Sudbury groups react to federal announcement not to regularize all undocumented workers

A Sudbury advocate for migrant workers says the federal government is acting "cowardly" by announcing it won't consider residential status for all undocumented migrant workers in Canada.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said last week, he's still "actively considering" providing status to those working in certain sectors, such as health care and construction," but not looking at a broader program.

Scott Florence is the executive director of the Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre.

He said Canada's situation does not mirror that ofthe United States, with most immigrants arriving in this country legally, then often losing their legal status through no fault of their own.

"This regularization program was a lifeline that was going to help get rid of the stigma and the fear that they live in all of the time as a result of this," he said.

Florence blames political rhetoric for creating a volatile situation in which immigrants are made into scapegoats for social ills when they're really not to blame.

"There's been a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment that's really been whipped up by certain political elements in the last little while, where immigrants are being blamed for all of Canada's woes, whether it be the housing crisis, whether it be the higher cost of living, he said. "None of these things are are true."

Florence says his agency is in touch with a handful of undocumented workers who work in health care or are students, but says they're too few to be causing the kind of problems heaped on them.

A Sudbury-based global recruiting firm said the announcement will create uncertainty for employers and employees.

Skilled immigrants needed

Anthony Lawley is the executive director of the Ivey Group, which focuses on recruiting skilled workers for jobs that aren't being filled by Canadians.

He says he gets five to 10 calls a month from employers who fear they may lose a skilled worker who has become illegal, or an employee who lost legalstatus and has become undocumented and fears deportation.

He says there aren't many options for them, except to re-apply within ninety days or to leave the country and try to return.

"Sometimes people have been here for 20 years, so they were just like, it's normal," he said. "I expect in the near future there's going to be a lot more calls of 'what am I supposed to do?' Either from their employers who are like, 'this individual has been working for me X amount of time, love them, adding super-significant amount of value to our business. What am I supposed to do?' Some of them have been working here on work permits previously, or now they've lost their status so they're working illegally"

Lawley says there's currently a pilot program for construction workers to help legitimize their status, but that's not going to help other clients who need to hang on to their skilled workers.

"Companies just can't find the workers," he said, pointing to the agriculture sector.

"Like if all the farmers' equipment isn't operating because they can't find a mechanic to fix it, well it's a problem."

While Lawley doesn't think immigrant workers are responsible for many of the social pressures blamed on them, he does think the government is just struggling to find a balance between between taking care of those immigrants who are contributing to the economy and those who may be taking advantage.