An advocate for migrants who led a workshop at the faith-driven G7 Jubilee People’s Forum called on world leaders to “really see migrants as people” during the G7 discussions in Kananaskis, Alta.

Marco Luciano, the director of the Filipino migrant organization Migrante Alberta, elaborated that he wants the G7 leaders to “see migrants as part of the economy that drives the economy, not necessarily as a threat or a scapegoat any time that they want to address the issue of migration.”

Luciano led a workshop during the June 12-15 forum at Ambrose University that educated attendees about the root causes of migration including escaping from “poverty conditions, fleeing war and aggression and climate change.”

Advertisement

The current hostilities between Iran and Israel and the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dominated the G7 agenda, muting prominent public dialogue about border security and global migration patterns. 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also spotlighted “human smuggling and transnational repression” as key issues during his opening remarks on June 16.

In the official printed program for the G7, Amy Pope, the director general of the International Organization for Migration, proposed ways to chart a new course for the global migration system.

Advertisement

Echoing Luciano’s call to tackle root causes, Pope wrote that the “economic instability and insecurity” that can fuel irregular migration can potentially be reversed “if we make greater investments into education, infrastructure and skills training in their home countries.” Her article advocated that migration policies should be more closely linked to labour needs, prioritizing skills training in origin communities and investing in more holistic host community integration.

As for combatting transnational crime, Ghada Waly, the executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, proposed unified action be taken to follow drug and human trafficking, migrant smuggling and online scam money trails. She advocated using artificial intelligence and other digital tools “as powerful instruments in detecting and disrupting criminal networks.”

The Liberal Party’s controversial Bill C-2, at the second reading debate stage in the House of Commons, has provisions to combat transnational crime by expanding law enforcement’s search and seizure powers and cracking down on money laundering with stiffer penalties. There would also be measures to ensure the precursor chemicals that create illicit drugs fall more quickly under the Ministry of Health’s control.

The bill is receiving strong pushback from civil rights groups, such as the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and migrant rights bodies like the Canadian Council of Refugees (CCR). The civil concerns centre around the proposed new powers for law enforcement officers to attain basic online subscriber information without a warrant and the authorization for letters and packages sent through Canada Post to be opened. Such actions are seen by critics of the bill as infringements on Canadian Charter rights.

CCR, an entity that includes the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, Catholic Social Services, Catholic Crosscultural Services and the Dioceses of Calgary and Saskatoon, outlined several grievances with the bill, including the new authority to cancel, suspend or modify groups of immigration documents (visas, work permits, permanent residency applications) if it is in the “public interest.”

Advertisement

Luciano contended that it is “dangerous legislation” that will “really create hysteria and xenophobia in our country. He said Migrante Alberta “is at the watch and are also very strongly against it like the CCR.”

Luciano and others advocate for migrant rights at a juncture when the majority of Canadians, according to opinion polling, believe that immigration levels are too high. In March, 58 per cent of Canadians expressed that view in a survey jointly released by Leger and the Association of Canadian Studies (ACS).