A migrant is "a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons. The term includes a number of well-defined legal categories of people." -International Organization for Migration
Examples of people who would be defined as migrants
Migrant workers
In 2021, Canada had 777,000 workers on temporary work permits. [1]
Migrant workers are typically paid low wages, and are not provided with adequate living conditions. They perform labour in sectors that Canadian citizens are less inclined to fill based on poor working conditions (i.e. agriculture, accommodation and food services, administrative and waste management and remediation services). [2]
Refugees
Refugees may be smuggled into another country to flee unsafe living conditions.
For example, due to restrictions on immigration at the Mexican border, even those fleeing dire conditions are detained when caught at the U.S. border.
International students
Canada accepted 621,565 international students in 2021.
International students pay significantly higher tuition fees to study, plus face restrictions on the amount of labour they can provide to meet the cost (no more than 20 hours per week). [3]
Why migrant justice is climate justice
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