Tapestry 2030
The Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC) ‘Tapestry 2030’ podcast series focuses on the future of international cooperation and global solidarity, and the partnerships needed for gender transformative, sustainable development. Listen to conversations with diverse development actors and leaders from across Ontario and around the world, learning how they are working together to address some of the most pressing sustainable development challenges of our time. Hear stories of partnership, approaches to a ‘Just Recovery’ in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and insights on ways you can make a difference in our collective work to ‘leave no one behind’.
The newest season of Tapestry 2030 is called Global Voices and was created and hosted by a team from the Youth Policy-Makers Hub (YPH). This new season seeks to identify and amplify voices of marginalized communities who have largely been excluded from international cooperation, development, and policy conversations. The goal is to identify challenges that these groups face within local, national, and international contexts, and create strategies so that they can be better included and prioritized.
Tapestry 2030
Global Voices: Migrant Worker Rights in Canada
In this episode of the Global Voices Podcast, Migrant Worker Rights in Canada, we dive into the complexities and challenges faced by migrant workers in Canada. Host Bernice Mwaura is joined by two notable guests; Professor Ethel Tungohan and Gabriel Allahdua, to explore Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker program in all its facets, while exposing the systemic abuse and issues that require reform.
Meet the Speakers:
Gabriel Allahdua is a former migrant farm worker from St Lucia, an island in the Eastern Caribbean. He has been an organizer with the collective, Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW) for almost a decade. He is currently an Outreach Worker working with migrant workers across Ontario. He was Activist in Residence (AIR) at the University of Guelph, the first person to hold that position, which brought activists and researchers together. He is the author of the recently published award winning book 'Harvesting Freedom' published by Between the Lines.
Ethel Tungohan is an Associate Professor of Politics and a Canada Research Chair in Canadian Migration Policy, Impacts and Activism at York University. Her research looks at social movements, immigration and labour policy, and Canadian/comparative politics. She recently published, 'Care Activism: Migrant Domestic Workers, Movement Building and Communities of Care,' which won the National Women’s Studies Association First Book Prize.
Note: Since the recording of this episode, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced a new and enhanced pilot program for Caregivers set to grant permanent residence status on arrival. While this does seem to be a step in the right direction; a number of barriers still exist including meeting the language requirement for the program. It is yet to be seen whether the program will truly encompass all the recommendations migrant rights organizations have been calling for.
About the Podcast:
Through the third season of the Tapestry 2030 Podcast: Global Voices, a few members of the Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC) Youth Policy-Makers Hub (YPH) are aiming to amplify key global issues from the perspective of voices often unheard or excluded from policy and international development conversations.