Every year, an important part of the Steelworkers Humanity Fund’s (SHF) resources is dedicated to providing grants or support to organizations in Canada, seeking to address issues that very often should not be those of a “developed” country, but unfortunately are.
Food insecurity continues to affect a growing number of Canadians who, due to rising living costs, rely on food banks to make ends meet. In 2023, the SHF supported 124 food banks across Canada , in an effort to alleviate the economic hardships of individuals and families in communities where Steelworkers live and work. And when climate change-fuelled disaster struck across the three districts, the SHF responded by contributing a total of $125,000 in emergency relief for victims of wildfires.
Reflecting on the growing reliance on the Temporary Foreign Worker program (TFW) by Canadian employers, the SHF has partnered with organizations that support the rights of these workers. For example, in Northumberland County, Ontario, Horizons of Friendship has provided much-needed assistance to workers who have been coming to work in the region’s fields for many years. With deep roots in the community, this organization helps connect migrant workers with legal services and mental health support.
In Montreal, the SHF provided support to RATTMAQ, the Support Network to Agricultural Migrant Workers in Quebec. This organization has been growing at a steady pace to face the demand caused by the exponential growth of agricultural workers arriving in Canada with temporary work permits tied to only one employer. After years working and learning from migrant workers’ experiences, in December 2023, RATTMAQ organized an international forum that brought together over a hundred participants from Canada, Mexico and Guatemala to strengthen their practices and advocacy in the defence of the rights of workers. Around the same time, the District 5 Annual Assembly was echoing some of the fundamental demands of RATTMAQ and its allies for the creation of pathways to permanent residence as the best way to prevent further abuse of workers, now present in all sectors of the economy.
The SHF will continue to support Canadian partner organizations on this and other important local issues such housing as they gain importance across our country.
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