Influx of asylum-seekers not a crisis: Coderre
Haitian ministers seek agreement related to handling of refugees
Haitian ministers Antonio Rodrigue and Stéphanie Auguste landed in Montreal on Tuesday for a fact-finding mission related to the large numbers of Haitian asylum-seekers arriving in the city.
Mayor Denis Coderre, flanked by Rodrigue and Auguste, said the city is currently housing 2,574 Haitian asylum-seekers in temporary accommodations. He said the city is looking to dedicate three more locations to temporary housing, as approximately 250 to 300 people arrive at the Canadian border each day.
The Olympic Stadium and Résidence Notre-Dame de la Providence and a former English Montreal School Board school in Ahuntsic-Cartierville have already become shelters to accommodate those who are waiting for their refugee claims to be processed.
According to July’s numbers, 64 per cent of those seeking refugee status arriving in Montreal are from Haiti, Coderre said, explaining that a number are coming from Africa and the Americas. He also insisted that what we are seeing is not a crisis, particularly when compared to the reality faced by certain European countries.
Rodrigue, Haiti’s foreign affairs minister, explained that they are here to “evaluate the situation,” but would not confirm whether he and Auguste would be visiting any of the shelters, saying they will go if the refugees are willing to have them. He also said they would like to create an agreement related to the handling of incoming refugees with the Canadian government during their trip.
“As their government, we are responsible for all that concerns our citizens, whether it is within (Haiti) or in another country,” Rodrigue said.
He and Auguste also took the time to repeatedly thank Coderre and the provincial and federal governments. Rodrigue said the three levels have shown exceptional generosity and remarkable solidarity.
Coderre, on his part, used the opportunity to restate that welcoming those in need is a part of his vision for Montreal as a sanctuary city.
Rodrigue also insisted that the refugee claims are not related to subpar conditions in their home country.
“It’s not that we are not providing (the asylum-seekers) with everything they need in Haiti,” he said. He mused, rather, that it’s possible that these individuals need something that they can’t find in their home country or are searching for something else.
Rodrigue would not comment on the speculations that the waves of asylum-seekers are related to U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policies or his announcement in May that Haitians’ temporary protected status would expire in January 2018. Haitians in the United States were awarded the temporary status following the country’s 2010 earthquake.
Anticipating those who might be deported back to Haiti, Rodrigue said: “It is their country, it is our country. If they have to go back, we have to receive them and give them everything we can.”