On Sunday June 4, 2017, the Canadian Council for Refugees, in partnership with Migrante Alberta, held its third full-day meeting on migrant workers issues in Edmonton on Treaty 6 territory. Migrant Voices: a regional forum on migrant worker issues was held following the CCR Spring 2017 Consultation. Approximately 100 people, mostly from the Western provinces, attended the meeting, and about half of the participants were themselves migrant workers. Participants also included migrant justice advocates, members of the labour movement, settlement workers, students and researchers.
The meeting provided an opportunity to share information, experiences and best practices among migrant workers and people in diverse sectors across Canada that work with or advocate for the rights of migrant workers. It also supported networking across regions.
Most of the discussion groups were co-facilitated by a member of Migrante Alberta with a CCR member, with the exception of the group on service provision, which was facilitated by CCR, and the group on solidarity with labour, which was facilitated by Migrante Alberta. The groups focused on:
- Migrant workers self-organizing
- Advocacy for policy change
- Access to services
- Access to status
- Solidarity with the labour movement