Day of the Dead celebrations in Esgenoôpetitj and Fredericton honour migrant workers who died in Canada

Mexican migrant workers and their advocates in New Brunswick have marked their third Day of the Dead in the province by honouring the lives of migrant workers who died in Canada.

Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos in Spanish, is a Mexican holiday celebrated on November 1 and 2 to honour deceased loved ones. Celebrations are joyful and include colourful altars (ofrendas) with photographs, decorated skulls, foods, flowers and candles.

“On November 2, we remember the hundreds of migrant workers who lost their lives in Canada, those invisible hands that built this country,” said Niger Saravia who has now organized his third Day of Dead event in New Brunswick, first in Neguac in 2023 then in Esgenoôpetitj (Burnt Church First Nation) last year and this year.

The Fredericton Latin Community with support from the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre organized this year’s celebration at the Fredericton Public Library on Saturday.

The altars at both locations included the photographs and stories of migrant workers who died in Canada, often in workplace or road accidents, and sometimes due to inadequate health care access. They were among the early victims of COVID-19.

For Saravia, a Miramichi-based organizer with Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, it is important to honour migrant workers on the Day of the Dead.

“They cared for our elders, harvested our food, and cleaned our offices. They died looking for a better future for their families. We mourn our dead, and we fight for justice for those still with us,” said Saravia.

In Marcello DiCintio’s new book, Precarious: The Lives of Migrant Workers, he writes of the Day of Dead event in Surrey, B.C. organized by Dignidad in 2021. On the colourful altar there, DiCintio spotted a sign that said, “Every Child Matters.”

Earlier that year, the Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation had announced the discovery of unmarked graves of Indigenous children at a former residential school in Kamloops.

Dicintio writes of the solidarity he witnessed while writing his book about migrant workers in Canada:

I would see this sort of solidarity with other progressive causes over and over during my time with the migrant workers. In October 2023, Toronto-based Justice for Migrant Workers released a statement in solidarity with Palestine that said, in part, ‘much like Canada, Israel relies on exploitative state structures that extract labour from ‘developing countries’ bringing in temporary foreign workers to prop up an agricultural industry built on stolen land to further displace and povertize Palestinians.’ Migrant workers have also supported Walmart employees seeking to unionize, stood up for striking postal workers and Ontario provincial employees, and rallied to end the criminalization of sex work. For these activists, all workers deserve protection and solidarity, not just their migrant brethren.

That solidarity is important as residential school deniers attempt to further their mass grave hoax theory.

Nuria Mirabent with the Miramichi Regional Multicultural Association and the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre helped Saravia organize the Esgenoôpetitj celebration at the Sit-N-Bull.

Mirabent who is from Mexico and now lives near the Mi’kmaq community of Esgenoôpetitj says it is important to be an ally in struggles for justice. “We were invaded too, but by the Spaniards who tried to take everything from the Indigenous people of Mexico – land, religion, and culture.”

In Fredericton, Cristian Sanabria, the Community Legal Worker at the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre, made sure to honour Nell Toussaint on the altar.

“On this date, we not only remember our dearest loved ones — those we once left behind in our home countries to begin our new lives in Canada — but also all those who, as migrants, through their struggle and resilience, paved the way for newcomers,” said Sanabria.

“Many of them, like Nell, have passed away and were unable to see their work completed, and that is why we wanted to remember them and pay tribute to them on this day.”

Nell Toussaint championed everyone having access to public health care in Canada, regardless of their immigration status. Before losing her status to be in Canada, she worked as a caregiver for children, cleaned homes and did domestic work, and worked in factories. When she was diagnosed with diabetes, she was denied timely access to public health care because she did not have the right kind of immigration status.

Even though Toussaint was sick and at risk of being deported, she challenged the denial of health care to irregular migrants like herself in Canadian courts and at the United Nations. In 2018, the UN Human Rights Committee found that Canada had violated Toussaint’s right to life and had discriminated against her by denying her access to health care, a decision that put her life at risk and caused irreversible harm. The committee called on Canada to ensure access to essential health care regardless of immigration status.

When the Canadian government refused to recognize the UN committee’s decision, Toussaint went back to court. Toussaint died on January 9, 2023, not living to see the court decision. But her family, supported by human rights and migrant advocates such as the Canadian Health Coalition, continues her legal fight for universal health care in Canada.

Besides Medicare for all, migrant advocates are demanding proactive inspections of worksites and housing to prevent sickness and injuries while also calling for employment standard reforms that protect workers from heat stress in a time of climate change.

For Saravia, the Day of the Dead combines joy and resolve. It’s a day to commit to the causes that migrant workers like Toussaint championed.

Saravia argues that the temporary or irregular immigration status of thousands across the country is endangering their lives. He wants permanent residency on arrival for temporary foreign workers and a regularization of the status of an estimated half million undocumented people in Canada who are forced to work underground, without protections, and in constant fear of being deported.

“Every November 2, we say, no more deaths. Status for all now,” says Saravia.

Tracy Glynn is a founder of the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre and the coordinating editor of the NB Media Co-op.