Montreal, 8 March 2016 — Still waiting for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to respond to their open letter and a subsequent press conference, the Non-Status Women’s Collective of Montreal is launching a new video on International Women’s Day: “we want to live in dignity, security and peace.”
“I am a non-status woman living here in Canada. I got sick, no access to medicaire; got sicker and sicker … One day I ended up losing my eyesight. […] I need healthcare now, please,” testifies Marie in the short video.
“I am a non-status mother, I came to Canada with my children. Because of my precarious status, I face insecurity at work: a man tried to hit me … I couldn’t even call the police. Also our children were assaulted at school […] I want to have the same rights as everyone who lives here,” said Guadaloupe.
“It is not acceptable to ignore this situation, which affects a significant part of society; women and men with their families, forced to provide evidence about their lives, over and over again, and to suffer stress and anxiety. The recent statements by Minister of Immigration John McCallum about the issue of non status people is giving us hope for positive change soon,” stated Leila, a spokesperson for the Non Status Women’s Collective of Montreal.
These women represent only a few examples among thousands of other women whose stories are sometimes difficult to tell. Tens of thousands of people live without legal papers or a permanent status in Canada and their precarity makes women and workers even more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Nevertheless, these women fight every day, because they believe in a better future.
The video can be viewed here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc0gdY022_M
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Non Status Women’s Collective of Montreal
femmes.sans.statuts@gmail.com
www.solidaritesansfrontieres.org/non-status-women