Protesters picket PM's office in Montreal, demand status for undocumented migrants
Protesters in favour of regularization for undocumented migrants held a nation-wide demonstration Sunday as groups visited prime minister and cabinet offices across the country demanding status for all.
“In the next week, [or] in the next month, cabinet ministers will be faced with a decision on criteria for a regularization program for undocumented migrants in Canada,” said Mary Foster, a member of migrant advocacy group Solidarity Across Borders.
Montreal protesters demonstrated at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office and marched to others occupied by high-ranking members.
Protesters called on Ottawa to swiftly implement an inclusive regularization program for undocumented migrants -- a long-standing demand that advocates say appears closer than ever to becoming a reality based on recent moves by the federal Liberal government
A mandate letter from December 2021 asked Trudeau's immigration and citizenship minister to “build on existing pilot programs to further explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities.”
The expectation is that a new program would grant permanent residency to hundreds of thousands of people living in Canada who are considered non-status, and Montreal protesters hope there won't be a limit on how many people can be regularized.
“Being non-status gives you a wall of limitation between you and everything else that is around you,” said protest organizer Aboubacar Kane.
But not everyone is on board. Immigration lawyer Neil Drabkin, a former advisor to the Harper and Mulroney governments, says that if a program was implemented according to protesters’ demands, it would undermine Canada’s current immigration system.
“I believe it is patently unfair to provide a permanent residence status to those who have been in this country illegally, in many cases, for years and years,” he said.
“What were effectively doing is putting these people to the front of the cue by saying ‘you’ve been here for a number of years without status and now we’re going to reward you’.”
Others say Canada ought to up its immigration intake, and that the other option is continuing to wade through an ongoing worker shortage.
“We have businesses closing because they cannot get labour, they cannot find people to work,” he said. “We have people here already who deserve to be part of Canada."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada Disability Benefit needs to be safeguarded from clawbacks, MPs unanimously agree
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
Testifying in hush money trial, adult film actor Stormy Daniels describes first meeting Trump
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential election 10 years later.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Apple unveils new iPad Pro with 'outrageously powerful' AI-powered chip
Apple is hoping its latest iPad lineup will breathe new life into its sluggish tablet market. In a pre-recorded live streamed event from its Cupertino, California headquarters, the company introduced the latest versions of its iPad Pro and iPad Air tablets, and an all-new Apple Pencil Pro.
Katy Perry's mom was fooled by AI images of the singer at the Met Gala
Katy Perry did not attend the Met Gala on Monday, but some of the singer’s fans – and even her mom – thought she did.
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.