Rights groups urge Quebec to change 1924 law

Professional Syndicates Act allows discrimination against non-citizens

It’s an obscure law that dates back to the time of Prohibition, when fears of communist (or American) invasion often led to protectionist or nativist policies.

But the 1924 Professional Syndicates Act, which states that employees of unions and professional associations must be Canadian citizens, is still very much in force, and, it turns out, a perfectly legal way to discriminate against non-citizens in a whole range of positions.

In September 2015, the law was cited as the reason for firing a Haitian woman just one week after she had been hired as an accounting technician for the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires.

Though she went to CEGEP and university here, the woman was a permanent resident at the time — not a Canadian citizen — and therefore barred from working at the organization.

Now, to the chagrin of several immigrants’ rights organizations, the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission (HRC) has dropped the woman’s complaint because it says the Quebec Charter of Rights does not protect against discrimination based on citizenship.

“It’s not fair,” said the woman, known only as K.A. to protect her future job prospects.

“It is not only impacting me, but people who have been living here for 30 years who are not citizens but are contributing to Canadian and Quebec society. It’s not fair for them not to be able to get certain jobs.”

Some 1,740 unions and non-profit organizations are incorporated under the PSA, which was reformed in 1964 but retains its earlier clauses regarding citizenship.

At a news conference Tuesday, K.A. was joined by eight immigrants’ rights groups urging the Quebec government to change the law, and denouncing the HRC for not joining their cause. The HRC would not comment on the case Tuesday.

Fo Niemi, the executive director of the Centre for ResearchAction on Race Relations, which submitted the case to the HRC in September 2015 on K.A.’s behalf — the HRC would not even take her complaint until the CRARR got involved, she said — also brought the law, and its discriminatory effects, to the attention of the Quebec Ministry of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion a month later.

He received a reply in November 2015, saying the Ministry, which assumes a leadership role for the “full participation of immigrants,” would look into the matter. But the CRARR has since received nothing more from the ministry.

Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil’s press attaché, Gabrielle Tellier, said Tuesday the minister would not comment on individual cases, and did not comment on the PSA. But she noted that Weil is moving forward with a “consultation” on systemic racism to be held later this year.

The HRC’s decision has made the issue all the more urgent, Niemi said, as it “opens the door for this kind of discrimination for all immigrants in Quebec.”

“The Commission’s decision is constitutionally, economically and socially indefensible, and it is the worst setback for immigrants and racialized people in Quebec.”

Under the Canadian Charter of Human Rights, Section 15 on Equality Rights allows for an expansive protection against discrimination, including on grounds not explicitly mentioned in the Charter. For example, in 1989, a Supreme Court Decision struck down the requirement of citizenship as a condition of admission to the B.C. bar because it violated Section 15 of the Canadian charter. Being a citizen should not be necessary for practicing law in Canada, the court ruled.

However, the Quebec Charter’s protection is strictly limited to the 13 grounds for discrimination specifically listed, from age to social condition, although new grounds for discrimination are added to the list from time to time. (Last summer, discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression were added to the list.)

But not to combat discrimination based on citizenship also runs counter to the Quebec government’s own stated goals of removing barriers for employment for immigrants and refugees, Niemi said.

“Especially with the rise of nativism and the Trump effect, and as the government says it is preparing to deal with systemic racism, they have to start walking the walk,” Niemi said.

Last year, for example, Weil announced that the government would fast-track permanent resident applications for international students who wished to stay here and work upon completion of their studies.

But the HRC decision signals that even with a work permit, those former students could not work for the Centrale des Syndicats Nationaux, for example, which employs 600 people, or any other union or professional association, regardless of their Quebec or Canadian experience.

Even the union for the HRC staff was incorporated under the Professional Syndicates Act.

For those immigrants who already have a tougher time finding employment because of their surnames or the colour of their skin, an appeal to Canadian citizenship as a prerequisite further compounds their frustration.

“I came here when I was 17,” said K.A., now 29. “My only experience as a grown-up is in Quebec. I have Quebec work experience, Quebec diplomas, I know the laws here, how to make a CV for here and it still went left . ... This is something people used to say we don’t really want immigrants. But what is the point of opening doors to immigrants and migrant workers if we don’t want to give them jobs?”

Niemi said in the absence of help from the HRC or the Quebec government, he hopes the coalition of rights’ groups will be able to raise the funds necessary to challenge the constitutionality of the PSA in Superior Court. The Attorney General of Quebec would be named as a defendant, Niemi said.

“(The PSA) is a relic of the past. But someone is paying the price for it.”

But what is the point of opening doors to immigrants and migrant workers if we don’t want to give them jobs?