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Protesters gathered in front of the Canada Border Services Agency office in downtown Montreal, calling on Canada to reiterate a moratorium on evictions to Haiti while political instability and violence continues in this troubled country.
Members of the Haitian community and activists working on behalf of asylum seekers claim that much of them are expelled from Canada, even when a warning of trip was issued
"Government says Canadians should not go to Haiti If it's not safe for Canadians, it's not safe to deport people to Haiti " Jennie-Laure Sully, one of the organizers of the rally.
Several dozens rallied in front of the St. Antoine Street federal office, decrying the deportations and calling the government to open its border to asylum seekers.
A long-term solution requires: defenders
"We believe that proceeding on a case-by-case basis is not how to deal with this problem, "said Sully." It's a problem col lectif. "
Jennie-Laure Sully, who helped organize the rally, says that Haitian asylum seekers are being deported at a higher rate than before. (CBC)
Hundreds of Haitian nationals They crossed the border on foot from outside official crossings, most of them at Roxham Road in Lacolle, Quebec, from last year.
Canada has adopted its own version of what the Americans call "TPS," published after the instability of 2004 and reestablished after the 2010 earthquake. The federal government lifted the moratorium in 2016, but many may have asked to stay in Canada for humanitarian reasons.
But things are still pretty bad in Haiti for a new moratorium, supporters of the rally said.
Severe "anguished" asylum seekers
Sully also express concern about the low retention rate of Haitian asylum seekers who have pbaded through the past year.
Prior to the influx, the average rate of acceptance of asylum applications by Haitian migrants was 50%. Since then, Sully says that she has heard that it has fallen below 20 percent.
"Anxiety kills these people," said Frantz André of the Action Committee for Non-Status People. "We mean that the Canadian government is not fair."
Frantz André, a defender of asylum seekers in Montreal, says that Haitian migrants are terrified of being deported to Haiti as political protests continue to rage in the country . ] (CBC)
Should an asylum seeker whom CBC spoke to, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of his safety, return to Haiti?
The man said "return to Haiti is back to hell". He said life was so difficult that he barely had the means to survive while he and his family were facing political threats.
"It's like night and day," he said about finding refuge in Montreal while he waited for his asylum application to be reviewed.
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