Immigration minister declares there will be no amnesty for undocumented workers in Canada

November 17, 2006

Despite pressure stop the deportation of refugees who work in the underground economy, Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration told parliament in mid-November that there will be no amnesty for undocumented workers in Canada.

'We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that these people are here illegally.' Emphasized Monte Solberg, repeating that although his department has increased temporary work visas dramatically,  people will not be allowed to 'jump the queue.'

About 200,000 failed refugee claimants or visitors with expired visas are currently working in Canada. Unions say these workers are helping fill a severe labour shortage in Canada's construction, agricultural and service sectors.

Liberals says the shortage of skilled trade workers such as bricklayers and carpenters has created a crisis in the housing industry in Calgary and Toronto.  'We are robbing professionals from third world countries that have spent millions training their people only to come to Canada to drive cabs,' said MP Mario Silva .

In 2005, CIC admitted 100,000 foreign temporary workers to address labor shortages in certain areas of the economy. Solberg said there is currently a backlog of 800,000 legitimate applicants waiting to be processed.

Unions and community groups that represent undocumented workers have lobbied the past five immigration ministers for change, but without success. In 2005/6, Canada deported 11,286 people. However, there is no record as to how many of these were undocumented workers or economic migrants.

Very little research has been done on undocumented workers in Canada, where it is seen more as a U.S. problem, where an estimated 30% of all foreigners are illegal and yet are counted in the census.

'There's clearly a bit of crisis in terms of control but at the same time it has clear economic benefits for employers, consumers and just about everybody.'

Most undocumented workers are concentrated in large cities like Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, and work in sectors of the economy that tend to be less structured, such as the construction and services industries.

Because of their lack of legal status, undocumented workers have virtually no protection from abuse and exploitation on the job. They also have no access to any benefits such as health care, membership in unions or work place safety.

The post 9/11 Anti-Terrorism Act brought about a shift in Canada's policy regarding economic migrants. Because Canada has negotiated a number of new and restrictive measures with the United States regarding border crossings, economic migrants are now looked at more as a security risk rather than on compassionate and humanitarian grounds.