Body of an illegal foreign bricklayer lay in a Toronto morgue for weeks: Family claimed they had no money to bury him

In late January, the Toronto Star reported (link) that the body of an undocumented migrant worker from Brazil had been indefinitely stored at a Toronto morgue because his family couldn’t afford to bury him. He had lived illegally in Canada for 27 years, working as a bricklayer in the Toronto construction industry, before he died of colon cancer. Rogerio Marques de Souza was 49.

Will sad stories like this become more common as the number of illegal immigrants in Canada – many of them working in our industry – increases?

This man’s story is just the tip of the iceberg and Canadian citizens have to know this. They have a right to ask their politicians what they are doing to protect these people. Canada has an legal entry strategy to use migrant workers for cheap labour, but no exit strategy once their work term is over. Who in their right mind would leave this great country after their working permit has expired? If it was you, after sending money home to support your family, then being told to leave, I have to ask you – would you really find it so easy to leave?

These temporary work-permit individuals find it relatively easy to blend into the underground economy. There, they can get abused and treated inhumanly – and many of them are becoming part of the construction industry in Toronto area, where I live, and in other large multicultural cities across Canada.

I wrote about this situation last year. (See: Are “illegal” immigrants squeezing the home renovation and home building industry in the GTA area?)

Andy Manahan, of Universal Workers Union Local 183, said in an article in the Globe and Mail (way back in October 2006), in an article by Maria Jimenez, that he hoped that ”Ottawa will not move to deport about 200,000 undocumented workers in Toronto, many of whom are keeping the construction sector afloat.”

Toronto Star journalist Nicholas Keung reported that in the City of Toronto there are anywhere between 100,000 to 250,000 undocumented immigrants right now and those numbers might get even higher in 2015, when four-year work permits for temporary foreign workers expire, potentially moving thousands more into the underground. In 2012, 340,000 foreigners were on work permits in Canada, Keung reported.

Why does the very government who created this situation in the first place, not solve these issues?

What do Canadian Contractors readers have to say about this? We’d like to hear your feedback on how best to solve this major growing social issue!

CARAHS was founded as a non profit association to advocate and mentor independent self employed renovators and home services (Canadian Association of Renovators and Home Services)  

CARAHS GOLD Members toll free HOT LINE 1-866-366-2930 for issues on WSIB, Safety MOL and  reducing fines or job site closure to customer issues and more. Unlimited usage. 

We have over 140 online Health & Safety e-courses