The Importance of Journalists and Publishers
My primary purpose for this blog is to affirm the critical value of journalists. My second purpose is to call attention to the terrible injustice of trafficking labour in Canada. Reading the individual stories of victims in the April 6 and April 8 editions of the Globe and Mail is heart rending. The abuse of unscrupulous traffickers contained in these editions contain horrendous accounts of the kind of abuse we might expect in places where traffickers force immigrants into leaky boats crossing the Caribbean or lead them across the deserts of southern United States. In this article I wish to applaud the courage and skill of journalists who investigate and write stories of government neglect or abuse, and of the publishers who dare to publish them. We hear of the imprisonment and murders of journalists in Mexico and other countries. We have seen how journalists of investigated and written accounts about such topics as “unfounded” rape charges, money laundering, insurance fraud, solitary confinement, abusive sales of telecommunication packages or bank services have forced governments, corporations, and institutions to change their practices.
In a time of instant and unreliable spreading of news on social media, we need more than ever to support our journalists and publishers. Political parties promise transparency of government during election campaigns but once in office they tend to make it very difficult, expensive, and time consuming for journalist to access information needed to keep the public informed. Reading reliable newspapers and magazines, writing letters to editors or members of parliament, and supporting responsible broadcast and television stations are some of the ways in which we can protect freedom of speech and promote democracy in Canada.
Trafficking Foreign Workers
In this paragraph, I am simply quoting some phrases and sentences from the April 6 and April 8 editions of the Globe and Mail. These two editions contain well investigated accounts of how unscrupulous immigration consultants and international recruiters make millions of dollars by enticing thousands of foreigners seeking sustainable employment in Canada to non-existent jobs, uncertified training in career colleges, virtual enslavement, and horrifying living conditions. The Globe’s four-month investigation identified 45 recruiters and consultants “accused of exploiting at least 2,300 people . . . from countries such as India, the Philippines, Mexico, and Guatemala for their money, their labour or both.” . . . “The Trudeau government is well aware, from being told repeatedly in consultations, that some recruits are ending up in dismal situations. Working under intolerable conditions for meager pay. Crammed into wretched temporary housing. Holding a useless career-college diploma and no work permit.” . . . . “The number of licensed immigration Consultants has doubled to more than 5,000 in the past five years . . . . . “Enforcement is lacking . . . . . “the number of leads that immigration authorities recorded about employment fraud by agents doubled in the past five years – from 153 to 301 – while, inexplicably, the number of investigations went down to 27 from 38.”
Freedom of the press matters. How can each of us support this in our Country? How will our Government respond to the Globe and Mail’s reports of abusive treatment of immigrants?
- Sister Pat McKeon
WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY is this FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2019
