People around the world will mark International Migrants Day on December 18. This year’s theme is “Honouring the Contributions of Migrants and Respecting their Rights.” The best way we could both honour their contributions and respect their rights is by promoting their health and well-being.
Migrants in Canada currently experience significant health challenges.
Migrants, particularly racialized migrants, are more likely to be in vulnerable living and employment situations. These situations can result in negative health outcomes such as high levels of stress, workplace injuries and increased risks of illness. This was startlingly illustrated during the early days of COVID-19. Refugees, immigrants and other newcomers accounted for 43.5 per cent of all COVID-19 cases in Ontario in the first months of the pandemic although they made up just over 25 per cent of the population.
Some migrant groups face even more adversity. Temporary residents and those without permanent status have limited access to the healthcare system because they are not eligible for coverage for most services. Additional barriers to getting care can include high costs and longer wait times for the health services they can access.
Canada has a long history of migrant labour programs for “essential” yet precarious work such as in the farming and care sectors. These programs are known to place migrant workers in vulnerable situations and have been recently identified by the UN as a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.” Collectively, these policies in immigration and healthcare have been described as forms of structural racism. They create substantial impacts on migrant health and well-being.
Given these precarious conditions and the poorer health outcomes already faced by migrants, recent changes impacting this population raise further concern.
While evidence has pointed to many benefits from the expanded access to health services for non-permanent residents and temporary workers that took place during the first couple of years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the province rescinded this access last year. A recent report by the Health Network for Uninsured Clients reported several health and system navigation impacts of these provincial cuts for the uninsured in Ontario, most of whom are migrants. Higher hospital fees, for example, were linked to increases in financial stress and more and more residents forgoing life-saving treatments.
Federally, the recently announced 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan aims to substantially reduce the number of people holding temporary status, without providing clear pathways for them to get permanent residency. With this change, there is no clarity about if and how migrants can get out of their precarious conditions.
These announcements were made despite experts, migrant organizations and the government itself calling for a broad and inclusive regularization program to effectively address many challenges faced by migrants in Canada.
In justifying the Levels Plan, the government has linked migrants to the rising housing and affordability crises. These changes do not appear to be based on evidence.
Migrants are important to Canada, economically and otherwise, and we must honour their contributions.
That includes supporting their health and well-being in any policy change, ensuring access to health and social services, and strengthening pathways to permanent residency to bring people out of precarious and vulnerable conditions.
Governments at all levels must act to improve, not worsen, precarious situations for migrants.