Click the image to download the Who Belongs? discussion paper
There are over 6 million foreign-born people living in Canada, representing close to 1 in 5 of the country’s total population. As of 2009, there were over a quarter of a million permanent residents in Canada and over 900,000 temporary residents including temporary students, temporary workers and refugee claimants. Given how many immigrants there are in Canada, it is not surprising that issues involving citizenship and immigration are frequently in the news and the subject of controversy and debate. This summer’s arrival of the Sun Sea carrying hundreds of Tamil refugee claimants, and the government’s proposed legislation that is said to target human smugglers, are but the most recent examples.
It’s in this context that the CCLA decided to explore discrimination and immigration status in Canadian society. We recently hosted a two-day conference in Toronto to examine a variety of issues including the rights of migrant workers, immigrants and political participation, access to social services and health care, and the intersection of criminal law and immigration law.
German Immigrants in Quebec City, 1911 - credit: William James Topley, via Wikimedia Commons
In Canada, as in many other parts of the world, an individual’s immigration status may play a significant role in determining how various rights, benefits and obligations are allocated. This is true for the allocation of various social benefit programs, employment opportunities, and legal and democratic rights. The principal aim of this conference is to explore the consequences of the differential access to rights, benefits and obligations on the basis of immigration status, and provide a framework to assist in analyzing how these distinctions should be made. The conference addressed topics including:
- The meaning of “citizenship”
- Voting rights for permanent residents
- Access to health care for different categories of immigrants
- Immigration status as a proxy for race
- Rights for temporary foreign workers
- Immigration policy in a national security era
- Canada’s international obligations to refugees
As part of our ongoing efforts to develop a strategy to deal with some of these issues, we published a discussion paper entitled “Who Belongs? Rights, Benefits, Obligations and Immigration Status”. This discussion paper is designed to provoke thought and discussion. As the CCLA works to develop and refine our advocacy strategy on some of these issues, we want to hear your views, comments and input.
- In your opinion, what are the most pressing issues facing immigrants in Canada today?
- Do you believe discrimination against immigrants is just racism in disguise?
- What rights, benefits and obligations, if any, should be attached exclusively to citizens?
- Should some of the rights and benefits held exclusively by citizens be extended to other groups?
We urge you to consider these and other questions posed that are posed throughout the discussion paper and send us your feedback. These issues affect so many people across the country, we want to hear your views and benefit from your experiences on the ground. Please send your comments to discrimination@ccla.org by December 1, 2010. We look forward to hearing from you!
