“In a country like Canada, no one should be forgotten”. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau made these remarks on 29 March as he announced the passage of extraordinary budgetary policies in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The new budget clearly aims to consider the needs of all Canadians. This includes those who have been laid off from their jobs, the young and the old, and those who need additional healthcare support in shelters and hospitals. Still, some of the most vulnerable members of our communities have been left out. They have not only been left out of the budget but they have also been left out in terms of vital access to healthcare.
These left-out people are the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) who keep our local grocery stores running, our farms fruitful, and our children and seniors well cared for. These are the very same people who are now tending to the needs of Canadians in care facilities and who are providing services in essential businesses. An average of about 330,000 TFWs per year come to Canada.
TFWs are given short-term work visas of around 3-6 months to work in industries experiencing labour shortages and must leave Canada upon expiration of their visas. The agricultural workers who, for example, work on Canadian farms and orchards during the spring and summer harvest season must return to their home countries upon completion of this contract. The same holds true for those who work as temporary live-in-caregivers.
Unfortunately, while citizens can turn to family, friends and the government, during the Covid-19 pandemic, TFWs must bear the financial costs of the crisis on their own. These workers have left their families behind and therefore have a far more limited support network while in Canada. Although, like other Canadians, TFWs pay taxes and contribute to the Employment Insurance (EI), they cannot take advantage of these benefits. They are not entitled to draw on EI benefits if they are laid off or if they fall ill. The TFW is not included in the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) of $2,000 a month for those who have lost their job due to the pandemic.
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Rima Wilkes Aryan Karimi | Radio Free (2020-04-16T00:00:00+00:00) Covid-19 does not care about residency status. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2020/04/16/covid-19-does-not-care-about-residency-status/
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