Thread by @sunnshiiny

It’s frustrating when people who don’t understand the implications of policy make demands for policy decisions. Especially about sensitive issues like migration and Temporary migrant workers.

It often incurs accusations of racism & xenophobia.

But we must discuss this openly.

https://twitter.com/mwaccanada/status/1406659976395956225

We must retain the right and agency to discuss migration without the fear of being accused of being a racist if we disagree with a call to provide every immigrant instant right & citizenship upon crossing the border into Canada.

Cancel culture is only effective if we allow it.

Some people may want open borders and global citizenship, but it is the taxpayers of Canada who are responsible for citizens of Canada. Not other taxpayers.

It’s a lie to state new immigrants do not have rights. All citizens, permanent residents & students have rights.

But there are reasons the rights each has differs.

Citizens have the full protection of the constitution and charter. They also have legal status to vote and choose representation. And commitment to protection where ever they are across the globe for legal standing.

Permanent residents have the same rights as citizens, except for voting. Permanent residents are citizens in their nation of origin and retain the right to vote for representation in their nation of citizenship, not Canada.

Canada does not extend the right to vote, but permanent residents can make requests to their MP, or provincial & municipal representatives. They just are not able to participate in the process of choosing the representative.

Why?

Because the permanent resident remains a citizen of a separate nation. They have permission to live and work in Canada and enjoy all other rights like access to education, healthcare and rule of law. But they have opted not to become Canadian & voting is limited to citizens.

All foreign students remain citizens of their nations of origin. They come to Canada to access secondary and post secondary education that they will take back to their home nation. Students use a Student Visa to gain access to Canada.

That Visa gives them access to all rights except voting. But it’s time limited to the period of study. Many students enjoy Canada so much, they apply for permanent residence or citizenship.

It’s not appropriate to extend citizenship to individuals who plan to leave.

However, if they plan to stay for employment or permanent relocation, there are available avenues to explore those options.

Canada does not NEED to extend permanent residence to temporary residents of Canada. We have other means to ensure they have rights and resources.

All refugees and asylum seekers receive government support for up to 1 year to adjust to their new country and are provided the opportunity to apply for permanent residence or citizenship after an adjustment period. Rights & resources could be improved, but they have rights.

So that leaves Temporary Migrant Workers. People who come to Canada to work, not permanently relocate. Much of their pay is sent back home to support dependents. Most perform jobs that are very low paying and hard labour. Many Canadians refuse to work in these conditions.

The job they perform is temporary in nature, seasonal, or the job market so depleted in available workers that foreign labour is required.

Or at least that’s the official policy justification.

Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFW) is a conservative policy.

Created by none other than Jason Kenney as a Immigration Minister under Harper CPC.

As a resident of Alberta, I had the ability to witness the impact the TFW program was designed to address.

Prior to Kenney’s changes, Foreign workers were often Nanny’s and seasonal workers.

But Kenney introduced the TFW program changes during an Alberta oil boom. When oil per barrel was at an all time high and workers were scarce in low income positions.

I remember the time well. There were several more jobs than available workers.

It was the greatest in migration from other provinces since the 1970’s. Employers were forced to offer incentives to work for low paying service jobs.

At one point, Alberta Tim Hortons franchises were offering $1500 bonuses and student tuition programs to entice workers.

The TFW program brought those incentives to an immediate halt, though the economy saw no slowdown.

The policy was to allow certain industries struggling to retain workers to access lower paid foreign workers to staff their businesses.

TFW receive less pay than the minimum wage. Accommodations and necessities like food and clothing are often covered by the employer and paid for through room and board charged on their earned wages.

They were legally bound to work for the employer who brought them to Canada.

They couldn’t quit the job they applied for and under a 2 year commitment. At which time they could sometimes apply for permanent residency or citizenship.

They could not work additional jobs other than the one they were brought to Canada to do.

They had limited employment rights. And it was common for their human rights to be abused.

Essentially, Kenney created a policy that legalized Indentured Servitude.

TFW were indentured servants brought to Canada under peonage policy to perform labour at below minimum wage.

TFW undermined the minimum wage and free market forces that determined labour value. In other words, those businesses who initially used TFWs were undercutting the minimum wage by paying less than minimum for labour from people who were indentured to their business by contract.

Then they carved back some of those wages by charging room & board for residences that house several workers in bunks and provided subsistence supplies.

This was modern slavery.

Many TFW were forced to hand over their passports & threatened with deportation if they complain.

CPC introduced modern slavery to Canada, and barely a blip in public disapproval registered.

Peonage and indentured servitude were supposedly outlawed. But CPC reintroduced the concept of indentured servants unable to leave their job for 2 years and compensated below minimum.

This means entry level positions are difficult to obtain. TFWs still fill many of those jobs. This explains why children are paid less than adults in Alberta, even if they perform the same job. There are now at least 3 levels of wage earners. Adults, children (teens) & TFWs.

This was intentional because it puts downward pressure on labour wages. Why hire a competent adult when a child or TFW can perform the same tasks with less pay, possesses fewer rights and the employer has leverage available to keep them compliant?

We don’t want to give TFWs permanent residence. We should step up efforts to bring more immigrants to Canada using the official methods.

While LPC has addressed the most egregious abuses of TFW, the very fact this program continues is a flagrant abuse of the free market.

Workers should be able to negotiate fair wages in the economy which they seek employment. And if businesses could afford signing bonuses and tuition in the past, they can when there are labour shortages again.

However, we do live in unprecedented times. Still in the middle of a pandemic and recovering from economic contraction, full employment has yet to resume.

If anything, the TFW program should be phased out. If employers can’t pay full wages, they shouldn’t be in business and human beings from foreign locations shouldn’t be proving up their profits by abuse of their labour value.

If Canadians won’t work the jobs that require TFW to perform, that’s an indication the market value of the wages is far too low.

It’s not that Canadians are lazy or privileged, it’s that we know our rights and don’t subject ourselves to exploitation and abuse.

The solution isn’t to import an underclass that doesn’t complain. It’s to adjust the wages so an unattractive and difficult job is compensated fairly.

By all means increase immigration to cover job shortages. But not at the expense of the workers who are Canadian citizens.

And as citizens we need to do a better job of advocating for minimum wages that reflect the economic realities of the region and nation.

What hubris and exploitative privilege to expect people from less developed nations to cut our meat, pour our coffee and wait our tables.

The pressure to maintain low minimum wages impacts every salary.

While wages stay low, inflation creeps higher. It’s not just low income who is losing purchasing power. And this is all happening while employers make record profits.

Timmies makes franchise owners wealthy. McDonalds franchise owners are wealthy too. Cargill and other meat packing plants make billions in profits.

Yet they continue to employ TFW while jacking up the price of their commodities.

If you’re arguing for TFWs, refugees and asylum seekers to gain instant citizenship, that’s inappropriate.

People from other less developed nations are treated like crap because we Canadians whine about maintaining affordable products.

Products would be more affordable if we all had appropriate compensation for our labour.

While we enjoy the cheap labour from TFWs to keep prices at bay, employers are laughing their way to the bank.

They haven’t lowered prices by paying their employees less. They haven’t maintained prices by paying TFW less. They just make bigger profits.

At our expense and the expense of vulnerable people.

Policies that refuse citizenship to immigrants are not racist or xenophobic. Sometimes the intent is to protect all workers, not just the ones who are being exploited more overtly.