2008
Justicia for Migrant Workers - BC
J4MW BC Statement in Response to "Reality TV Raids" Targeting Migrant Workers in Vancouver
March 15, 2013 (Update below:)
In response to the recent raids conducted in Vancouver by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) in conjunction with a reality TV show called "Border Security: Canada's Front Line" J4MW BC would like to express our outrage and disgust.
The lives, well being, and basic human rights to due process, dignity and privacy, of workers of color and their families are at stake when faced by CBSA raids. To trivialize this and turn it into mediocre entertainment pandering to the racist right wing of the country is plain obscene. Both the CBSA and the corporate entity behind the show, Force Four Entertainment, are engaging in a despicable partnership for propaganda purposes that should be illegal and is morally repugnant.
CBSA and the show's producers have crossed a line here. We join in solidarity will all migrant and immigrant workers, and workers of color - weather documented or not, permanent or temporary - and with their families and allies in Canada in calling for the cancellation of this show, and for an end to CBSA workplace raids and all harassment, persecution, and scapegoating of migrant workers.
Update: March 16
It has been revealed that the Conservative government, specifically Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and the Prime Minister's Office, approved of the reality TV raids.
This confirms the propagandistic nature of the partnership between CBSA and the show, and reinforces the need to expose it to the public and have the show cancelled and the raids ended.
It further evidences the anti migrant, racist agenda of Stephen Harper's government and the racist right wing which forms its base of support. It follows on the recent announcement that the federal government will officially steal from temporary migrant workers by continuing to deduct EI contributions from their pay while making them ineligible to receive any benefits (see below).
We reaffirm our call for solidarity with migrant workers and their families, and for an end to their targeting, scapegoating and harassment by the Conservative government and its enforcement agencies.
Sign this petition calling for the cancellation of the show:
https://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/national-geographic-channel-deportation-is-not-entertainment-cancel-the-reality-show-border-security-3
Post your opinions on this matter on the official Facebook pages of the show and its producers:
http://www.facebook.com/bordertvcanada
http://www.facebook.com/ForceFourEntertainment
Background Story:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/03/14/bc-immigration-raids-reality-tv.html
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