Does Canada’s Immigration System Put Migrants at Risk?

Questions about Canada's treatment of undocumented migrants and refugee claimants have been raised following the death of an unidentified migrant in a Canadian Border Services Agency detention centre in Laval. The incident was just one example of the dangerous and precarious conditions faced by migrants who come to Canada. They face everything from indefinite detention to abuse from employers—wage theft from workers vulnerable to deportation is rampant.

So why do some migrants risk their lives to cross borders and what difficulties do they experience once they arrive in Canada? Local 514 investigates…

Local 514 spoke to Eloy Rivas-Sanchez from Solidarity Across Borders on the barriers migrants face when in Canada. Christina Clark-Kazak, an associate professor of public and international affairs at the University of Ottawa, spoke about why migrants cross borders. Local 514 also spoke with a migrant on her experience in the workforce, Sarah, who uses a pseudonym to protect her identity.

Sarah, who works as a live-in nanny, took care of her male employer and his son while they had COVID-19 last fall. She says she was not given a medical gown, an N95 mask, and was only provided with gloves and used her own cloth mask that she bought herself

Last month, a family of four originating from India froze to death in Manitoba while trying to cross the US-Canadian border.

Death as a result of migrating is not new, as many migrants have died trying to come to Canada or other countries. Last November, 27 migrants died while attempting to cross the English Channel between France and the United Kingdom

Circumstances such as these draw attention to not only the risk migrants take to come to another country, but how eager they are. Human rights violations, conflict, persecution and violence causes desperation for many to find new life in another country

Are you a migrant experiencing distress, trauma and in need of mental health support? Rivo Resilience and PRAIDA offer mental healthcare services for people without status. Visit eee.ciusswestcental.ca to find more information about PRAIDA and rivo-resilience.org