Illegal Immigration in Canada

[LittleRunningGag]

I was just watching the CBC (yeah, yeah, CBC sucks, blah, blah), and they had a guest on talking about some marches that were being organised to raise awareness of undocumanted workers in Canada. She was saying that there are around five hundred thousand undocumented foriegn workers working in Canada.

Anyone know about this? I mean, thats an awfully large number of people working in Canada, not paying taxes, not being citizens.

A quick Google seach brought up this article:

http://www.tcscanadainc.com/news.php?ueid=84

While undocumented workers in the United States are boldly demanding their rights, Canada's lobby to legalize undocumented workers pales in comparison, with only 1,000 people turning out at a rally last month in Toronto to call on the government to stop deporting Canada's undocumented workers.

Immigration Minister Monte Solberg has called the issue a low priority and ruled out a program to allow undocumented workers to stay.

The United States has as many as 12 million undocumented workers, many of them from Mexico, while Canada has an estimated 200,000 from a greater number of countries.

The issue, however, is gaining momentum in Ontario, where undocumented construction workers from Portugal, Mexico and Costa Rica are being ordered out even as they keep the province's housing boom afloat. Immigration Minister Mike Colle said the problem underlines the need for the immigration system to be overhauled, while sources say provincial immigration officials are considering developing a program to address the issue of undocumented workers.

The mayors of Mississauga and Vaughan attended the recent Toronto rally, as did Toronto MPs Olivia Chow and Mario Silva and several prominent labour leaders, including the president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.

Undocumented cleaners, nannies and construction workers in Canada live mostly in large urban centres such as Vancouver and Toronto, where the Conservatives have the least support.

Lorne Waldman, an immigration lawyer, said undocumented construction workers aren't actually displacing other prospective immigrants because they would not qualify under the skilled-worker program, which favours professionals, not tradesmen.

He proposes giving temporary work permits to undocumented workers, or allowing them to leave and reapply to return to their jobs in Canada with valid work permits.

Emphasis mine

 

[sanch]

I've never understand why the categories in NAFTA can't be revised as jobs open up. This way Mexicans if they wanted to could work legally in Canada.

 

[tracy]

Undocumented doesn't mean they aren't paying taxes. Payroll taxes come out if you use a real SIN or a fake one.

 

[FiveParadox]

Even undocumented workers pay taxes.

 

[Hank C]

five hundred thousand 8O

thats news to me....are they primarily mexicans?

 

[sanch]

HRDC managed to lose 500,000 SINs and so there should be plenty of documents to go around.

Perhaps to get these SINs back in the systems there should be a banket amnesty for anyone in the country illegally and for anyone who has a doctored SIN.

 

[Cosmo]

RE: Illegal Immigration i

At least we don't have the Minutemen to contend with. Yet.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060528...x2BDP.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MjBwMWtkBHNlYwM3MTg-

 

[sanch]

There would be less need for dramatic border solutions if 1) the government cleaned up the way it handles the SINs and other documents. 2) Has documentation on everyone in Canada. It's the people who are living under the radar that the US is worried about.

 

[dekhqonbacha]

Undocumanted immigrants, as far as I know, get paid under the table. They don't pay any taxes. However, they contribute for Canadians' well being.

Those people are smart and brave. If you apply for permanant residency, it will take very, very, very long painful time. There is still a risk that they might get deported. Whether you are a permenant resident or not, you got a risk to get deported. Why should they have the same risk but lower income, i.e taxes?

They work until they got caught and deported. They return home with more money, instead of being permanent resident, paying taxes and still havig the risk to get deported.