Filipinos call on Alberta province to provide healthcare for all, including undocumented

Western Canada may be going the right direction in the battle against COVID 19, but community advocates from Migrante said the situation can still go south, with many undocumented workers in Alberta not covered by provincial healthcare.

“Once one of them contracts the virus, they’ll not go to the hospital..they’re not covered, they’re afraid to come out because of their status. They might get deported…this petition is asking the govt to openly include them particularly in the height of the pandemic.”

Migrante claimed, anecdotal figures estimate there are 70,000 undocumented workers in Alberta.

Most of them are former temporary foreign workers, or TFWs, who have lost jobs, failed to renew their work permits or were denied in their application for permanent residency.