Toronto / February 2026
"We who believe in freedom cannot rest
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes
We who believe in freedom cannot rest
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes
Until the killing of Black men, Black mothers’ sons, is as important as the killing of white men, white mothers’ sons
We who believe in freedom cannot rest
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes"
In conversations with friends and family who live in the USA over the past weeks, at some point reference is made to Canada’s ‘wonderful and welcoming immigration program’. They talk about the thousands of refugees Canada accepts no matter their nationality, religion or race and ethnicity. They speak about how international students find it easier and friendlier so are flocking here in spite of the cold winters instead of applying to US universities. (The unsaid part being ‘although US universities are superior’).
I listen and sigh. And after chastising my Canadian family living in the US for picking up the bad habit of US insularity whereby they’re completely unaware of happenings or news in other countries other than the US- I disabuse them of the false narrative that Canada’s borders are open and welcoming. I tell them, the images of RCMP officers escorting Black families pulling suitcases with one had while carrying babes in arms across the US-Quebec border is a thing of the past.
I explain that as we speak, there are a number of courageous organizations like the Canadian Council for Refugees, the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers who are battling the federal government in our highest courts to have the so-called Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the US rescinded. This agreement claims that the US is a safe haven for those in need of protection. So, if they show up anywhere along our land border seeking asylum, we turn them back, because the US is safe. Tell that to the thousands of people who are brown and Indigenous and Black languishing in private prison camps in the US and in countries like El Salvador where they have been illegally and immorally sent.
I tell them that OCASI and hundreds of other civil society groups and organizations are pushing back against draft legislation that will lead to the further erosion of our humanitarian programs. One that would allow the government to refuse access to our refugee determination system to people who have lived, worked and/or studied here for a year or more before claiming asylum. This same Bill C-12 will give unprecedented powers to the immigration and refugee minister to cancel applications in the system, to pause and shut down various pathways on a whim and to be able to discriminate against various groups based on migration status.
I also share with them my growing concerns about the significant increase in funding for our border agency to search out and deport people. That Canada is experiencing is largest number of deportations in years with nearly nineteen thousand people removed in 2025. An increase of over 100% from the two previous years. The federal government is committing almost $50M per year to the Canada Border services to proactively search and deport.
I say, not so welcoming anymore. We have and continue to slash our annual immigration and humanitarian targets. International students and migrant workers numbers are also significantly decreased. I tell them that the days where our colleges and universities were enriched by international students’ tuition fees are long over. That our universities are complaining loudly about budgets and the community college system has been decimated with whole program areas being discontinued. I point out the ripple effect for small college and university towns where businesses including small private landlords are feeling the financial pinch (more like a financial punch).
As we watch the violent and deadly chaos that is being caused in Minnesota and elsewhere by US immigration and customs enforcement, it would be instructive for us to pay attention to how our own border security agency is conducting itself. We must call out government responses to anti-immigration public opinion that double down on these xenophobic narratives with reactionary legislation like C-12. Or the current federal immigration minister’s recent call to put in place systems that will be able to track how many people with expired work or study or visitor temporary permits are leaving the country. This intense focus on enforcement, deportations, significant reduction in the amount of government assisted refugees, the ‘pause’ on various pathways including the Care-giver program, all point to a very different Canadian immigration narrative than the one we had less than a decade ago.
It is a narrative of scapegoating those who are the least powerful. The ones who work two and three jobs to be able to afford the ever-increasing expensive grocery prices that our governments refuse to regulate and control; and the ridiculous rents for inadequate living spaces. These are the people who take the low paying jobs that ensure we have fresh fruits and meats on our grocers’ shelves. Who ensure the bottoms of our elders are clean and the floors of our offices and hospitals are mopped.
We are reducing the numbers of economic immigrants and those who come through family reunification. We are keeping out the plumbers and welders and carpenters at the same time our televisions are flooded with federal government messaging about grand infrastructure projects- a vision of ‘build baby build’ to quote our Prime Minister.
And of course, all of these reversals on immigration have negative outcomes for immigrants, refugees, international students, migrant workers and the ecosystem that supports them. In the immigrant and refugee services sector we are anticipating massive cuts to service budgets. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) Department recently informed the sector that it must cut one hundred million dollars from its budget this coming fiscal year. This is on top of the cutbacks that will occur from the reduction in immigration and humanitarian targets as well as cuts made at the beginning of this current fiscal year.
The sector is dominated by women who are highly racialized and often come from an immigrant experience. They will bear the brunt of these cuts. Just like the people being deported, not having work or study permits renewed; being refused asylum or even the opportunity to apply are overwhelmingly from the global south- brown, Indigenous (to their own country) and Black. Are we seeing the parallels to our neighbour to the south?
We must continue to remind ourselves and our neighbours that Canada can be better. That as we walk in solidarity with Indigenous peoples of this land, we must stand up and speak up for our humanitarian traditions of welcoming those who are in need of protection. That we do not shut our borders or our minds to the world’s suffering.
Returning to my theme of hope from last month, I leave you with words from the same song with which I began this month’s rant:
"That which touches me most is that I had a chance to work with other people, passing on what had been passed on to me
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes
The older I get, the better I know the secret of my going on is when the reins are in the hands of the young who dare to run against the storm…"
- Ella’s Song by Sweet Honey In The Rock
It is Black History/Futurism Month. Black Lives Matter!
In Solidarity…