more demos

People rallied at Queens Park in Toronto yesterday, in support of undocumented immigrants who are facing deportation. Another rally is planned for today.

The immigrants are all working people, supporting themselves and their families. For some, deportation is a true nightmare: their family will be split up, as their countries of origins are not the same.

The rally was organized by the Universal Workers Union, Local 183, which represents construction workers, among others. The union is calling on the federal government to amend its immigration process so these hard-working, average folks can continue to live in Canada and contribute to society.

A construction workers' union rallying in support of undocumented workers? That's not something you'll see in the US.

Among the speakers at the rally was Hazel McCallion, mayor of Mississauga, formerly mayor of our own Port Credit, and my pick for coolest mayor ever.

Comments

  1. M@22 April 2006 at 06:29

    Hazel McCallion is an amazing person. I always like hearing her on the radio (she used to be interviewed a lot on CFRB 1010 when I was commuting daily to Toronto). She's mayor for good reason. Wasn't she first elected in 1980 or so? It's more common to see women become mayor now, but then it must have been quite rare.

    One quick Wikipedia check later: 1978. Wow.

    Anyhow, the immigration problem is a sticky one, but there's got to be a way we can separate, as a federal government, these immigrants from others. Once you've got a job and a family in a country, there's just got to be a way to convert that into status. Canada, of all countries, should be able to figure that out.

    ReplyDelete

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