Canada’s migration issue has become one of the most disputable topics among Canadians and foreigners and remains a widely-discussed subject for the past several decades. Among a vast diversity of researches conducted to investigate the given issue, the work by Harsha Walia is considered one of the most dynamic. Being a thought-provoking article, it covers the most critical aspects of Canada’s migration problem and persuades the readers to take specific actions to stabilize the current situation. The purpose of this critical review is to synthesize and analyze the author’s main ideas and to prove the effectiveness and relevance of the work.
The article focuses mainly on the operation principles of two employment programs for migrants: The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) and the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). Through the context of the Canadian province of British Columbia, the most critical human rights violations of migrant workers are discussed. The influence of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) with the US and Mexico on the expansion of the migration movement is analyzed. Moreover, the article presents the possible ways the human dignity protection.
The first labor organization that is discussed in the article is The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program. Founded in 1966, the organization was continually expanding, and in the year 2004, the province of British Columbia finally joined it. The conditions under which the participants of SAWP are forced to work are incredibly terrible. Spending up to 16 hours per day at work during the peak seasons, the migrants do not receive any overtime bonuses. Walia states, “while Canadian law theoretically protects migrant workers, in practice, it is difficult for investigations of labor abuse to occur, given the workers’ temporary status” (74). All the statements about human rights protection in the workplace are just a theoretical part of the law. The employers’ unethical behavior and the unfair treatment of the employees cause a huge threat to the migrants. Although the law is supposed to protect the workers, they do not receive any support neither from the employers nor the government.
Therefore, Walia’s criticism of The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program is completely reasonable. Extremely harsh working conditions, rude behavior of the employers, and indifferent attitude towards the migrants contradict the Canadian law regarding the migrant workers’ protection. Also, the health insurance that is supposed to be provided by the government does not cover the majority of the expenses and generally does not offer the appropriate protection of the migrants. The conditions that SAWP provides for the foreign workers give a solid ground for claims that there is discrimination based on nationality and ethnicity.
The second labor organization investigated in the article is the Live-in Caregiver Program that provides foreign women with an opportunity to complete domestic work in Canada and gain a permanent residency permit. The author’s point of view regarding the given program is extremely negative and can be proved by the numerous supportive examples. Firstly, the women who start the contract with LCP are obliged to work 24 months in the time frame of 36 months. They cannot change the host and should spend two years working in the house of one employer, not having a right to quit the contract or switch the job position. As a result, the women separate from their families for a long time, and when it comes to the reunion, numerous physiological problems arouse and the families fall apart.
Besides the long-term separation, another critical problem caused by LCP is the sexual harassment of women and the lack of mental support. The unethical attitude of the employers oppresses the migrant women who are incapable of resisting the assault. In addition, deportation is a common thing among the migrants who work through LCP. One of the brightest examples provided by Walia is the case of Lilibeth Agoncillo. She was deported from Canada because of the inability to meet the working requirements “due to her pregnancy and bureaucratic delays with her work permit as a result of changes in her employers” (77). Hence, Walia’s negative position regarding the LPC operation aspects is valid. The awareness the author spreads in his article plays a crucial role in solving the migration problems in Canada.
The most significant author’s contribution is his analysis of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). Founded in March 2005, SPP became the official policy that enhanced the reliance on international working programs for immigrants (Walia, 78). The author’s opinion regarding the SSP’s impact on stabilizing the immigration situation is controversial. On the one hand, “migrant worker programs are central to the SPP, resolving the seeming contradiction between the state’s interests in tightening border controls and immigration crackdowns” (Walia, 79). On the other hand, SPP noticeably strengthened control over the migrant workers in Canada. Being afraid of the negative impact of outside forces, Canadians do not support the idea of accepting migrants. Walia claims that “the danger here is that foreign workers are viewed as a threat to Canadian labor, thus destroying potential solidarities that cross the boundaries of exclusionary nationalism” (81). This statement dramatically contributes to the investigating of the migration issue in Canada. It reflects the main threat of global immigration – the loss of Canadian cultural ethnicity due to numerous citizenship approvals for foreign workers.
Another crucial part of Walia’s work is the discussion of solidarity and alliances that focus on protecting migrant workers’ dignity. The author proves that the appropriate attitude towards foreign workers and suitable working conditions are achievable if the government implements certain policies and people follow moral norms. The essential aspect that should be taken into consideration is that “global capitalism and neocolonialism have created and maintained a global pool of migrant workers” (Walia 81). Therefore, the alliances are supposed to focus on dealing with the adverse ramifications of this issue to prevent the negative impact of outside forces on Canadian labor. Moreover, the author offers another valuable suggestion on establishing justice among migrant workers. The strict control of the foreigners might help eliminate the workers who do not have an official work permit and illegally stay in the country. This method would reduce the number of people trying to get a permanent residence permit to a great extent. Thus, Walia’s ideas may be beneficial for both Canadian and immigrants and help stabilize the migration rates in Canada.
Generally, Walia’s article makes a tremendous contribution to the investigation of the migration issue in Canada. The author provides strong arguments to prove the critical problems that need an instant and effective resolution. Using the examples of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program and Live-in Caregiver Program, Walia demonstrates the complexity and severity of the difficulties foreign workers face in Canada regularly. The terrifying and dangerous working conditions, national and gender discrimination, sexual harassment, immoral employers’ behavior are the most serious ones and cause an impressive number of troubles for the migrants.
The most valuable aspect of Walia’s work is the possible ways of resolving the problems and improving the current situation within Canada. The author offers innovative ways of overcoming the obstacles caused by the global immigration that results from the rapid spreading of capitalism and neocolonialism ideas. Walia’s thoughts are logical, his position is clear, and the evidence is substantial and persuasive. Therefore, the article impacts the readers to a great extent. Firstly, it raises awareness about the current problems of migration to Canada. Secondly, the author persuades the readers to take vigorous actions to improve the migrants’ working conditions, establish justice, fight for human dignity, and, most importantly, deal with illegal migration. Providing the exact statistical numbers, compelling arguments, and appropriate examples, Walia reaches the readers, so his work plays an essential role in solving Canada’s migration issues.
Overall, the unsolved problems of migration in Canada remain the focus of attention for the last couple of decades. Thus, a considerable number of sociologists conduct researches to investigate this subject on a deeper level and find out possible solutions. One of the most effective works on migration belongs to Harsha Walia. In his influential article, the author explores the Canadian migration issue from different perspectives and suggests effective ways of dealing with high migration rates’ negative consequences. Hence, Walia’s work is incredibly valuable because it makes a tremendous contribution to the field of migration studies.
Work Cited
Walia, Harsha. 2010. “Transient Servitude: Migrant Labour in Canada and the Apartheid of Citizenship,” Race & Class, 52(1): pp.71-84