Grasping Voices of Resistance

	L-r: Danny Ferrer, retired CAW Unionist; Danilo De Leon, Migrante Canada Chair; Chris Sorio, Secretary General Migrante Canada, and Efren Maglanque, Once Young Garden City Seniors

by Levy Abad

On November 16, 2025, I was invited by Diwa Marcelino, Migrante Manitoba organizer, to a forum titled Voices of Resistance: Shaping the Future of Migrant Work at the Bulman Centre, University of Winnipeg.

I was surprised to see friends and comrades, Chris Sorio, Secretary General of Migrante Canada, and Migrante Canada chair Danilo De Leon, among the panellists. Chris Sorio is a Community-Based Policy and Programming Analyst at York University Department of Geography. He is also a survivor of the Marcos Dictatorship (Source: LinkedIn).

Curious as to what the latest developments on the migrant advocacy front are, I stayed for a couple of hours to listen to the different presentations. While listening to Chris Sorio, I was struck by some crucial points that he mentioned, like “federal figures that show Canada Border Services Agency’s deportation of 7,500 people in 2021, 8,300 in 2022 and almost 15,000 in 2023 – a near doubling in just two years. These removals cost taxpayers $43 million, $53 million, and finally $58 million. Each “unescorted removal” costs about $3,800, and an “escorted removal” costs $12,500. And yet, the vast majority of these deportations are not because of crime. The number one reason is “non-compliance,” a bureaucratic term that means living without status, overstaying a visa, studying without authorization or being refused a refugee claim. Criminality accounts for only five percent of the cases. So, Canada is spending tens of millions of dollars to deport people whose only so-called “offence” is trying to survive and support their families.

Equally significant is the presentation of Danilo De Leon. Danilo arrived in Alberta in 2009 as a Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW). When his TFW permit expired and with a family to support, he remained in Canada and became an undocumented worker. “With the help of a determined public campaign, he won a reprieve” (Source: ALHI, Alberta Labour History Institute).

He became the national chair of Migrante in 2021 and has been in that position to the present. I asked Danny if it’s still true that six thousand Filipinos go abroad every day to look for better opportunities. Danilo shared that the number has increased. Almost eight thousand migrants are leaving every day. I was shocked to learn this update. Looks like the impact of the pre-industrial and agricultural situation in the Philippines has reached monstrous proportions in its structurally evil “labour export policy (LEP).”

Danilo added that “forced migration is not a choice.” “Migrant workers don’t leave home because it’s easy – we leave because of poverty, unemployment, political instability and climate disasters. Many global south countries are pushed into crisis by the same global economic system that Canada benefits from.” Danilo asserted that, “migrants contribute massively to Canada’s economy in construction, caregiving, food service, agriculture, delivery and many more,” and yet they experience “unsafe working conditions, abuse and exploitation, underpaid and overworked and live with ongoing stress, isolation and uncertainty.”

Listening to Chris Sorio and Danilo De Leon reminded me of the book by Michel Chusodovski titled Globalization of Poverty, where he critiqued structural adjustment program policy and David Harvey’s The Brief History of Neo-Liberalism. These books serve as a tool for understanding the roots of migration and policies like deregulation of the oil industry, liberalization, and contractualization of labour, among others, that drive countries like the Philippines to submission and crises.

I’m thankful that during my work vacation, I was invited to attend such a relevant forum organized by Precarious and Exploited Migrant’s Committee (PEMC), a subcommittee of the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) where Migrante MB is involved. Chris explained that “the forum focuses on voices of resistance shaping the future of migrant workers.” It also provides a platform for migrant workers, CCR members, and grassroots organizations to strategize, organize and advance advocacy priorities with the Canadian government and decision-makers, while enhancing knowledge and expertise of migrant workers, activists, front-line workers and advocates.

Chris Sorio and Danilo De Leon, officers of Migrante Canada, lead 14 chapters of the organization. Migrante advocates for the rights and welfare of Filipino migrants and engages in solidarity with other migrant formations and movements in arousing and organizing toward migrant empowerment through education, policy lobbying, parliament of the streets, and electoral campaigns to address migrant issues here and in the Philippines.

Levy Abad authored a book titled Rhythms and Resistance: Narrative of Filipino Musicians and Activists (1972-1994). Levy is also a singer-songwriter, poet, and migrant rights activist who has released four albums centred on the life and struggles of migrants.