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Asylum seekers flee U.S. for Quebec, fearing their temporary permits will expire

KSweeley

Member
Due to Trump, asylum seekers in the U.S. are now fleeing to Canada: https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...-533c52b2f014_story.html?wpisrc=nl_amk&wpmm=1

New waves of asylum seekers are sweeping into Canada from the United States, forcing authorities in the province of Quebec to set up a network of temporary shelters, including a makeshift center at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium.

As many as 150 migrants a day are making “irregular” border crossings from northern New York state into Quebec near the border station at Lacolle, and 70 percent of them are Haitians, fearful that the Trump administration will soon end their special temporary status in the country.

Quebec Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil said during a news conference Thursday that the province can handle the surge in migrants, but she asked the Canadian government to speed the processing of initial asylum claims for new arrivals and allow the migrants to leave Quebec if they wish to ultimately settle in other parts of the country.

In addition to the shelter at the stadium, where up to 300 migrants can sleep on cots in the concessions area, Quebec is putting them up at student dormitories, shuttered nursing homes and hotels. In the first six months of the year, 6,500 asylum seekers arrived in Quebec across land and other borders, accounting for 35 percent of Canada’s total, Weil said.

Jean-Pierre Fortin, head of the union representing Canada’s border agents, called the influx “a national crisis.”

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre blamed the Trump administration’s immigrant policy for the influx and wrote on Twitter that the newcomers were welcome: “The City of Montreal welcomes Haitian refugees. You can count on our full collaboration.” Then he added in Creole, “Don’t give up.”
 
Bienvenue à Montréal!

Remember when Trump campaigned in Miami targeting the Haitian-American vote and complaining on how Hillary botched the the handling of the earthquake?

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/donald-trump/article102349877.html

now that post-earthquake refugees are worried about their fate, Trump is closing the door on their stay (ironically after using the earthquake handling to bash Hillary).

Trump, just used them politically and discarded them when he no longer had any more use for them.
 
Yeah, been reading in news that's loads of folks are bouncing US and going to Quebec. They had to setup camps in an arena due to the influx of people showing up in droves.
 

Llyranor

Member
The Olympic Stadium, one of the more iconic buildings of Montreal, has been set up as a welcoming center with 600 beds :)
 
the New York and Quebec border has been a joke for decades; contraband cigarettes, firearms trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, smuggling.

I'm compassionate about the plight of Haitians seeking refugee; if they manage to cross the border than the get bonus points for effort.

But still, the borde is a joke LOL

What worries me is theyll come to Quebec and go on welfare.
Unemployment is at a record low in the Province of Quebec. There are lots of jobs available today, and many will be happy to take them
 

Samy

Neo Member
What worries me is theyll come to Quebec and go on welfare.

A large number are going on welfare unless they get a job, which is hard to do since refugees can't get jobs unless their case is under review.
In July alone, 1754 requests have been received for financial assistance.
 
And why don’t you think these people can find jobs?

Because jobs arent easy to find, especially here where you're expected to speak 2 languages well or youre not even considered.

The people who work in companies who have offices in Canada is easier. They can just go in the Canadian office. But if they didnt have a job in the US, what exactly will convince me that they'll have one in Canada?
 
Because jobs arent easy to find, especially here where you're expected to speak 2 languages well or youre not even considered.

The people who work in companies who have offices in Canada is easier. They can just go in the Canadian office. But if they didnt have a job in the US, what exactly will convince me that they'll have one in Canada?

Haitians speak French, Quebec is a Francophone province.

I like to base myself of facts not assumptions
 
Haitians speak French, Quebec is a Francophone province.

I like to base myself of facts not assumptions

Look its a worry because i see it. There are a lot of people who come here from other countries who end up on welfare because they end up not being able to speak french or English properly. How they get in not being able to properly speak English properly at the very least baffles me. Canada seems to accept everyone and that to me isnt a good thing, especially when they cant speak the language.

And dont be fooled, Quebec might be very multicultural but its also pretty racist. So foreigners will have an even harder time finding jobs because they're not "Quebecois" or cause they just dont have an education from a school thats known here.

Understandable. Now imagine for a second what worries them. What could have possibly compelled them to leave their home country and go to a foreign land.

I dont doubt it, i just want good to come from this for both sides.
 

cameron

Member
As noted, most are Haitians from the 2010 earthquake. A bit more via CBC:
Heading to Canada is one of the only options seen by many of the 50,000 Haitians who've been living under temporary protection status in the U.S. — but many don't know they face deportation here, too, should their asylum claim be rejected.

The temporary protection status for Haitians in the U.S. granted after the 2010 earthquake is set to expire in January.

The Department of Homeland Security considers Haiti to be a safe country now, and it's warned that the U.S. doesn't intend to renew that status, prompting the deluge of asylum seekers crossing into Canada.
In 2004, when a coup d'état removed then president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Canada banned deportations to Haiti.

Years of instability followed. Then came the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000, followed five years later by a devastating hurricane that destroyed a large portion of the island.

Canada's last extension of the ban ended Aug. 4, 2016, meaning the 3,200 Haitians without status in Canada have had to apply for residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
The wave of Haitian migration to Canada in the past month isn't surprising to Bouchereau. Migrants believe the prospect of living without status there is worse than here, he said.

Bouchereau said Montreal's large Haitian community, which is about 120,000 strong, has family, business and cultural ties with those south of the border.

"Knowing Canada is a land of welcome, the word going around is that it's open to Haitians," he said, noting that seeing asylum seekers are well-treated when they cross the border will encourage "more and more" to join them.
 
Look its a worry because i see it. There are a lot of people who come here from other countries who end up on welfare because they end up not being able to speak french or English properly. How they get in not being able to properly speak English properly at the very least baffles me. Canada seems to accept everyone and that to me isnt a good thing, especially when they cant speak the language.

And dont be fooled, Quebec might be very multicultural but its also pretty racist. So foreigners will have an even harder time finding jobs because they're not "Quebecois" or cause they just dont have an education from a school thats known here.



I dont doubt it, i just want good to come from this for both sides.

Part 1 is systemic racism in hiring.

Part 2 are Degree Equivalents not being recognized like the Doctors Union "Collège des médecins" who are super stringent in not accepting foreign medical degrees where you end up seeing many college grads driving taxis.

the Provincial Government wants to tackle systemic racism but the nationalistic opposition parties claim that racism doesn't exit. But the truth is that it does.

things have improved over the last 20 years, but systemic racism still exists when hiring.
 
Part 1 is systemic racism in hiring.

Part 2 are Degree Equivalents not being recognized like the Doctors Union "Collège des médecins" who are super stringent in not accepting foreign medical degrees where you end up seeing many college grads driving taxis.

the Provincial Government wants to tackle systemic racism but the nationalistic opposition parties claim that racism doesn't exit. But the truth is that it does.

things have improved over the last 20 years, but systemic racism still exists when hiring.

And thats exactly why i expect a lot of them to end up on welfare. Hence the point i was making.
 
And thats exactly why i expect a lot of them to end up on welfare. Hence the point i was making.
than we must reverse systemic racism and encourage the Premier to expand on his wishes to do so.

politically, only the ruling Quebec Liberals and the 3rd oppoistion Quebec Solidaire admit that there is a problem.

the separatist PQ and the nationalist CAQ cover their ears and pretend that there is no problem
 

Llyranor

Member
Stealing jobs
Go on welfare

Pick one
Part 2 are Degree Equivalents not being recognized like the Doctors Union "Collège des médecins" who are super stringent in not accepting foreign medical degrees where you end up seeing many college grads driving taxis.
Fyi the College des Medecins is not a union, it looks after the wellbeing of patients. It is the Federations that represent the docs.

The foreign docs that I know that have been able to work in the medical field again basically had to redo their residency (usually in family medicine - which is a good thing, since Barrette is doing a great job of chasing away Canadian applicants there).
They're all terrorists anyways...
WTF
 
Jesus Christ

Why Jesus Christ? It's a legitimate worry, there are a lot of people in Quebec that are on the Welfare system. Can the system sustain an influx of people who may not be able to find jobs right away? I'm not so sure to be honest.

In addition to that, does Montreal have that many low paying jobs? I'm not so sure about that either. Yes, the tech/manufacturing industry is doing great here but are those low paying jobs?

So yeah, there are legitimate concerns here.
 
Why Jesus Christ? It's a legitimate worry, there are a lot of people in Quebec that are on the Welfare system. Can the system sustain an influx of people who may not be able to find jobs right away? I'm not so sure to be honest.

In addition to that, does Montreal have that many low paying jobs? I'm not so sure about that either. Yes, the tech/manufacturing industry is doing great here but are those low paying jobs?

So yeah, there are legitimate concerns here.
if they can spend 10 million dollars to put pretty lights on the bridge, then they have money lying around.

(I like the pretty lights btw)
 
if they can spend 10 million dollars to put pretty lights on the bridge, then they have money lying around.

(I like the pretty lights btw)

Absolutely but that doesn't negate the concern at all IMO.

And you know what, Montreal deserves those pretty lights. We've been in the gutter (ha!) for so long that finally seeing some life in the city is such a nice welcome. I don't want to fuck up the stability, help these people but ensure there is a proper plan to integrate them with jobs.

Last thing Montreal now needs is refugees without jobs.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Because jobs arent easy to find, especially here where you're expected to speak 2 languages well or youre not even considered.

The people who work in companies who have offices in Canada is easier. They can just go in the Canadian office. But if they didnt have a job in the US, what exactly will convince me that they'll have one in Canada?

First, you don't know whether they had a job in the US or not. Second, the thing most predictive of them having a job in Canada is having a network of community support to help them integrate -- something they'll best achieve in or near Montreal where there is a large Haitian diaspora and lots of support resources. (And most Haitians already speak English and French).

But more broadly, the point of refugees is that you accept them DESPITE limited economic opportunities. We're not talking other classes of immigration, where the main point is to ensure that the person will be integrated, find work, etc. Accepting refugees is deliberately about accepting people who otherwise might not be able to get in the country because they are fleeing a situation we deem truly unacceptable. Means-testing refugee claims defeats the entire purpose of the system. So while you may be concerned or whatever about the influx, the entire point is to take people whether or not their chances are good to be employed.
 
just close that patch of border crossing. They have been passing though one specific beaten path, how hard is it for the American side to close that up?

Americans wave their arms about against open borders , they should just do a better job closing that beaten path crossing.

It's as if Americans are encouraging them to leave.


Once they cross into Canada, they have no choice but the undergo the humanitarian option of processing them
 
What worries me is theyll come to Quebec and go on welfare.

They might get assistance with food and shelter, but many are prevented from collecting on other social services for a set period of years. No matter where some one came from, the least anyone can do for someone else is provide shelter. The city is already reusing shuttered buildings. That doesn't sound like it's creating financial hardships.

Haitians speak French, Quebec is a Francophone province.

I like to base myself of facts not assumptions
They actually speak Creol. It's a variant of French, but not exactly. It's probably easier for them to assimilate to Quebec French than Cuban Spanish of Miami.
 

Mechazawa

Member
I'm glad to see bigger outlets like WP picking these types of stories up.

The TPS program has kinda flown under the radar for the past couple of decades, but there's a very real concern that the Trump administration is going to shutter it early next year and kick out thousands of people after they've already built up entire lives in the US. In some cases, like mine, it means potentially getting kicked out back to a country that you don't even know the language of due to how long this program has been active. It's why I've started getting serious recently with Duolingo.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
The notion of people fleeing the US to take refuge in Canada kind of cracks me up, and also depresses me at the same time.

Hope these people find a better life here.
They're all terrorists anyways...
Uh, what? Missed attempt at joke/sarcasm?
 

XOMTOR

Member
Asylum? What are they seeking asylum from? Trump? Also, coming from the USA into Canada and seeking refugee status the way they're doing so is illegal and undermines our Safe Third Country agreement with the USA.
 

akileese

Member
They might get assistance with food and shelter, but many are prevented from collecting on other social services for a set period of years. No matter where some one came from, the least anyone can do for someone else is provide shelter. The city is already reusing shuttered buildings. That doesn't sound like it's creating financial hardships.


They actually speak Creol. It's a variant of French, but not exactly. It's probably easier for them to assimilate to Quebec French than Cuban Spanish of Miami.

Aye. I grew up in Southwestern CT and there is a pretty sizable Haitian population there and while Haitian Creole has some derivatives from French, it's dissimilar enough that communication could be an issue. Hatian Creole is actually influenced by French, Portuguese, Spanish, and some West African languages.
 

XOMTOR

Member
...Read the article?

Did. Their protected status is unlikely to be renewed by Trump which means they'll most likely be deported to Haiti. The TPS status was extended to January 2018 but will likely not be renewed. Canada already cancelled our TPS status for Haitians last year (the earthquake was in 2010) so we don't recognize it either.

Also, if they're living in the USA under TPS status, it's going to be very difficult to claim refugee status here. Like I said, entering the country illegally is now putting them in a potentially worse situation than if they had applied for immigration via the proper channels.

From CTV news:

“What they are effectively doing is coming here illegally and jumping the queue. The vast majority of Canadians want us to be generous, but the vast majority of Canadians also don’t want our laws and our systems undermined,” Drabkin said.

The Safe Third Country Agreement is a deal between Canada and the U.S. that governs where people can make asylum claims on either side of the border.

Under the agreement, potential refugees must claim asylum in the first country that they enter. Because of this, many people have crossed illegally into Canada, where they can access rules that permit them a hearing if they are deemed refugees.
 
First, you don't know whether they had a job in the US or not. Second, the thing most predictive of them having a job in Canada is having a network of community support to help them integrate -- something they'll best achieve in or near Montreal where there is a large Haitian diaspora and lots of support resources. (And most Haitians already speak English and French).

But more broadly, the point of refugees is that you accept them DESPITE limited economic opportunities. We're not talking other classes of immigration, where the main point is to ensure that the person will be integrated, find work, etc. Accepting refugees is deliberately about accepting people who otherwise might not be able to get in the country because they are fleeing a situation we deem truly unacceptable. Means-testing refugee claims defeats the entire purpose of the system. So while you may be concerned or whatever about the influx, the entire point is to take people whether or not their chances are good to be employed.

Yes that i agree with. It just worries me because lets say they cant go back and a % of them have an education that either isn't recognized in the country or just not have one, then what? My worry is that this isn't the 20's where a whole bunch of factory plants would hire ethnic groups and other ethnicities to work manual labor jobs. And im italian canadian so my father did exactly that. That type of job is dying if its not dead already. Then what?

Jobs, more and more, are getting automatized. What happens when you have all these people and not enough qualifying jobs for them? Thats what worries me. And im not saying these people are stupid and cant learn. What im saying is if companies dont hire them because the education took part in a school they never heard of and would need to take new north american courses that arent exactly given away $$, then what happens?

Maybe im overthinking it, but this stuff worries me.

They might get assistance with food and shelter, but many are prevented from collecting on other social services for a set period of years. No matter where some one came from, the least anyone can do for someone else is provide shelter. The city is already reusing shuttered buildings. That doesn't sound like it's creating financial hardships.

They actually speak Creol. It's a variant of French, but not exactly. It's probably easier for them to assimilate to Quebec French than Cuban Spanish of Miami.

And i have no problems with that. The Big O is pretty much empty all year round. But eventually if this does linger, it will create financial hardships.
 
Asylum? What are they seeking asylum from? Trump? Also, coming from the USA into Canada and seeking refugee status the way they're doing so is illegal and undermines our Safe Third Country agreement with the USA.

Trump is dialing back on refugee policy that was put in place by Obama post-Earthquake where many Haitians sought refuge in the US.

Trump is responsible for dialing up uncertainty and chaos among refugees who thought they were safe in the US.
 

XOMTOR

Member
Trump is dialing back on refugee policy that was put in place by Obama post-Earthquake where many Haitians sought refuge in the US.

Trump is responsible for dialing up uncertainty and chaos among refugees who thought they were safe in the US.

From the reading I've been doing, Haitians were permitted in the USA after the earthquake under a program called: Temporary Protected Status. I don't believe they were ever promised refugee status or permanent immigration to the USA; they knew going in it was only temporary. Here in Canada, we offered the same thing but ended it last year.
 
Yes that i agree with. It just worries me because lets say they cant go back and a % of them have an education that either isn't recognized in the country or just not have one, then what? My worry is that this isn't the 20's where a whole bunch of factory plants would hire ethnic groups and other ethnicities to work manual labor jobs. And im italian canadian so my father did exactly that. That type of job is dying if its not dead already. Then what?

Jobs, more and more, are getting automatized. What happens when you have all these people and not enough qualifying jobs for them? Thats what worries me. And im not saying these people are stupid and cant learn. What im saying is if companies dont hire them because the education took part in a school they never heard of and would need to take new north american courses that arent exactly given away $$, then what happens?

Maybe im overthinking it, but this stuff worries me.



And i have no problems with that. The Big O is pretty much empty all year round. But eventually if this does linger, it will create financial hardships.

The service industry isn't really going to be automated fully. There's always a need for someone to do the dirty work. Although a atrange shift to see is many not being able to enter the healthcare fields. There's an older population of nurses without degrees, but now that medical schooling is required for nearly any work with a patient, many can't enter in those fields anymore.

Factory work is a dying industry, but it's still evolving. Hopefully, the new generation will see that and take a step towards it rather than thinking they can do the same thing previous generations have done.

It's also the media and governments playing into the hype of the Trump administration. Everyone is trying to get brownie points with the people. This stuff has been happening for ages, and there might be an increase for now, but it'll level off again soon. Trump has at least got the world talking politics. It's gotten people to take sides and see how things are run and finally give a damn.
 

dankir

Member
Because jobs arent easy to find, especially here where you're expected to speak 2 languages well or youre not even considered.

The people who work in companies who have offices in Canada is easier. They can just go in the Canadian office. But if they didnt have a job in the US, what exactly will convince me that they'll have one in Canada?

Uhhhh Haitians speak French.. they'll be alright.
 
I'm speechless that this was your first concern.

If you look at my last post youd understand why i said it.

I'm speechless that this was your first concern.

The service industry isn't really going to be automated fully. There's always a need for someone to do the dirty work. Although a strange shift to see is many not being able to enter the healthcare fields. There's an older population of nurses without degrees, but now that medical schooling is required for nearly any work with a patient, many can't enter in those fields anymore.

Factory work is a dying industry, but it's still evolving. Hopefully, the new generation will see that and take a step towards it rather than thinking they can do the same thing previous generations have done.

It's also the media and governments playing into the hype of the Trump administration. Everyone is trying to get brownie points with the people. This stuff has been happening for ages, and there might be an increase for now, but it'll level off again soon. Trump has at least got the world talking politics. It's gotten people to take sides and see how things are run and finally give a damn.

lets hope it works out
 
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