What are the Difficulties that Non-Status Migrants Face During the Pandemic?

Local 514 has become a news hour. Instead of focusing on one topic, we will now be covering multiple topics per episode to provide you with more coverage and perspectives to keep you up to date with what’s happening in Montreal.

We look at migrant rights, what unique issues residents in the neighbourhood of Parc-Extension face and the variant that’s on everyone’s mind: Omicron.

Bouba Kane, spokesperson for Solidarity Across Borders (SAB) joins the show to discuss a rally SAB hosted this past weekend, as well as Leonora Indira King, a community organizer and former candidate in the Montreal municipal elections running in Parc-Ex under Quartiers Montréal.

Canada paused deportations at the start of the pandemic, however, deportations resumed as of December 2020. This was met with criticism, as Canada deported people to 132 countries during the pandemic according to statistics from early this summer.

Many of those deported were asylum seekers and some returned to countries with high covid rates. 

Earlier this year Local 514 covered the plight of non status migrants, speaking to Jesus, a non status worker who was paid $10 a day compared to his colleagues with status who earned $20 for the same job. 

The provincial government proposed those working in hospitals and long-term care homes as “guardian angels” , who won't be deported during or after the pandemic. However, this was not legally binding, as guardian angels still faced deportations.

Parc Ex is a neighbourhood with the highest population of newcomers to Canada in Montreal. With language and cultural barriers, this can make things like "renovictions", Covid lockdowns and food insecurity more difficult. Leonora discusses the changes she wants to make in Montreal and how we can get there.