OFL STATEMENT
May 1, 2015
South Asians Helped to Build Ontario, as Workers and as Citizens
OFL Statement for South Asian Heritage Month – May 2015
Across Ontario, workers are joining the South Asian community in recognizing May as South Asian Heritage Month. However, this year’s celebrations are dampened by news last month that 70,000 temporary foreign workers whose contracts expired on April 1, 2015, faced the largest mass deportation order in Canadian history. Dubbed the “4 & 4” rule, the rigid policy limits migrant worker contracts to four years and bars them from returning to Canada for the following four years. As a result, tens of thousands of migrant workers were forced to choose between voluntarily leaving Canada, be given deportation orders, or going “underground” to live without legal documents.
“Canadian workers are proud of the contributions that the hundreds of thousands of South Asian workers have made to our country and our labour movement, but today we are reminded that the security of citizenship is not available to all,” said OFL President Sid Ryan. “The growth of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program under Prime Minister Stephen Harper represents a shift away from the permanent immigration that allowed so many South Asian and other workers to bring their families and lay roots in Canada. Instead, it locks today’s foreign workers into a vicious cycle of temporary migration that separates them from their families and exposes them to exploitation.”
South Asians have a long and proud history of immigrating to Canada as workers and finding a permanent new home. Today, they represent one quarter of the racialized workforce and four percent of the total workforce, making them the country’s largest racialized group. Most South Asian workers live and work in Ontario and British Columbia (and more specifically, Toronto and Vancouver, and surrounding areas). While most South Asian workers in Canada are well-educated, they are under-represented in managerial and skilled occupations and over-represented in semi-skilled and low-skilled occupations. These trends are based on the 2006 Census – and given the dramatic shifts in the economy since then, it is likely that they have been exacerbated.
“South Asians are deeply embedded in the social, economic fabric of Canada and our accomplishments are a vital part of Canadian history,” said OFL Executive Vice President Irwin Nanda, the OFL’s first Executive Officer of South Asian descent. “South Asian workers are active in the membership of unions across the country and, increasingly, we are finding our place in the leadership and even in government.”
Since receiving proclamation in December 2001, South Asian Heritage Month has celebrated the presence and heritage of people with roots in the South Asian countries, such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan. While celebrations often highlight South Asian history, arts, heritage and culture, it is also important to recognize the contributions of South Asian workers to Canada’s economy and society.
South Asian immigrants began arriving in Ontario at the start of the 20th Century. Originally working primarily in the sawmill industry, South Asian immigrants settled in various parts of the province. For many South Asians, the month of May has been a time of celebration and commemoration of their arrival from the Indian subcontinent to the Americas beginning on May 5, 1838. However, many other South Asians have travelled to Ontario from such places as Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Mauritius, Fiji, United Kingdom, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. Today, a diverse South Asian population makes up a significant proportion of Ontario’s population and proudly draws upon their heritage and traditions to contribute to many aspects of culture, commerce and public service across the province.
“Many South Asian people in Canada have faced harassment and discrimination in the workplace and in society. We have responded by becoming active in challenging racism in all of its forms and making Canada a better place for everyone to live and work,” said Nanda. “We are proud to have the trade union movement joining with community partners to acknowledge the incredible activism being undertaken every day by South Asian Canadians in our communities and our unions.”
The OFL and the Ontario Common Front will be recognizing South Asian Community Activism on May 23 with an awards gala at the Sagan Banquet Hall in Brampton. For sponsorship, tickets or more information, visit: www.WeAreOntario.ca/index.php/south-asian-awards-2015.
The Asian Canadian Labour Alliance (ACLA) is an important partner of the labour movement, with a mandate focused on social unionism and anti-racism. The OFL calls on its South Asian members to get active in the work of ACLA and help fight for equity in our workplaces, our unions and our society. For more information, visit: www.ACLAontario.ca.
The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.OFL.ca and follow the OFL on Facebook and Twitter: @OFLabour.
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For further information:
Joel Duff, OFL Communications Director: 416-707-0349 or jduff@ofl-org.flywheelsites.com
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