Logo en Global Donate now

GlobalChange

Event Details

 

Print and save

Niagara on the Lake, St. Catherine's and Niagara Falls

J4MW FREEDOM CARAVAN 2011

Date and time

2011.09.04, all-day

Details

Last year, over 150 migrant workers and allies marched over fifty kilometres from Leamington to Windsor, Ontario to demand justice, respect and dignity for the hundreds of thousands of migrants employed under the auspices of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Programs. After years of harassment, intimidation and exploitation, migrant workers organized to stand up to these abuses. Over the last year, thousands of people heard the testimonies and the stories that lead to organizing the march. Status, an end to repatriations and deportations, labour law reform, equal access to social entitlements and and to the coercive role of recruiters and contractors has inspired many others about the realities faced by migrant workers in Canada.
The march called the ‘Pilgrimage to Freedom: Breaking the Chains of Indentureship’ ended in Windsor at the Tower of Freedom. The Monument was chosen as the ending point to show the connections to the past and the present. The Tower of Freedom is dedicated to those who travelled the underground railroad. This year the pilgrimage continues. Migrant workers, and members of Justicia for Migrant Workers are once again organizing to demand that the chains of indentureship must be broken. This year migrant workers and their allies will be recreating the stops of the underground railroad.

Across southwestern Ontario, communities will serve as rallying points to show how the present mimics the past. This year’s Pilgrimage to Freedom will take the form of a caravan across Ontario. J4MW is requesting the support of community, religious, labour and allied organizations to join us for this year’s action. Migrant workers and their allies will be calling community meetings, and organizing meetings across southwestern Ontario. This year’s actions will take place across several communities If you are interested in further information feel free to contact Justicia for Migrant Workers. Tentative dates for stops on the caravan include

Venue

1st stop

City

Niagara on the Lake, St. Catherine's and Niagara Falls

Country

Canada

Links

Economic sectors

Agriculture and horticulture workers, Occupations in services - Domestic work, Sales and service occupations - general, Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations - general, Natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations - general, Labourers in food, beverage and associated products processing, Dancers, and Other

Content types

Policy analysis, Documented cases of abuse, and Support initiatives

Target groups

(Im)migrants workers, Policymakers, Journalists, Public awareness, Employers, agencies and their representatives, Researchers, Unions, and NGOs/community groups/solidarity networks

Regulation domains

Right to change employer, Right to choose place of residence, Right to unionize, Labour standards, Health and safety at work, Newcomers integration programs, Health care & social services, Access to permanent status, Free employment services, Family reunification, Legal aid, Employment insurance, Social security, Remittances and co-development programs, Trips abroad and re-entries, Recrutement / placement agencies, Housing standards, Migration expenses reimbursement mechanisms, Impartial hearing before deportation, Status regularization procedures, Determination fair wages and labour shortage, (Im)migrant workers selection criteria, Right to equality (gender), Right to equality (national origin), Right to equality (social status), Right to liberty, Right to dignity, Right to privacy, and Right to proper information

Geographical focuses

Ontario

Languages

English