Canada is considered to hold a larger number of non-status migrants that live and work there. Toronto becomes the first “sanctuary city” with Access T.O., whose objectives were to ensure that all citizens, including the non-status migrants, can access municipal and police services. However, with the conditions surrounding non-status migrants, such as poor working conditions, social isolation, exploitation, lack of access to essential social services, high rate of poverty, and abuse, it raises questions regarding the Access T.O. Is Access T.O. working? Does Access T.O. have a more local or even transnational, non-state significance, shifting ideas around community, belonging, and political relationships?
The findings provided in the report of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI), indicates that individual living without legal migration status finds themselves living in fear of being deported, they lack access to various essential services such as shelter, education, healthcare, and labor rights (Hudson, Atak, Manocchi & Hannan, 2017). The most serious problem, according to the report is that non-status migrants cannot access police services due to the fear of being deported, living them vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, and a host of institutional barriers.
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However, in 2013 February, Toronto’s City Council offered the Finance and Administration (SDFA) the mandate of implementing the ‘Access Without Fear’ policy, which would ensure all city residents would be able to access the services provided by the City without fear regardless of the status of immigration (Villegas, 2017). The accessibility program was improved by Toronto City in 2014, naming it “Access T.O.,” with also Hamilton implementing the “Access T.O.” policy the same year, while Vancouver implementing it in 2016. The reaffirmation of the Access T.O. was a result of advocacy and activism activities against harsh immigration measures for non-status migrants, criminalization of immigration, and the need to address poverty level in Toronto, which was being contributed by raising the level of non-status migrants who lacked access to government services (No One is Illegal-Toronto, 2015). The SDFA role in implementing the Access T.O. measures by clarifying City services for access by non-status Torontonians, conducting public awareness for the City commitment to Access Without Fear policy, supporting City-funded agencies that provide Access Without Fear services, and providing a training plan for City staff to support service to all (Moffette & Ridgley, 2018). The six major areas that the Access T.O. policy focused on include health and housing service accessibility, accessibility to employment opportunities, family support provision, such as childcare, public education campaign, provision of municipal identification card, and City stuff training and communication to handle undocumented Torontonians.
However, recent research studies and audits indicate that the implementation of Access T.O. has not been effective. The findings show that service providers have difficulties regarding undocumented migrants due to lack of familiarity with their needs and lack of formal organization policy. The possibility of staff in provision of services was identified to low due to the rate of inadequate informed ability to provide accurate information, which interfered with the results of non-status migrants with others ending up being denied eligible services they qualify for including children services, housing access, public health, emergency services, and police services (Hudson, Atak, Manocchi & Hannan, 2017). Some of the major issues related to the implementation of Access T.O. include inadequate training of front-line staff regarding specific and distinctive needs of undocumented migrants. Another problem is related to the values of Access T.O., which are conceptually and practically separated from the intellectual freedom values and access to information, making it hard for Access T.O. to be implemented effectively within other institutions. Therefore, the need for more effective front-line training would improve the implementation of Access T.O.
References
Hudson, G., Atak, I., Manocchi, M., & Hannan, C. (2017, February). "(No) Access T.O.: A Pilot Study on Sanctuary City Policy in Toronto, Canada". RCIS Working Paper . No. 2017/1
Moffette, D., & Ridgley, J. (2018, December). From Hospitality to Solidarity. Sanctuary City Organizing in Canada: Voi. 1, Iss. 1.
No One is Illegal-Toronto. (2015, November). Often Asking, Always Telling: The Toronto Police Service and the Sanctuary City Policy .
Villegas, F. (2017). ‘Access without Fear!’: Reconceptualizing ‘Access’ to Schooling for Undocumented Students in Toronto. Critical Sociology . Vol. 43(7-8) 1179–1195
