The Migrants Resource Centre Canada joins the call to reject Bill C-12 as it passes through the House of Commons and is awaiting its second reading in the Senate.
Bill C-12, Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, is an attempt to fast-track certain aspects of Bill C-2, under the guise of” border security”, in hopes that the bill’s expanded personal data sharing, stripping of due process for refugee claimants and power to cancel or revoke permits or immigration applications en masse will pass through Parliament unnoticed.
The speed at which Bill C-12 is being passed, as well as the lack of meaningful consultation and testimonies from migrants and refugees with lived experiences navigating this system, is not surprising. Amidst a shifting global economic order, Canada’s response has been to prioritize its economy – and that comes with increased surveillance of migrants whose cheap, temporary labour Canada’s economy relies on. Canada’s ongoing neoliberal policies are telling whose interests are being prioritized: profit over people.
While framed as a more “streamlined” approach to fixing administrative failures in the immigration system, Bill C-12 will worsen the conditions for migrant workers.This comes at a time when most working-class people are feeling the crushing weight of the effects of capitalism, whether through the high cost of living, worker layoffs, and cutting of public services. Meanwhile, migrants are being scapegoated for these issues.
Among our clients, we often hear that they would not have migrated if things were better back home. Many come to Canada with hopes of building a better life for themselves and their families in dignity, but are met with the harsh realities that migrant workers are overlooked, taken advantage of by abusive agencies, scapegoated and treated as disposable labour by employers.
This International Migrants Day (Dec 18), we urge all migrant workers and allies to join the IMA Toronto contingent to a vigil and community action led by Justicia for Migrants Workers and Injured Workers Action for Justice & Justice.
Time: 6pm
Where: Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial (9 Blue Jays Way)
When: Thurs, Dec 18th 2025
Reject Bill C-12! Defend migrant workers everywhere!
