First Mexico-Canada Labor Mobility Forum held in Michoacán

First Mexico-Canada Labor Mobility Forum held in Michoacán

On October 31, the first Mexico-Canada Labor Mobility Forum was held at the Casa Michoacán in Morelia, organized by the Foreign Ministry's North America Unit and Directorate General for Political Coordination, together with the Embassy of Canada in Mexico and the Michoacán State Government's Migrant Office.

Participating in the event were Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla; the Canadian ambassador to Mexico, Graeme C. Clark; Michoacán Secretary for Migrants María Teresa Mora Covarrubias; the head of the National Employment Service, Donaciano Domínguez Espinosa, and the Director General of Political and Institutional Affairs for North America at the Foreign Ministry, Cristina Planter Riebeling, among other government representatives.

The forum is the result of the Mexico-Canada High-Level Dialogue on Human Mobility (DANMov) and the DANMov Working Group on an Information Campaign on Travel to Canada, which call for holding forums in various states to promote orderly, safe and regular migration between both countries.

This first meeting addressed the following points regarding the migration of Mexican workers to Canada: 1) trends in migration flows and unsubstantiated asylum applications; 2) bilateral actions to counteract the risks and increase in irregular migration; 3) how to publicize regular and safe ways to migrate to Canada, and 4) promotion of the labor rights of Mexicans abroad.

The evolution of migration from Michoacán was discussed, as were the reasons for the migration of Mexican workers to Canada. Information was provided on the sectors with the greatest demand for labor in Canada and the country's labor mobility programs. Migrants' labor rights, the travel documents needed to enter Canada, and possible scams during the immigration process were discussed.

This and future forums are aimed at the state and municipal authorities in charge of addressing labor issues in their areas and advising people seeking to migrate to Canada on improvements to their quality of life, in addition to civil society organizations involved in the labor mobility of Mexicans to Canada.