

But anti-immigrant rhetoric from conservative parties at federal and provincial levels has pushed the Liberals to renege on these promises. This is under the influence of far right forces that have gained ground globally. These forces seek to scapegoat immigrants for rising housing costs, inadequate public services and low wages - all of which result from the need of bosses to extract as much profit as possible from workers to maintain their economy.

 

But Migrant workers, including PGWP holders, are super-exploited by bosses, live in cramped housing conditions and work dangerous jobs - before marching a prayer was said for the soul of Gursimran Kaur, a young woman who was tragically burned to death in a walk-in oven at a Halifax Walmart.

 

The PWGP encampment demands are: 

• extend work permits expiring in 2024-25

• implement a fair pathway to Permanent Residency

• stop Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) exploitation - where bosses sell job offers to the highest bidder

• provide 5-year PGWPs for all

 

Workers form the majority of people under capitalism. In Canada, only a minority are organized in unions, many more have some basic rights as workers, while migrant workers' rights are severely restricted. Bosses use this to their advantage, using migrant workers' precarious position to drive their wages and working conditions down further which ultimately makes things worse for all workers. Racism and xenophobia can't be allowed to divide the working class, because this weakens the ability of workers to fight back. 

 

Support the demands of the PGWP Encampment and mobilize your community, workplace and school in active support for this important fight.

 

Visit the encampment at 295 Queen St E (south side), just west of Hwy 410. 

 

Photo: @awaaz.ca