Last year, the Harper government had asked a report to see if the humanitarian situation in Haiti justified the continuation of the moratorium that allows Haitian asylum-seekers stay in the country even when their application is rejected, report expected this summer.

If the moratorium is lifted, some 4,700 Haitians without status, unregulated, will then have six months to make a new application for asylum, and for those who fail, they would be forced to return to Haiti.

Diane De Courcy, the Quebec Minister of Immigration, considering asking the Federal Government to extend the moratorium and to regularize the status of a maximum of these refugees established in Quebec in recent years "We understand that it can not be done for all, but for the majority, I think so. These are people who already live here and who are well integrated [...] We demand a humanitarian gesture for those people who are waiting to see what we will do with them [...]" Quebec justifies its position by invoking the precarious situation that still prevails in Haiti since the earthquake of January 2010.

Québec Solidaire added its voice to those of the Haitian community and the Quebec Government to also ask the Minister of Immigration, the continuation of the suspension of returns in the case of Haiti and the establishment of a program enabling people to access to permanent status.

Recall that in 2004, Haiti is on the list of countries targeted by a moratorium on the return of resident applicants, due to the unstable situation in these countries. In 10 years, the moratorium has enabled nearly 4,700 Haitian nationals to remain in Canada. However, these people live in uncertainty and with the possibility of being sent back to their country if the moratorium is lifted. "It is time that the Federal Government withdrew the sword of Damocles hanging over the head of thousands of people and regularize their status. Quebec has already demonstrated its desire to welcome them permanently," indicated Andrés Fontecilla, President and spokesman of Québec Solidaire.

HL/ TB/ HaitiLibre