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
Emphasis mine
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