As Paul Martin sat down with George Bush Junior for a breakfast meeting at the recent round of Free Trade talks in Mexico to discuss the opening of Canada-US trade routes to facilitate the movement of goods and services, Canadian "Permanent Residents", especially those who are from middle eastern countries, lined up at various airports and borders to be subjected to strenuous security checks at all Canadian ports of entry. Martin gave a great deal of lip service to how he was going to push Bush to "give greater respect to the Canadian passport" in order to prevent future incidents such as the Arar case. However, despite this talk of Canadian independence, Citizenship and Immigration Canada is doing it's best to "harmonize" its policies with its US counterpart - Immigration and Naturalization Services. In fact, the creation of the new Department of Public Safety and the Permanent Resident Card are pale imitations of the US Department of Homeland Security and the American "Green Card".
Permanent Resident Card
Every day since January 1, 2004 there have been new reports of immigrants being turned away at Canadian ports of entry because they don't have the new Permanent Resident Card. The introduction of the PR card is one of a series of changes to Canadian Identification Documents being pushed through. These new changes are a continuation of the Canadian governments attempt to marginalize and criminalize immigrants, refugees, non-status people and non-Canadian born citizens by subjecting them to a campaign of surveillance and security. As a result of these new changes, many immigrants and refugees are unable to access essential services such as employment assistance programs, apply for social assistance, or even simply open a bank account. Clearly, the introduction of these new ID's and the de-valuation of old ID's such as the Social Insurance Card is part of the ongoing attack on immigrants, refugees, and non-Canadian born citizens.
Initially, the Permanent Resident Card was introduced by Citizenship and Immigration Canada as a travel document in June 2002. By January 1, 2004 all permanent residents in Canada were required to carry a Permanent Resident Card to re-enter Canada. In mid- December 2003 some concessions were made to accommodate the large volume of holiday travelers for the holiday season.
While the Permanent Resident Card was initially presented as a travel document for landed immigrants, it has become much more than that. It now serves as a "Foundation Document", a primary piece of ID required to access all other identification documents in Canada.
Application Process
The application process for a PR card is difficult and lengthy. The application requires you to accurately divulge the start and end date and addresses of all your jobs or schools in the past 5 years, as well as your former residence and travel history. For immigrant and refugee communities who face extreme difficulties with maintaining a fixed address or permanent employment, these tasks become insurmountable. In addition, all applications must be signed by a "guarantor" and accompanied by passport-style photos. It is oftentimes difficult for those new to Canada to find a professional who has known them for at least two years and can serve as their guarantor. If the applicant can't find a guarantor they must pay for a Notary Public to notarize their application. The basic application fee is $50.00 per person in addition to the $10-$20 cost for photos per person, which adds up to an extremely high cost for families or new immigrants on a fixed income. Those who have difficulties with language or literacy problems will be unable to navigate the application process.
Unfortunately, many agencies don't have the resources to provide assistance with the completion of the difficult forms and there are few places that offer financial assistance to those unable to cover the application fees. The cumbersome nature of this application, and the lack of services to assist with this process, leaves thousands of people without essential identification to access basic services necessary for survival - services that are suppose to be guaranteed to all Canadian residents.
To make matters worse, once an application is successfully completed, it takes Citizenship and Immigration Canada an average of 3 months to issue a new card. That means 3 months that applicants are barred from being able to access essential life sustaining services such as Social Assistance.
HRDC And SIN Cards
Officially starting on January 1st, 2004 Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) no longer accepts Records of Landings (ROL) as proof of status to apply for a Social Insurance Card (SIN). However, in reality, HRDC started refusing ROL's as early as November 2003. Citizens or immigrants not born in Canada will need to present HRDC with a PR Card or a Citizenship Card in order to apply for a SIN Card. Surprisingly, valid Canadian passports have not been accepted as HRDC since 2002.
The SIN is an essential secondary document required to work in Canada. Much like other identification documents, the SIN has also lost its "authority". Since the fall of 2003, the new SIN Cards issued by HRDC have a new inscription on the back stating: "This is not an identity card. This card is not an authorization to work in Canada". The new SIN cards no longer provide a space for the carriers signature, meaning that the new SIN Card is no longer an identity document.
HRDC requires all Employers to request to see both a SIN card and a Canadian status document such as the PR card or a citizenship card, creating an additional barrier for non-Canadian born Citizens or Landed Immigrants.
New Sin For Refugees
To make matters worse, refugee claimants and other "temporary residents" are now being issued a special SIN number that begins with the number 9. These new SIN cards also carry an expiration date that coincides with the termination of the applicants work permit. These new changes unfairly target refugees. Many employers will re-consider offering long-term employment to an applicant who has an expiration date on their SIN Card, as they will not know if the work permit is to be renewed at the point of expiration. In addition it is not clear whether employees will be able to continue to hold their position while waiting for a new SIN Card. The application process for a new SIN card is difficult and time consuming, especially for someone new to Canada with language barriers. The new SIN card is yet another barrier in the way of securing stable, permanent employment for refugees and temporary residents.
To compound the problem, as of November 2003 many HRDC funded programs such as Employment Insurance programs are no longer accessible to people with 900 series SIN Cards. As a result of these new changes many refugees are unable to access essential services that would help them settle in Canada.
Ontario Health Card
The introduction of the PR Card, and the changes to the SIN Card, prevent many immigrants and refugees from being able to travel, work, or access government services. Although to this date the PR Card is not required in order to obtain an Ontario Health Card, the in-accessible nature of the application process for an OHIP Card makes it difficult for many to access health services. In order to apply for an Ontario Health Card you need to provide proof of status such as an ROL, a PR card, or a Citizenship Card. In addition, you need to provide proof of identity with a signature, as a SIN Card is no longer valid. A driver's license, credit card or "Age of Majority Card" can be used. A proof of address for 3 months or longer is also required. Agencies can complete an "Agency Letter" to assist homeless clients to apply for a one year temporary Health Card. All Health Card applicants must appear in person at a Ministry of Health office in order to be photographed. Unfortunately, there are very few Ministry of Health offices throughout Ontario, and the line-ups for applications are long. Since the SARS epidemic, all Ministry of Health "kiosks" at downtown Toronto hospitals have been discontinued, leaving applicants living in the downtown area no choice but to travel to outlying North York, Scarborough or Etobicoke.
The people who are most effected by the creation of the PR Card and the changes to the SIN card are immigrants, refugees, non-status people, homeless people and people with low incomes. Communities under attack, as well as organizations and agencies working with immigrants, refugees and homeless people, are on the front lines of this fight against the PR Card and the changed SIN Card. These changes to key forms of identification are a symptom of an alarming trend leading towards a US-style immigration policy that even further marginalizes and criminalizes migrants. It is essential for all of our communities to build an effective public education campaign and fight back in opposition to these repressive changes. While the campaign against the PR card may seem like a simple campaign about identification, it is really a fight against the Liberal Party's regressive immigration and "security" policies. We must do all that we can to prevent the Martin Government from continuing to push through these changes without facing massive public mobilization.
Sima Zerehi is a member of No One Is Illegal (Toronto), the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) and the Toronto branch of the New Socialist Group.