Aid agencies for migrants have asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to regularize the status of Haitians who are on the front lines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to them, Canada should reward the efforts of all these asylum seekers who carry the long-term care centers (CHSLDs) and residences for seniors at arm’s length.
According to information reported in the Canadian press, a dozen organizations forming the Haitian Concertation for Migrants wrote to the Prime Minister to remind him that a lot of these people who have not yet regularized have come close to death and have lost colleagues while treating COVID-19 patients in the country.
They are in some respects considered “guardian angels”. “We find it hard to imagine that our guardian angels could be expelled from the country as soon as the battle was won,” said these organizations in a co-signed letter sent to Justin Trudeau.
In 2017, more than 8,000 Haitians had irregularly entered Quebec via Roxham Road, bordering the Lacolle border post. The vast majority, however, were refused refugee status.
Due to an “administrative stay on removal,” which prevents anyone from being deported to this Caribbean country, several Haitians are still in the country.
