Migrant workers in Canada still have difficulty aborting

Evelyn Encalada Grez, a transnational researcher and advocate for women migrant workers, has studied the subject for more than 20 years. She remembers a migrant woman who had in great fear of discovering that he had to be taken by someone else to the farm for a medical appointment.

He remembers it raining the day he picked up the woman to take her to Toronto to meet with health care workers who could perform the procedure.

Extremely anxious to see the woman, she met the researcher far away in the farm of the Niagara region where she was working.

When I met him at the designated place where we had agreed to meet, he was [complètement] really wetrecalling Evelyn Encalada Grez, added that she was surprised why do I feel like I’m doing something wrong?.

What if he had no friends or acquaintances doing this kind of field work, what might have happened to him and his life?

But this experience is far from being the only one experienced by the researcher.

There are many barriers

Sneaky transfer to farm property is like fixing theft.

Migrant women in Canada face severe barriers to accessing health care, especially when it comes to pregnancy. He usually keeps it, because when employers find out, they can send them home or refuse to hire them for next season.

In addition, female workers typically live on the property of their workplace and have no privacy to carefully seek care.

Many live in remote rural areas where access to abortion is limited and transportation is scarce. And they face the added challenge of not receiving health care in their own language.

Another big hurdle is cost, says Elene Lam, executive director of Butterfly, an organization that specifically helps sex workers and advocates for the rights of migrant workers.

The migrant workers Ms. Lam is advocating for basically no provincial health care coverage and having to pay out of pocket, he said. Depending on the stage of pregnancy, it can cost between a few hundred dollars and up to $ 1500.

Avoid sexual intercourse.

Many female migrant workers can access public health care, but not all, says Lindsay Larios, an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba who studies specific migration and reproductive justice.

This may be because they have to wait three months after their arrival, during which they have to rely on private insurance. To obtain this, it is necessary for their employers to file documents that are sometimes incomplete.

If they are faced with problems renewing work permits or visas, it could also mean a break in their immigration status.

When it comes to abortion, there is a lot of stigma around female migrant workers who have intimate or sexual relationships, Ms. Larios.

She cited research showing that female migrant workers were told by officials in their home country or Canada, or even by their employers, that they should abstain from sex.

” Workers themselves believe that there is a real risk to their jobs – for example, not being re -employed next year – if they are considered problematic employees who violate this policy. [informelle] “

Despite the fact that the abortion pill, mifepristone, became available in Canada in early 2017, that doesn’t mean better access to abortion for migrant workers, Ms Larios and Lam said.

This treatment, also known as medical abortion, can be done safely at home instead of requiring a trip to a clinic or hospital, but it still requires a doctor’s prescription and costs hundreds of dollars. if a patient has to pay out of pocket, Larios said.

Planned Parenthood Toronto Executive Director Mohini Datta-Ray pointed out that medical abortion has uncomfortable side effects. It causes a lot of cramping, bleeding, pain, and is very disabling for about a week, he said.

Because female migrant workers do not have much protection in relation to their health and need little time to deport them for an illness, disability or other scenario that lowers their value in the eyes of the employer, it’s just not the solution where [elles] think at first glanceif they are in this situation, Ms. mentioned. Datta-Ray.

If the federal government cares about access to abortion, it can provide a status for alla campaign to provide permanent residence to all temporary female migrant workers and families with uncertain legal status, said Frédérique Chabot, director of health promotion at Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights.

Action Canada supports the request because it knows without it, people will go on without abortion, Ms. Chabot.

Evelyn Encalada Grez believes the government needs to reform temporary foreign worker programs so that employees are not tied to one employer and have the freedom to go elsewhere, reducing the risk of exploitation.

We need to be more accountable to the people Canada bringshe mentioned.

The office of Carla Qualtrough, federal Minister of Labor and Workforce Development, has not yet responded to a request for comment.