Environmental activists gathered recently outside the Canadian embassy in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, to protest the exploits of Canadian mining companies ahead of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s official visit to the southeast Asian country.
Harper should heed their calls by reining in the powerful mining interests that mess up the Filipino countryside and displace the people, in a process that helps maintain a steady supply of Filipino workers who serve Canadians via migrant worker programs rife with exploitation.
It’s a vicious cycle that starts with encroachment on indigenous lands by mining companies trying to extract precious resources.
Ecological destruction caused by Canadian mining operations and extra-judicial killings of those who oppose these developments were documented by a delegation of human rights activists and clergy from the United Church of Canada when they visited the Philippines in January.
Their report concludes that mines have polluted the Abra River with cyanide and mercury, bringing death and disease to the Filipino indigenous people, and the fish and animals on which they depend.
It’s a textbook process of colonialism: Large-scale resource extraction from abroad makes survival harder for indigenous people. Meanwhile, the Filipino state and feudal landowners, who claim ownership of huge swathes of the countryside, put pressure on the people to quit the land and make way for mining developments.
Stripped of their indigenous means of subsistence, they’re forced to compete for low-paying jobs in the cities.
Political killings and forced disappearances of labour organizers help to hold down wages. The Philippines is the second most dangerous place in the world for union leaders, second only to Colombia, according to the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
Constant, grinding poverty forces Filipinos to search for better wages abroad, leaving family behind. Overseas workers support their families and prop up the Filipino economy by sending home remittances.
These brutal economic realities help explain why the vast majority of the so-called “nannies” who raise the children of well-off Canadians are Filipina.
The live-in caregiver program (LCP) brings women to Canada from the Philippines, generally requiring them to work between 22 and 24 months before they are eligible to apply for permanent resident status.
But many LCP workers say the process at Citizenship and Immigration Canada is plagued with delays, leaving them without the privileges granted to permanent residents, such as domestic tuition rates, even after their work quote has been fulfilled.
In Ontario, the minimum wage for LCP workers is a measly $10.56 per hour, up to 48 hours per week.
In practice, these women are often considered to be all-purpose maids, constantly “on call” since they live with their bosses. The employer can also deduct up to $85.25 per week for room and board.
The services provided by these women are massively undervalued. They generally have professional training and experience in health services, and provide a high-level of care to children, the elderly and disabled in Canada.
Yet some employers intimidate LCP workers by claiming falsely that they could be deported back to the Philippines if they don’t cooperate.
People from the Philippines and elsewhere who struggle in Canada with temporary or precarious status face similar threats from employers.
It’s a good thing there are groups such as the Philippine Migrant Society of Canada, which works to defend the rights of LCP workers. Ottawa has a PMSC chapter with over 100 members.
Canada won’t end its ongoing colonial history until we recognize how our corporations and citizens profit at the expense of these brave workers and their families.