April 25, 2006

IAN HARVEY

At a rally calling for the federal government to end deportation of construction — most of whom are Portuguese — a pregnant Viviane Souza breaks into tears as she considers her future and that of her son, Jaime, 4 now that her husband Jaime, 30, a roofer, is facing deportation.

Labour

Stop deporting skilled workers

Rally calls for action on undocumented workers

IAN HARVEY

correspondent

TORONTO

More than 1,000 people rallied in front of the Ontario legislature at Queen’s Park to add their voices to demand the federal government declare a moratorium on the deportation of undocumented construction workers on Friday.

“The immigration system in Canada is broken and we’re not going to fix it with patches,” Ontario Minister of Culture and Immigration Mike Colle told the cheering maple-leaf waving crowd. “We can’t fix it by deporting people whose skills we need.”

Ana Bailao of the Federation of Portuguese Canadian Business and Professionals said there is a consensus among the groups fighting to stop the deportations.

IAN HARVEY

A crowd of more than 1,000 turned out at the Ontario Legislature at Queen’s Park to rally in support of a coalition of community leaders, construction workers and politicians demanding a moratorium on deportation of undocumented workers.

The solution being proposed and already presented to federal Immigration and Citizenship Minister Monte Solberg is for a moratorium on deportation and a system to allow workers already established in Canada to stay if they can show they’ve established a life and have not accrued a criminal record.

The same solution was presented to previous Immigration and Citizenship Minister Joe Volpe last year and while it was under review, the government fell to be replaced by the Conservatives, who have scrapped the plan pending more study.

“We presented this solution last week, but all they say is that they will take it under review,” said Bailao.

The rally, organized by the Universal Workers Union, was to draw attention to the increased enforcement by Canada Immigration which has led to deportation orders against many construction industry workers, many of whom are Portuguese.

Up to 15,000 workers face deportation because they have no documentation and in most cases, came to Canada on visitors’ visas and began working.

Their supporters say that without them, the hotel and restaurant industry and the construction industry will grind to a halt with massive negative economic impact.

Among those at the rally was Jaime Ledo, 30, who was told two weeks ago that he has until May 12 to leave Canada.

He came here nine years ago and runs a roofing company, Prime Seal, that employs 15 people in Toronto’s west end.

IAN HARVEY

Portuguese roofer Jaime Ledo, right, his son, Jaime, 4, and wife Viviane Souza face deportation next month after building a life in Canada.

“I have no other choice or option,” he said. “I have a new truck, I have a business, I employ people, but it’s all going to disappear.”

The roofing industry is particularly hard hit by the skilled trade shortage, said Don Marks, executive director of the Ontario Industrial Roofing Contractors.

“It’s a dirty job and physically tough,” he said.

“We don’t know what we’re going to do,” said Ledo’s wife Viviane Souza through her tears. She is pregnant with their second child; their four-year-old son Jamie Jr. played nearby. They met and married in Canada six years after she came here from Brazil. Both have no legal status in Canada.

“We have a life here. Our son was born here. I’m afraid to go to Portugal because they may throw me out too, even though I’m married.”

Speaking to the partisan crowd was a coalition of community leaders, construction industry representatives and politicians, such as Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion and Vaughan Mayor Mike Di Biase, both of whom offered their support.

IAN HARVEY

City of Vaughan Mayor Michael Di Biase noted his own immigrant roots and noted 5,000 homes slated for his city may not get completed in time because of labour shortages.

“I’ve been trying for years to get the federal government to fix this problem,” thundered the diminunitive McCallion. “Immigrants built this country. We need their skills.”

Di Biase said Vaughan expects to add 5,000 residential homes, but fears that growth could be stalled by the lack of skilled workers. He echoed concerns from other speakers that the current system puts too much emphasis on white collar workers and ignores the need for skilled trades.

M.C. Tony Dionisio, business manager of the Universal Workers Union Local 183, said he’d expected more to join the event in the cool sunshine, but understood that many construction workers couldn’t afford to take a day off the job.

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