Rally held in Edmonton to call on feds to ‘regularize’ undocumented workers

Demonstrators turned up at a rally in downtown Edmonton on Saturday to call on the federal government to take more action to “regularize” undocumented workers in Canada.

“We’re here to really ask the government (to do more), particularly (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau, who committed to looking into undocumented migrants,” said Marco Luciano, the director of Migrante Alberta, a non-profit organization that advocates for migrants.

“I think it’s important for Canadians to talk about it and to know about it.”

In 2019, the federal government launched a regularization program for asylum seekers who worked in the health sector. Trudeau later expressed interest in expanding the initiative.

A mandate letter in late 2021 asked the immigration and citizenship ministry to “build on existing pilot programs to further explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities.”

Luciano said the Edmonton rally, one of several being held in a number of cities across Canada this week, is timed to coincide with parliamentarians returning to the West Block in Ottawa on Monday.

“Hopefully this national day of action will help get support for undocumented migrants,” Luciano said. “I think they’ve really been scapegoated.

“(People are) saying that migrants are causing the housing crisis; in reality there’s already been a housing crisis.”

Saturday’s rally outside the Federal Building in Alberta’s capital drew several dozen protesters. Some told Global News they were once undocumented workers who were taken advantage of but that they have since become permanent residents and now want to help those who have no voice.

Diana Ramirez is an advocate for Latin American migrants in Alberta. She said she and