We are thankful for being on the unceded Algonquin territory that this launch is taking place on, and for the inspiration that Idle No More and Indigenous communities provide us.

We honour all the Original peoples of Turtle Land and we honour the diverse lands of the Original peoples of Turtle Island on which we individually reside. We recognize the legacy of all Indigenous teachings across this continent and the world. We are committed to working in solidarity as allies with the Indigenous caucus and with the Original peoples of Turtle Island – in words and in actions – again colonization. We are committed to supporting the needs of your nations.

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Migrant worker programs are the only avenues left for many migrants and pathways to residency are getting cut. Calling for abolition of temporary worker programs without addressing the systemic shifts in canadian immigration policy is a de facto call to end immigration. Instead, call for full legal status and basic labor rights for migrant workers upon arrival.

We must denounce by any means necessary the institutions, corporations and governments that allow the exploitation of ALL people to take place, especially those who do not have ‘status’, those who are poor, and those who are of colour.
While the government insists that migrant workers are treated fairly, migrant workers have documented experiences of isolation, discrimination, fear, exploitation, and limited access to social services. The typical migrant worker experience includes earning less than minimum wage, dangerous working conditions, and working 10-12 hours per day- often seven days a week- without overtime pay, basic employment standards, or the right to unionize. Most importantly, their temporary status makes them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, as any assertion of their rights leads not only to contract termination but also deportation. Therefore, access to citizenship is a tool of the labour market that fuels multi-million dollar industries.
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Talking about Indigenous Sovereignty and No One Is Illegal

Dispossession Displacement and Division

My name is Tracey Jastinder Mann. I am an member of No One is Illegal, a grassroots collective focusing on migrant justice. I come here with great respect and admiration for the resistance that is being shown here today. I also express gratitude to the Tslei-watuth, Burarrd, Musqueum and Squamish nations whose unceded territories we stand on today. I see this action as another step towards building a broader movement that resists the dispossession, displacement and division that is promoted by the Canadian state’s neo-liberal agenda. I am so excited to see groups that are often siloed or divided stand here together to resist the Enbridge Pipeline. My hope is that we continue to see how our struggles intersect and continue to find ways to work together effectively and with integrity.

Today, I want to highlight how migrant justice, environmental justice and indigenous sovereignty movements are all resisting the dispossession, displacement and division that the Enbridge pipeline symbolizes. Dispossession, displacement and division of communities, people and territories are not new, as these are the tactics were used to establish the Canadian state through its colonial nation building process. Denial of climate change, environmental destruction and the impacts of neo-colonialism on communities create the conditions for projects like Enbridge to become a reality.

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NATIVE WARRIOR DEPORTED BY CANADIAN BORDER SERVICES AGENCY

January 2013 – A young Indigenous land defender and father (name currently withheld) living on unceded Secwepemc territory has been detained and deported south of the colonial border by Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA).

No One Is Illegal-Vancouver Unceded Coast Salish Territories has been organizing in solidarity with Secwepemc land defenders for a decade. We have known this warrior and land defender for many years. This Indigenous Taino brother and his Secwepemc family have inspired people across Turtle Island to protect the land, to practice traditional ways, to raise proud and decolonizing families.

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